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 ...

Joseph Aimé Jean Yvan Blondin CMM, CD, usually given as J Y Blondin or Yvan Blondin, 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 2012 until 2015.

Early and family life

Yvan Blondin grew up in

Aylmer, Quebec Aylmer is a List of former municipalities in Quebec, former city in Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Ottawa River and along Quebec Route 148, Route 148. In January 2002, it amalgamated into the city of Gatineau, which is ...

(now

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

). He is married to Jinny Lamoureux.

Career

Blondin joined the

Canadian 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 ...

in 1980 and completed his flight training in 1982. He was assigned to fly

Lockheed T-33 The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

jet trainers for his first operational tour.Lieutenant-General Yvan Blondin
Royal Canadian Air Force In 1986, he underwent fighter pilot training on the CF-5 and CF-18, and became part of the first group of pilots flying the CF-18 with 433 Squadron in Bagotville, Quebec in 1988. He became Commanding Officer of

425 Tactical Fighter Squadron 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron (, also "Alouette" () Squadron, is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. It operates McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet, CF-18 Hornet fighter jets from CFB Bagotville in Quebec, Canada. The squadron was originally for ...

at Bagotville in 2000 (in which role he supported

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

forces in the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

), a member of the Canadian staff in

NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and pr ...

Headquarters in 2002 and Commander of

3 Wing Bagotville Canadian Forces Base Bagotville , commonly referred to as CFB Bagotville, and also known as Bagotville Airport or Saguenay-Bagotville Airport, is a Canadian Forces base west of La Baie, Bagotville in the city of Saguenay, Quebec, Saguenay. Locat ...

in 2004. He was deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, as Director of Staff in

ISAF The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined t ...

Headquarters, in 2006 and then assigned as Deputy Commander Force Generation at

1 Canadian Air Division 1 Canadian Air Division (1 Cdn Air Div) () is the operational-level command and control formation of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Prior to 2006 the official abbreviation for the division was 1 CAD. It is commanded by an air force major-ge ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

in 2007. He attended the Space Operations Course for senior leaders at the National Security Space Institute in January 2008 and served as the Commander of 1 Canadian Air Division / Canadian

Region from July 2009 to July 2011 when he was appointed Assistant Chief of the Air Staff. He became

on September 27, 2012.

Notes

References

External links

1st Canadian Air Division Biography of Major-General J. Y. (Yvan) Blondin, OMM, CD
(English) , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Blondin, Yvan Commanders of the Order of Military Merit (Canada) Living people Military personnel from Montreal Royal Canadian Air Force generals Year of birth missing (living people)