A Lance Corporal attached to the army's 3rd Special Forces, Chandana was part of a six or eight-man Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) team that infiltrated into Tamil Tiger-held territory in northern Sri Lanka in June 2008.

[1][3] Having completed their mission, the team was on their way back to the army lines when they were spotted by Tamil Tiger units while crossing the Mankulam–Thunukkai road.

[2] Chandana was posthumously promoted to the rank of Corporal and recommended for the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, Sri Lanka's highest military award for gallantry.

[4] It was presented to his next-of-kin on 19 May 2012 by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, at the celebrations marking the third anniversary of the end of the war.

[1] Chandana's name is engraved on a memorial plaque at the Brigade Headquarters of the Special Forces in Vavuniya, along with the other recipients of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya from the unit.