Published June 13, 2022
After more than 30 years of loyal and dedicated service to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Military Engineers Branch, BGen Chris Ayotte, OMM, CD, will retire on 04 July 2022. In recognition of his service, a Depart with Dignity (DWD) ceremony will take place during the afternoon of Thursday, 23 June 2022 at the Pavilion building located on Carling Campus. Please contact LCol B.J. Aho for details related to in-person or virtual (MS Teams) attendance. Anecdotes and retirement wishes may be sent to LCol B.J. Aho at Ben.Aho@forces.gc.ca.
Brigadier-General (BGen) Ayotte enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1992 under the Reserve Entry Training Program. He first attended Royal Roads Military College in Victoria, and then graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), Kingston, in 1996 with an undergraduate degree in Chemical and Materials Engineering. Upon completion of Military Engineer training in Chilliwack, he served in 1 CER, CFSME, 2 CER, and finally 4 ESR as the Commanding Officer.
BGen Ayotte’s international deployments have been to the Balkans, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. He has served on multiple domestic operations across the country in response to floods, ice storms, forest fires, hurricanes, and ground search and rescue. His extra regimental appointments include service with 1 Cdn Div HQ as the CO DART / J35, Canadian Army HQ as DAS 2, 4 Cdn Div HQ as the COS, and RMC as the Director of Cadets.
BGen Ayotte is a graduate of the Australian Command and Staff Course in Canberra, Australia and the National Security Programme at CFC in Toronto. He assumed the role of Chief of Staff Army Strategy in August 2020.