Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Wayne Eyre

Canadian general officer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wayne Eyre
Remove ads

General Wayne Donald Eyre CMM MSC CD (born 1966/1967) is a retired Canadian Forces officer who served as the chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) from 2021 to 2024. Eyre was named acting CDS on February 24, 2021, and appointed to the full position on November 25, 2021. He was also the commander of the Canadian Army and chief of the Army Staff.

Remove ads

Early life

Eyre was born on a farm near Wadena, Saskatchewan, joining the Army Cadets at age 13. He spent his high school years in Medicine Hat, Alberta.[2] Eyre attended Royal Roads Military College and the Royal Military College.[7][8]

Military career

Summarize
Perspective

Eyre was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in 1988.[3]

In 1993 Eyre, who was a captain at the time, was deployed to Croatia as part of the United Nations Protection Force. He took part in Operation Medak Pocket in which he commanded a reconnaissance platoon, which witnessed the aftermath of ethnic cleansing in the village of Lički Čitluk.[9]

He became commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in 2004.[10] He went on to become commander of 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group in 2009 and,[3] after that, Deputy Commanding General of Operations for the United States Army's XVIII Airborne Corps in 2012, in which role he was deployed to Afghanistan.[10] He was appointed General Officer Commanding 3rd Canadian Division and Joint Task Force West in 2014.[10]

In May 2018,[11] Eyre became the first non-American to serve as deputy commander of the United Nations Command in South Korea.[11][3][12][13] He was succeeded by Vice Admiral Stuart Mayer of the Royal Australian Navy in June 2019, and returned to Canada as Commander Military Personnel Command.[14]

On July 12, 2019, it was announced Eyre would be appointed the commander of the Canadian Army, effective from August 20.[14][15]

Eyre was appointed acting chief of the Defence Staff on February 24, 2021, following the stepping aside of Admiral Art McDonald pending an investigation by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service.[16][17][18] He was promoted to full general on August 13, 2021[19] and appointed as the official Chief of Defence Staff on November 25, 2021.[20]

Eyre was made a Commander of the United States' Legion of Merit on April 24, 2021.[4] He had previously been appointed as an officer of the American order while a brigadier-general in 2015 and,[21] in 2020, was awarded an Oak Leaf Cluster (second award) to the Legion of Merit.[22]

On March 15, 2022, Eyre, along with 313 other Canadians, was banned from entering Russia, in protest of the Government of Canada's opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[23]

Remove ads

Honours and decorations

Thumb
General Wayne Eyre in 2023

Source:[24]

Thumb






RibbonDescriptionNotes
Order of Military Merit (CMM)
Meritorious Service Cross (MSC)
General Campaign Star

With Rotation Bar

Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal
UN Forces in Cyprus
UN Protection Force (Yugoslavia)
NATO Medal for Former Yugoslavia
Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal
Canadian Forces' Decoration (CD)

2 Clasps 32 years of service in the Canadian Forces

Alberta Centennial Medal
Queens Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Medal

Provincial

Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr

Gold Cross From Germany

Gugseon Security Medal

From South Korea

Ordre National du Mérite

Degree of Commander From France

Legion of Merit

Degree of Commander From United States of America

40 Years of Yugoslav People's Army Medal
Republic of Korea Service Medal

References

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads