On his return to Ceylon he was assigned to HMS Newfoundland, flagship of the Royal Navy's East Indies Fleet.

In 1970 Commander Gunasekara was appointed Captain of HMRCy Gajabahu the flagship of the Royal Ceylon Navy.

He became Chief of Staff of the Navy in 1971 and played a major role during 1971 JVP Insurrection, when naval personnel were deployed for shore duty to help the army and police in suppressing it.

He was awarded the title of Deshamanya by the Sri Lankan government and in 2007 he was promoted to the rank of admiral along with nine other former service commanders.

Piyal Gunasekara joined the navy and went on to achieve the rank of commander before retiring after 20 years of service.