Michael Rouleau

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Michael Norman Rouleau
Commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command Lt. Gen. M.N. (Mike) Rouleau Participates in a Public Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (47301848181) (cropped).jpg
Lieutenant-General Michael Rouleau
Born (1967-07-04) July 4, 1967 (age 56)
Allegiance Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
Service/branch Canadian SOF Command
Years of service1985–1999
2002–2022
Rank Canadian Army OF-8.svg Lieutenant-General
Commands held Strategic Advisor to the Chief of Defence Staff
Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
Joint Operations Command
Battles/wars War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Bosnian War
Awards Commander of the Order of Military Merit
Meritorious Service Cross
Canadian Forces' Decoration
Governor General’s Commendation

Michael Norman Rouleau CMM MSC CD [1] [2] (born July 4, 1967) [3] is a retired Canadian Forces officer who served as a lieutenant-general in the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. He was the vice chief of the Defence Staff from July 15, 2020, until June 14, 2021. [4]

Contents

Education

Rouleau obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Manitoba. He would later graduate from the Royal Military College of Canada with a Masters in Defence Studies and a Master of Arts Degree in Security, Management, and Defence Policy. [5]

Military career

Rouleau joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in 1985 as an artillery officer. [6]

In 1994 he became a Special Operation Assaulter with Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2) [5]

In 1999, he retired from the CAF and joined the ranks of the Ottawa Carleton Regional Police Service as an emergency response officer. [6] However, he re-enrolled in the CAF in 2002 following the events of the September 11 attacks against the United States. [6]

Rouleau was appointed Commander of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command in February 2014. [7] He was Commander of the Canadian Joint Operations Command from June 2018 to March 2020 before being replaced by Lieutenant-General Christopher J. Coates. [6] [8]

In July 2020, Rouleau was named Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. In March 2021, Frances J. Allen was announced as his successor and he was named a strategic advisor to the chief of the Defence Staff on future capabilities, pending Allen's completion of service as Canada's Representative to the NATO Military Committee. [9] He resigned prematurely from the role on June 14, 2021, after controversy over a golf game he played with former Chief of the Defence Staff Jonathan Vance during an investigation into the latter for sexual misconduct. [10] As Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, Rouleau was the immediate superior to the Provost Marshal in charge of the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service.

He retired in September 2022.

Honours and decorations

Rouleau has received the following orders and decorations during his military career:

CAN Order of Military Merit Commander and Officer.png CAN Meritorious Service Cross (military division) ribbon.svg South-West Asia Service Medal with Afghanistan and rotation bars ribbon.png
Special Service Medal Ribbon.png CPSM Ribbon.png UNPROFOR Medal bar.gif
NATO Medal Yugoslavia ribbon bar.svg ECMM Medal YUG ribbon bar.svg CD-ribbon and 2 bars.png

RibbonDescriptionNotes
CAN Order of Military Merit Commander and Officer.png Order of Military Merit (CMM)
  • Appointed Commander (CMM) on 29 June 2018 [11]
  • Appointed Officer (OMM) on 7 November 2014 [11]
CAN Meritorious Service Cross (military division) ribbon.svg
Meritorious Service Cross (MSC)
South-West Asia Service Medal with Afghanistan and rotation bars ribbon.png South-West Asia Service Medal
  • with AFGHANISTAN Clasp and Rotation bar
Special Service Medal Ribbon.png Special Service Medal
  • with NATO-OTAN Clasp
CPSM Ribbon.png Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal
ONZ Medal w Sluzbie Pokoju UNPROFOR BAR.svg
UNPROFOR
NATO Medal Yugoslavia ribbon bar.svg NATO Medal for the former Yugoslavia
  • with FORMER YUGOSLAVIA clasp
ECMM Medal YUG ribbon bar.svg
European Community Monitor Mission Medal (Yugoslavia)
CD-ribbon and 2 bars.png Canadian Forces' Decoration (CD)
  • with two Clasp for 32 years of services

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References

  1. ↑ General, Office of the Secretary to the Governor (2018-06-27). "Order of Military Merit Investiture Ceremony". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  2. ↑ General, Office of the Secretary to the Governor. "Major-General Michael Norman Rouleau". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  3. ↑ Major-General Mike Rouleau
  4. ↑ Lieutenant-General Rouleau assumes responsibilities of the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
  5. 1 2 Defence, National (2013-04-23). "Lieutenant-General M. N. Rouleau, CMM, MSC, CD". aem. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Defence, National (2018-06-13). "New Commander for Canadian Joint Operations Command". gcnws. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  7. ↑ "Michael Rouleau, Canadian Special Forces Commander, Fined $2,000 After Guilty Plea". HuffPost Canada. 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  8. ↑ Defence, National (2020-03-16). "Chief of the Defence Staff announces Lieutenant-General Mike Rouleau as the new Vice Chief of the Defence Staff as part of the 2020 Canadian Armed Forces General and Flag Officer senior appointments, promotions, and retirements". gcnws. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  9. ↑ Stephenson, Mercedes; Cossette, Marc-André; Connolly, Amanda (March 8, 2021). "Canada getting first female vice chief of defence staff after military shake-up". Global News . Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Canadian military's second-in-command resigns role after golfing with Vance - National | Globalnews.ca".
  11. 1 2 "Order of Military Merit List". The Governor General of Canada.
Military offices
Preceded by Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
2020–2021		Succeeded by
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