Michael Canavan (general)

Michael A. Canavan is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and former Federal Aviation Administration security official.^[1]

Michael A. Canavan
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1966–2001
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	Joint Special Operations Command Special Operations Command, Europe TRADOC Analysis Command 1st Battalion (A-401), 5th Special Forces Group
Battles / wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal (2) Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star Medal (2) Purple Heart

Canavan presently sits on the board of defense contractor USfalcon.^[2]

Canavan commanded Special Operations Command Europe and the Joint Special Operations Command, and retired after serving as the chief of staff for the United States European Command. On the morning of the September 11 attacks, he was in Puerto Rico and had failed to designate a replacement. In the wake of the attacks, Canavan resigned his position as Associate Administrator for Civil Aviation Security at the FAA amid controversy over Air Marshal assignments to Bush administration Cabinet members and confidence in his leadership.^[3][4]

As a major general Canavan led the team in Croatia that recovered and identified the bodies from the 1996 crash of an Air Force CT-43, which killed the Commerce Secretary, Ronald H. Brown.^[5]

Michael Canavan (right) with his wife, Ambassador Katherine Canavan (center) at Patch Barracks in January 2011.

Canavan is married to Ambassador Katherine Canavan.^{[citation needed]}