Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Jennifer J. Bennett, is a retired

Canadian Forces Naval Reserve The Naval Reserve (NAVRES, ) is the Primary Reserve component of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). The primary mission of the NAVRES is to force generate sailors and teams for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) operations, including: domestic safety operati ...

officer. In 2011, she served as Chief of Reserves and Cadets. As such, she was the highest ranking reservist in the

Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

and the most senior woman in the

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 ...

. She served as

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of HMCS ''Malahat'' from 1995 to 1998, and as Commander of the Naval Reserve from 2007 to 2011. She was named as one of Canada's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2011.

Honours

In 2004, Bennett was appointed an Officer of the Order of Military Merit (OMM) in recognition of "outstanding meritorious service in duties of responsibility". In 2012, she promoted to Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM) in recognition of "outstanding meritorious service and demonstrated leadership in duties of great responsibility". In June 2015, Bennett was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(LLD) degree by the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

Awards and decorations

Bennett's personal awards and decorations include the following:

CAN Order of Military Merit Commander and Officer

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation

CDS Commendation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Jennifer Living people Canadian female military personnel Commanders of the Order of Military Merit (Canada) Canadian admirals Royal Canadian Navy officers Year of birth missing (living people)