Lieutenant General (Retd) Guy Thibault

former Vice Chief of the Defence Staff (2013-2016) Canadian Armed Forces

Lieutenant-General Guy R Thibault, CMM, MSC, CD – Vice Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS) retired from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) on 8 August 2016 after 38 years of loyal and dedicated service to Canada, the CAF and the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. He joined the Canadian Forces in 1978 and completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Physics at the Royal Military College (RMC). Upon completion of Army Signal Officer training in Kingston, he served in various operational capacities within the Special Service Force in Petawawa as well as 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, and Canadian Forces Europe in Lahr, West Germany. Lieutenant-General Guy Thibault held a wide range of command and staff appointments within the Army, and at National levels including assignments in the National Defence Operations Centre, Communications Security, Signals Training and Doctrine and various positions within the Defence Information Services Organization and the Information Management Group including command of 79 Communications Regiment providing strategic communications for CF deployments worldwide. He also served as the Executive Assistant to the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff and in 2001 upon promotion to Colonel he led the DND/CF Information Management Strategic Review under the direction of the Associate Deputy Minister. In 2002, he was appointed Commander, Canadian Forces Base Kingston prior to deploying in early 2004 with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Upon return from ISAF, he attended full time postgraduate studies and completed a Master’s degree of Public Administration (Management) from Dalhousie University. He is a graduate of the Land Forces Command and Staff College, the Canadian Forces Staff College and the National Security Studies Program and is fluent in French, English and conversational Spanish. As a General Officer, he has served as Commander Land Force Central Area – Joint Task Force Central Region; Deputy Commander Canadian Army – Assistant Chief of the Land Staff; as well as the Canadian Forces J6 and Chief of Staff for ADM (Information Management). In this latter capacity, he also assumed the role as Branch Leader for the Canadian Forces Communications and Electronics Branch. Upon promotion to Lieutenant-General in 2011, Guy R Thibault served as the first Canadian Chairman of the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) in Washington, DC. This international organization is an entity of the Organization of American States and is the oldest regional defence cooperation organization in the world. In 2011, he was appointed as a Commander within the Order of Military Merit and in 2013, was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross for his work in promoting defence cooperation in the Americas in his capacity as Chairman of the IADB. Lieutenant-General Guy R Thibault assumed the duties of Vice Chief of the Defence Staff (VCDS) in September 2013, and for three years he served as the second in command of the Canadian Armed Forces, Commander of the VCDS Group and was responsible and accountable to the Chief of the Defence Staff and the Deputy Minister to coordinate and direct strategic programs and national activities to ensure departmental defence policy and strategic objectives were achieved.