LGen Marquis Hainse assumed command of the Canadian Army during a ceremony on Parliament Hill yesterday.
Hainse, who most recently served as deputy commander Allied Joint Force Command Naples, takes over from LGen Peter Devlin, who is retiring after 35 years.
“Canadian soldiers are known throughout the world for their skill, bravery and professionalism,” said Hainse, who enrolled the the Canadian Armed Forces in 1977 and was commissioned into the Royal 22e Régiment in 1980. “It is a great honour for me to be appointed to this role and I thank Lieutenant-General Devlin for his tremendous work over the past three years.”
The change at the top of the army followed the promotion of it’s former Chief of Staff, Land Strategy, BGen James Simms, to commander of the Canadian Forces Joint Operational Support Group (CFJOSG).
On Wednesday, Simms took over from BGen John Mackay during a ceremony in Kingston where CFJOSG, a reorganization of units from the former Canadian Operational Support Command, is based. Mackay had been CFJOSG’s first commander since it was established in September 2012. He is retiring after 28 year of service.
CFJOSG, which is headquartered at CFB Kingston and has over 1,700 military and civilian personnel working with its 14 units and formations across Canada, will play critical roles in the draw-down of personnel from Afghanistan, the establishment of new international operational support hubs, and with the planning and provision of support required to Operation NANOOK 13, Exercise RIMPAC 14 and JointEx 15.
For more on the current “reloading” of the Army, please read our recent interview with LGen Devlin; for more on LGen Hainse, please read our interview when he served as commander of Land Force Doctrine and Training Systems.