The annual staffing changes to the leadership of the Canadian Forces were announced Tuesday.

There are a total of 45 promotions and adjustments in the command chain of the military, including the naming of a new chief of defence staff. Vice Admiral Mark Norman, currently head of the navy, will take over as vice-chief from Lt.-Gen. Guy Thibault, who is retiring. Norman begins in the new position this summer.

There had been speculation Norman could be a successor to Thibault when he retired – Norman had also been rumoured to be among the shortlisted candidates when the government moved to replace the former chief of defence staff, retired Gen. Tom Lawson.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to put a renewed focus on supporting the navy during the 2015 election campaign, stressing the need to get shipbuilding projects back on track but military analysts say that’s likely not the driving factor behind Norman’s promotion. Instead, his background as assistant chief of transformation and a renewed political will to build a more efficient, modern Canadian Forces could be at play.

In the mandate letter issued to Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan in November, Trudeau instructed Sajjan to prioritize several initiatives aimed at creating a more modern armed forces, including renewing Canada’s focus on surveillance and control of Canadian territory and approaches, and supporting the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness in a review how to protect Canadians from cyber-threats.

Retired colonel George Petrolekas, a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and former strategic advisor to the chief of defence staff, says his work on the transformation team meant Norman has strong experience making command and control structures more efficient as well as finding savings that can be used to fund new capabilities like cyber and surveillance.

“Those are the kind of things they would be looking at,” he suggested, noting that it’s typical for the chief of defence staff and vice chief of defence staff to come from different branches of the armed forces – Bruce Donaldson, who served as vice chief of defence staff to Walter Natynczyk, came to the post from the position of vice admiral of the navy, as did Denis Rouleau, who held the position under Rick Hillier.

Dave Perry, senior analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, also cautioned against reading the appointment as an indication of the government’s intentions for the navy.

Perry called the move “tremendous,” saying Norman’s ability to work well with Vance as well as his background makes him highly qualified for the role.

The Canadian Forces did not comment specifically on Norman’s appointment but Vance offered his congratulations to all new appointees in the press release announcing the changes.

“I offer my sincere gratitude and appreciation to all those completing their honourable and selfless service to Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces,” said Jonathan Vance, Canada’s chief of defence staff, in the release. “Your leadership, dedication and decades of hard work have had a meaningful impact on both the organization and those with whom you served. I also extend my congratulations to those taking on new appointments and responsibilities. I have the utmost confidence that you will continue to serve and lead beyond expectation in your new positions.”

The changes are as follows:

Lieutenant-General G.R. Thibault will retire from service, resulting in the following promotions and appointments

Vice-Admiral M.A.G. Norman will be appointed Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, at National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ), in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Lieutenant-General G.R. Thibault.

Rear-Admiral M.F.R. Lloyd will be promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral and appointed Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), at NDHQ, in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Vice-Admiral M.A.G. Norman.

Rear-Admiral J.P.G. Couturier will be appointed Deputy Commander RCN, at NDHQ, in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Rear-Admiral M.F.R. Lloyd.

Commodore A.G. McDonald will be promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral and appointed Commander of Maritime Forces Pacific, in Esquimalt, B.C., replacing Rear-Admiral J.P.G. Couturier.

Captain (N) C.P. Donovan will be promoted to the rank of Commodore and appointed Director General Naval Force Development (DGNFD), in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Commodore A.G. McDonald.

Vice-Admiral R.A. Davidson will retire from service, resulting in the following promotions and appointments:

Lieutenant-General J.M.M. Hainse will be appointed Canadian Military Representative at NATO Headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, replacing Vice-Admiral R.A. Davidson.

Major-General P.F Wynnyk will be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General and appointed Commander of the Canadian Army, in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Lieutenant-General J.M.M. Hainse

Rear-Admiral J.E.T.P. Ellis will be appointed Commander of Canadian Armed Forces Intelligence Command (CFINTCOM), in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Major-General P.F Wynnyk.

Rear-Admiral S.E.G. Bishop will be appointed Deputy Commander Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC), in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Rear-Admiral J.E.T.P. Ellis.

Major-General D.W. Joyce will be appointed Director General International Security Policy (DGIS Pol), in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Rear-Admiral S.E.G. Bishop.

Brigadier-General W.D. Eyre will be promoted to the rank of Major-General and appointed Deputy Commander Military Personnel Command (MPC) at NDHQ, Ottawa, Ont., replacing Major-General D.W. Joyce

Brigadier-General S.C. Hetherington will be appointed Commander of 3 Canadian Division, Edmonton, Alta., replacing Brigadier-General W.D. Eyre.

Colonel J.R.M. Gagne will be promoted (acting while so employed) to the rank of Brigadier-General and appointed as Deputy Commander 18 Airborne Corps, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, replacing Brigadier-General S.C. Hetherington.

Major-General D.J. Milner will retire from service, resulting in the following promotions and appointments:

Brigadier-General O.H. Lavoie will be promoted to the rank of Major-General and appointed Commander 1 Canadian Division, in Kingston, Ont., replacing Major-General D.J. Milner.

Brigadier-General D.J. Anderson will be appointed Director General Defence Force Planning (DGDFP), in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Brigadier-General O.H. Lavoie.

Colonel B.W.G. McPherson will be promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General and appointed Pentagon Liaison Officer, in Washington, D.C., replacing Brigadier-General D.J. Anderson.

