Mike Jeffery

After a short period as a soldier apprentice, Jeffery was commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery in 1967,[1] rising over his career to be the Commanding Officer of the Third Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery.[1]

In 1989 he was selected to be Canadian Contingent Commander to the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) in Namibia.[1] He was subsequently Commandant of the Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College and then Commander of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division.[1]

He served as Chief of the Land Staff from August 2000 to May 2003.[1] In that role he expressed concerns that the commitment of two six-month rotations of about 1,800 soldiers to Afghanistan meant about a third of the army’s deployable forces were committed internationally.[2] He retired from military service in the rank of Lieutenant General in 2003.[1]

In 2000, he was promoted in the Order of Military Merit to the grade of Commander.[1] In 2004 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the Royal Military College of Canada.[1] He is also a Distinguished Alumni at the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute.[3]