 He joined the Sri Lanka Army in 1982 as Officer Cadet, following basic training at the Sri Lanka Military Academy, where he won the President's Medal; he was commissioned in to the Sri Lanka Engineers in as a Second Lieutenant.Hapuarachchi is a graduate of the Command and Staff College, Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Hawaii and holds a MBA from the University of Rajarata.He has undergone training at the College of Military Engineering, Pune, Military College of Engineering, Risalpur and at the Indian College of Defence Management.