Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

Michael John Hood is a retired senior

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

officer who was

Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force () is the title of the institutional head of the Royal Canadian Air Force. This appointment also includes the title of Chief of the Air Force Staff and is based at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa ...

from 2015 until 2018.

Early life and education

In addition to holding a master's degree in International Relations from

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

, Hood also holds certifications from Canada's National Security Program and the United States' Air Force Command and Staff College.

Career

Hood joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1985. He earned his Air Combat Systems Officer Wings in 1988. Most of his flight career was spent on the

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

. Hood also served a tour as an Electronic Warfare Officer on the CC-144 Challenger. After serving as Commanding Officer of both 429 Tactical Airlift Squadron and 436 Tactical Airlift Squadron, he became Plans Officer at Canadian Expeditionary Force Command Headquarters in January 2006. Following this, he became Commander of

8 Wing Trenton Canadian Forces Base Trenton (also CFB Trenton), formerly RCAF Station Trenton, is a Canadian Forces base located within the city of Quinte West, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is the hub ...

in June 2007. Hood went on to become Director General Air Force Development in 2010, Deputy Director General of International Security Policy in June 2011 and Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force in September 2012. After that he became Director of Staff of the Strategic Joint Staff in June 2013 and finally

in July 2015. He retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in May 2018.

Post-retirement

Following his career in the military, in 2018 Hood went on to become an executive in a Vancouver-based energy and mining firm. In May 2020, Hood wrote an op-ed in the

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

entitled "Securing Canadian sovereignty in a post-

COVID Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

world."

Awards and decorations

As witness the photograph by the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', Hood had received as of his appointment to RCAF Commander in July 2015 the following Orders and Decorations:

* He was a qualified RCAF Air Combat Systems Officer and as such wore the Royal Canadian Air Forces Air Combat systems Officer badge.

Notes

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hood, Michael Living people Royal Canadian Air Force generals Commanders of the Order of Military Merit (Canada) 1967 births Date of birth missing (living people)