Brigadier-General M.K. Overton will retire from service, resulting in the following promotions and appointments:

Brigadier-General L.E. Thomas will be appointed Canadian Defence Attaché, in London, United Kingdom, replacing Brigadier-General M.K. Overton.

Brigadier-General S.M. Cadden will be appointed Commander of 4 Canadian Division, Toronto, Ont., replacing Brigadier-General L.E. Thomas.

Brigadier-General (acting while so employed) D.A. Macaulay will be promoted to the substantive rank of Brigadier-General and appointed Director General Land Capability Development (DGLCD), Ottawa, Ont., replacing Brigadier-General S.M. Cadden.

Colonel G.R. Smith will be promoted (acting while so employed) to the rank of Brigadier-General and appointed Chief of Staff Combined Forces Land Component Command Iraq (COS CFLCC-I), replacing acting Brigadier-General D.A. Macaulay.

Brigadier-General M.A. Matheson will be retiring from service, resulting in the following promotions and appointments

Commodore M.N. Watson will be appointed Director General Compensation and Benefits (DGCB), at MPC, in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Brigadier-General M.A. Matheson.

Commodore S.N. Cantelon will be appointed Director General Morale and Welfare Services (DGMWS), at MPC, in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Commodore M.N. Watson

Colonel R.W. Ermel will be promoted (acting while so employed) to the rank of Brigadier-General and appointed Director General Capability and Structure Integration (DGCSI), in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Commodore S.N. Cantelon.

Brigadier-General M.P. Jorgensen will retire from service, resulting in the following appointment:

Major-General J.G. Milne will be seconded to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VAC), in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Brigadier-General M.P. Jorgensen.

The following promotions and appointments result from new and continuing service requirements:

Major-General D.L.R. Wheeler will be appointed lead for the Canadian Armed Forces Targeting Implementation Initiative, at NDHQ, in Ottawa, Ont., resulting in the following promotions and appointments:

o Brigadier-General J.H.C. Drouin will be promoted to the rank of Major-General and appointed Commander 1 Canadian Air Division, in Winnipeg, Man., replacing Major-General D.L.R. Wheeler.

o Captain (N) A.I. Topshee will be promoted to the rank of Commodore and appointed NORAD J5, in Colorado Springs, replacing Brigadier-General J.H.C. Drouin.

Brigadier-General W.F. Seymour will be promoted to the rank of Major-General and appointed Chief of Staff Operations at CJOC, in Ottawa on, resulting in the following promotion and appointment: Colonel M. Leblanc will be promoted (acting while so employed) to the rank of Brigadier-General and appointed to Deputy J3 U.S Pacific Command, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, replacing Brigadier-General W.F. Seymour.



Brigadier-General M.N. Rouleau will be promoted (acting while so employed) to the rank of Major-General and remain Commander of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command.

Commodore H.C. Edmundson will be appointed Commander Combined Task Force – 150, in Bahrain.

Brigadier-General J.R.A.S. Lafaut will be appointed Director General Military Careers (DGMC), at MPC, in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Commodore H.C. Edmundson.

Brigadier-General J.P.H.H. Gosselin will be appointed Commander 2 Canadian Division, in Montreal, Que., replacing Brigadier-General J.R.A.S. Lafaut.

Colonel M.A.J. Carignan will be promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General and appointed Canadian Army Chief of Staff Land Operations, in Ottawa, Ont., replacing Brigadier-General J.P.H.H. Gosselin.

Brigadier-General P.S. Dawe will be appointed to a new position as Deputy Commander Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, in Ottawa, Ont.

Colonel M.H.L. Bourgon will be promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General and appointed Director General Operations at Strategic Joint Staff, Ottawa, Ont., replacing Brigadier-General P.S. Dawe.

Brigadier-General J.P.A. Pelletier will be appointed to Operation FOUNDATION Rotation 16 as Combined Aerospace Operations Center (CAOC) Director, in Qatar.

Brigadier-General P. Ormsby will be appointed to Deputy Commander Continental U.S North American Aerospace Defence Command Region NORAD, in Tyndall Florida, replacing Brigadier-General J.P.A. Pelletier.

Brigadier-General S.A. Brennan will be appointed Joint Task Force (JTF) Commander for Operation IMPACT Rotation 3, replacing (acting rank while so employed) Brigadier-General J.A. Irvine.

Brigadier-General F.J. Chagnon will be appointed to a new position as Deputy Chief Of Staff Operations, at CJOC, in Ottawa, Ont.

Colonel T.J. Cadieu was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General and will be appointed to Operation PROTEUS, replacing Brigadier-General F.J. Chagnon.

Brigadier-General J.J.M. Girard will be appointed as Permanent Representative Mission New York with the United Nations, in New York, NY.

Colonel A.T. Benson will be promoted (acting while so employed) to the rank of Brigadier-General and will be appointed Director General Land Equipment Program Management (DGLEPM), in Gatineau, Que., replacing Brigadier-General S.G. Kennedy who retired in 2015.

Colonel R. Delaney will be promoted (acting while so employed) to the rank of Brigadier-General and will remain Canadian Forces Provost Marshal.

After distinguished service to Canada and the CAF, the following General and Flag Officers will retire in 2016:

Lieutenant-General G.R. Thibault

Vice-Admiral R.A Davidson

Major-General D.J. Milner

Rear-Admiral E.M. Stuart, previously announced to retire in 2015, will retire in 2016

Brigadier-General M.K. Overton

Brigadier-General M.P. Jorgensen

Brigadier-General M.A. Matheson