By Canadian Press

Surprise retirement leaves military searching for sixth vice-chief in four years

Mar 11, 2020 | 9:03 AM

OTTAWA — Canada’s military is searching for its sixth second-in-command in under four years following Lt.-Gen. Jean-Marc Lanthier’s surprise decision to retire this summer.

In a statement, Lanthier says he made the decision to retire as vice-chief of the defence staff after more than 30 years in uniform to spend more time with his wife and children.

Lanthier was installed as vice-chief last July, bringing what many hoped would be some much-needed stability to the position after years of churn that first started with Vice-Admiral Mark Norman’s suspension in January 2017.

Norman himself had served five months as vice-chief before he was suspended and eventually removed altogether due to an RCMP investigation that led to him being charged with breach of trust for allegedly leaking government secrets — a charge that was eventually dropped.

Two other military officers — Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd and Lt.-Gen. Alain Parent — served as acting vice-chiefs of the defence staff while Norman was being investigated before Lt.-Gen. Paul Wynnyk was appointed as his full-time replacement in July 2018.

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But Wynnyk announced his own retirement last summer after chief of the defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance tried to reappoint Norman into the position, only to see Norman accept a financial settlement from the government and retire.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2020.

The Canadian Press