Canada

Canada National Military Representative

Brigadier General Dany Poitras

Brigadier-General (BGen) Dany Poitras was born in Joliette, QC. He joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1996 as a direct entry officer and was awarded his pilot’s wings in 1999. He started his military career flying the CH146 Griffon helicopter with postings to 427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron in Petawawa, 403 Helicopter Operational Training Squadron in Gagetown as an instructor pilot, and 444 Combat Support Squadron in Goose Bay.

In 2009, he transitioned to the search-and-rescue (SAR) community with a posting to 413 Transport and Rescue (T&R) Squadron in Greenwood flying the CH149 Cormorant helicopter. He eventually commanded the “Tigers” at 424 (T&R) Squadron in Trenton and in July 2019, he took Command of 19 Wing in Comox where he led the formation through challenging times, namely progressing the CC295 Kingfisher transition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BGen Poitras deployed in Bosnia and in Afghanistan. His staff experience includes 5 Wing Operations Officer, the Royal Canadian Air Force Aerospace Warfare Centre, and the 1st Canadian Division Headquarters. He also served at ADM (Pol) in Ottawa as the Director Western Hemisphere Policy and at the NATO Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) Headquarters in Ramstein, Germany as the Integrated Air Missile Defence and Offensive Operations Branch Head where he was concurrently the Commanding Officer for Canadian Armed Forces personnel in Germany.

BGen Poitras has accumulated more than 4000 flying hours over his career. He has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, a certificate in engineering management, and a master of defence studies. He attended the Joint Command and Staff Program in Toronto and the United States Air Force Air War College program in Alabama. He was promoted to his current rank in 2024 and he currently serves as the Commander of Formation Europe and as the National Military Representative to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) for NATO in Mons, Belgium. BGen Poitras is married and the couple has two wonderful daughters.

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