Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Craig Alan Baines is a retired

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

officer who served as

Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy ( French: ''Commandant de la Marine royale canadienne'') is the title of the institutional head of the Royal Canadian Navy. This appointment also includes the title of Chief of the Naval Staff and is based at ...

from 2021 to 2022.

Personal

Baines hails from

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

and before his military career was a national judo medallist and graduate from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

Military career

He was appointed Commander Canadian Fleet Atlantic in July 2014 before being promoted to Commander

Maritime Forces Atlantic In the Canadian Forces, Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) is responsible for the fleet training and operational readiness of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. It was once referred to as Canadian Atlantic Station. ...

in 2017. He joined Maritime Command in 1987 and completed the Forces Regular Officer Training Program. He served as navigation officer on a number of ships before completing an operations course. In 2004 he served as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of , and in 2007 he was appointed commanding officer of the . In 2010 he served as the base commander of

Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt (CFB Esquimalt) is the Royal Canadian Navy's Pacific Coast naval base and home port to Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters. , 4,411 military personnel and 2,762 civilians ...

. This was followed by a stint as special advisor to the Chief of Defence Staff, after which he became fleet commander of Canadian Fleet Atlantic. He became

on January 12, 2021. He stood down in May 2022 pending retirement, and retired in late 2022.

Post military career

In October 2022, it was announced that Baines had joined Modest Tree as a strategic advisor, for the company’s efforts in the marine, aerospace and defence industries.

Controversies

Baines apologised after it was reported that he had played golf with General

Jonathan Vance General (Canada), General Jonathan Holbert Vance (born January 3, 1964) is a retired Canadian Armed Forces, Canadian Forces officer who served as a General (Canada), general in the Canadian Army. Vance was the Chief of the Defence Staff (Canad ...

while the latter was under investigation for alleged abuse towards female military staff.

Honours and decorations

Baines's personal awards and decorations included the following:

CAN Order of Military Merit Commander ribbon

Command Commendation

Notes

References

External links

, - Living people Canadian admirals Commanders of the Royal Canadian Navy Year of birth missing (living people) University of Manitoba alumni Commanders of the Order of Military Merit (Canada) Canadian military personnel from Saskatchewan 20th-century Canadian military personnel 21st-century Canadian military personnel {{Canada-mil-bio-stub