Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

(Joseph Henri Paul) Marc Caron, CMM, MSM, CD (born June 1, 1954) is a former

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

soldier. Caron served as an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

officer and Chief of the Land Staff of the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Ai ...

Early life

Caron was born in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

, Canada, on June 1, 1954. He holds a baccalaureate in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

Military career

Caron enrolled in the Canadian Forces in October 1971 and after graduating from the Officer Cadet Training Programme, was commissioned in May 1973. As a junior officer he served with the 3rd Battalion, Royal 22^e Régiment in Quebec from May 1973, with the 1st Airborne Commando in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

from April 1974, with the 1st Battalion, Royal 22^e Régiment in

Lahr Lahr (officially Lahr/Schwarzwald since 30 September 1978) (); gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Lohr) is a town in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany, approximately 50 km north of Freiburg im Breisgau, 40 km southeast of Strasbourg, and 95&n ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

from August 1976 and with the

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designat ...

Lemgo Lemgo (; nds, Lemge, Lemje) is a small university town in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated between the Teutoburg Forest and the Weser Uplands, 25 km east of Bielefeld and 70 km west of Hannover. ...

, Germany from January 1978. He became a student at the

Royal Military College of Science The Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) was a British postgraduate school, research institution and training provider with origins dating back to 1772. It became part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in 2009, and ceased to exist ...

Shrivenham Shrivenham is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Faringdon. The village is close to the county boundary with Wiltshire and about east-northeast of Swindon. The 2011 Census rec ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, in 1981, and then at the

Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College The Canadian Army Command and Staff College (CACSC), formerly the Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College, is a school for officers of the Canadian Forces, specializing in staff and army operations courses. It is located at Fort Frontenac, ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toront ...

in 1982. Caron became a company commander in the 3rd Battalion, Royal 22^e Régiment in Quebec in August 1982 and then became a student at the Canadian Forces Staff College in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, Ontario in 1984. He joined the Project Management Office, Anti-Armour Projects at National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ), in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

in June 1985 before becoming

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) 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 given wide latit ...

of 3rd Battalion, Royal 22^e Régiment in Quebec in 1988. He was appointed head of operations staff in the Land Force Command Headquarters in July 1990 before becoming a student at the

U.S. Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military offic ...

in 1994. He was made Director Force Concepts and Director Land Requirements at NDHQ in July 1994 and then Chief of Staff of the

Kosovo Verification Mission The 1998-1999 Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM) was an OSCE mission to verify that the Serbian and Yugoslav forces were complying with the UN October Agreement to end atrocities in Kosovo, withdraw armed forces from Kosovo, and abide by a ceas ...

of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

in the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Y ...

in November 1998. Caron was selected to be Commander,

Land Force Quebec Area Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...

, in July 2000, and then Assistant Chief of the Land Staff in May 2003. He became Acting Chief of the Land Staff in November 2003 and then Chief of the Land Staff in February 2005.

Retirement

He retired from the forces in June 2006 and was succeeded by Lieutenant General Andrew Leslie. Today he works for the

Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces DCAF - ; Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (French: ''Centre pour la gouvernance du secteur de la sécurité, Genève,'' German: ''Das Genfer Zentrum für die Gouvernanz des Sicherheitssektors'') is an intergovernmental foundation-b ...

(DCAF), within its International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT).International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT)

References

External links

Official CF Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caron, Marc 1954 births Living people Canadian generals Commanders of the Order of Military Merit (Canada) Military personnel from Montreal Recipients of the Meritorious Service Decoration University of Ottawa alumni Royal 22nd Regiment officers Commanders of the Canadian Army United States Army War College alumni