Yvan Blondin

Lieutenant-General Joseph Aimé Jean Yvan Blondin CMM, CD, usually given as J Y Blondin or Yvan Blondin, is a retired senior Royal Canadian Air Force officer who was Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force from 2012 until 2015.

Yvan Blondin
Lieutenant-General J. Yvan Blondin
BornMontreal, Quebec, Canada
AllegianceCanada
Service/branchRoyal Canadian Air Force[lower-alpha 1]
Years of service1980 – 2015
RankLieutenant General
Commands held425 Tactical Fighter Squadron
3 Wing Bagotville
1 Canadian Air Division
Royal Canadian Air Force
Battles/warsWar in Afghanistan
Military intervention against ISIL
AwardsCommander of the Order of Military Merit
Canadian Forces Decoration

Early and family life

Yvan Blondin grew up in Aylmer, Quebec (now Gatineau).[1] He is married to Jinny Lamoureux.[2]

Career

Blondin joined the Canadian Forces in 1980 and completed his flight training in 1982. He was assigned to fly Lockheed T-33 jet trainers for his first operational tour.[3] 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 at Bagotville in 2000 (in which role he supported NATO forces in the former Yugoslavia), a member of the Canadian staff in NORAD Headquarters in 2002 and Commander of 3 Wing Bagotville in 2004.[3] He was deployed to Afghanistan, as Director of Staff in ISAF Headquarters, in 2006 and then assigned as Deputy Commander Force Generation at 1 Canadian Air Division in Winnipeg in 2007.[3] He attended the Space Operations Course for senior leaders at the National Security Space Institute in January 2008[4] and served as the Commander of 1 Canadian Air Division / Canadian NORAD Region from July 2009[5] to July 2011 when he was appointed Assistant Chief of the Air Staff.[6] He became Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force on September 27, 2012.[7]

Notes
  1. Known as Air Command until 2011

References
  1. "Commander - Royal Canadian Air Force".
  2. "What's in a name?" (PDF). Voxair. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  3. Lieutenant-General Yvan Blondin Archived 2014-10-08 at the Wayback Machine Royal Canadian Air Force
  4. "Space executive course provides pinpoint space education, by Ed White, 21 February 2008" (PDF). Space Observer - Peterson Air Force Base. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  5. "New Commander of 1 Canadian Air Division / Canadian NORAD Region, July 9, 2009". Canada's Air Force. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  6. Canadian Forces Biography of Biography of Major-General J. Y. (Yvan) Blondin, OMM, CD Archived June 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Deschamps to retire; Blondin promoted, in RCAF reshuffle". Skies. September 4, 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
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