Major General UAB Medawala joined the Sri Lanka Army in 1981 as an Officer Cadet. He is an Armored Corps Officer and an alumnus of Defence Services Command and Staff College, Wellington. Major General Medawala has served as the Military Advisor (Minister) to the office of the permanent representative of Sri Lanka for United Nations in New York, USA and later became the Chief of Staff of the Army. Major General UAB Medawala was appointed as the Coordinator of the Staff Development and Carrier Advancement Division which was renamed as Institute of Post Graduate Studies (IPGS) and then Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) subsequently. Major General Medawala retired from active service in 2016 upon reaching 55 years of age.