Command of the Royal Canadian Air Force changed hands at a ceremony held May 4, 2018, in Ottawa.
The new commander of the RCAF, Lieutenant-General Al Meinzinger, assumed command from Lieutenant-General Mike Hood at a ceremony held at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa and presided over by General Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff.
“I am deeply honoured to accept command of the Royal Canadian Air Force from Lieutenant-General Hood, who has led the RCAF and served his country with passion, commitment and vision,” said Lieutenant-General Meinzinger. “I am privileged and proud to lead the members of this distinguished national institution. I assume this command with the knowledge, however, that we have much work left to do and that, as we move forward, ‘People, Policy, Program and Posture' will be our anchor points.”
Lieutenant-General Meinzinger enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1985. In 2006, he assumed command of 403 Helicopter Operational Training Squadron. In 2011, he deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, to command Canada's Joint Task Force-Afghanistan Air Wing, overseeing the final phase of Air Wing support to combat operations. In July 2013, he took command of Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. Upon promotion to major-general in May 2015, he was appointed deputy commander of the RCAF. In March 2017, he was appointed as director of staff, Strategic Joint Staff. He was promoted to his current rank on April 20,…
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