Paul Wynnyk

Lieutenant General Paul Francis Wynnyk, CMM, MSM, CD (born June 29, 1964) is a former Canadian Army officer who served from 2016 to 2018 as Commander of the Canadian Army. On July 16, 2018, he was named Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, until his resignation and retirement in July 2019.

Paul Wynnyk
Lt. Gen. Paul Wynnyk
Born	June 29, 1964
Allegiance	Canada
Service/branch	Canadian Army
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	1 Combat Engineer Regiment 1 Area Support Group Land Force Western Area Canadian Forces Intelligence Command Commander of the Canadian Army Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
Battles/wars	War in Afghanistan
Awards	Commander of the Order of Military Merit Meritorious Service Medal Canadian Forces Decoration

Early life

Paul Wynnyk is of Ukrainian descent, the grandson of emigrants in Alberta from Radvantsi, Lviv region, in Western Ukraine.[1] He was born in Edmonton on June 29, 1964, and was raised in the village of Breton, Alberta.[2]

Military career

Wynnyk attended Royal Roads Military College and the Royal Military College of Canada, and he was commissioned into the Canadian Military Engineers in 1986.[3] He became commanding officer of 1 Combat Engineer Regiment in Edmonton in 1997, commander of 1 Area Support Group in 2004 and Assistant Commanding General at the Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan in March 2009.[3] He went on to be commander of Land Force Western Area in 2010, Deputy Commander of the Canadian Army in 2012 and Commander of the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command and Chief of Defence Intelligence in July 2014.[3]

In January 2016, it was announced that he would become Chief of the Army Staff and Commander of the Canadian Army.[4] In his speech during the ceremony, Wynnyk gave credit to his parents for supporting him on the path to this point in his career. "My mom Joan, who is here today, has watched and supported my journey in uniform from cub scout, to army cadet, to reservist, to regular officer," he said. About his late father Walter, Wynnyk said, "As both my high school principal and the commanding officer of my army cadet corps, it was he who encouraged me to embark upon a career of military service.[4] On July 16, 2018, he was named Vice Chief of the Defence Staff.[5]

In July 2019, Wynnyk resigned as Vice Chief of the Defence Staff after he claimed that Chief of the Defence Staff General Jonathan Vance planned to replace him as the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff with Vice-Admiral Mark Norman. Wynnyk then claimed these plans were reversed when Vice-Admiral Norman settled with the government and retired from the military. Wynnyk was the fifth vice-chief to serve under Vance.[6]

Post-military career

In October 2019, Wynnyk was appointed as Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs for the Government of Alberta.[7]

Awards and decorations

Wynnyk's personal awards and decorations include the following:

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Order of Military Merit (CMM)	Appointed Commander (CMM) on 26 September 2013[8] Appointed Officer (OMM) on 21 September 2006 [8]
	Meritorious Service Medal (MSM)	Decoration awarded on 26 April 2011[9] Military division
	South-West Asia Service Medal	with AFGHANISTAN Clasp
	General Campaign Star	with 1 rotation Clasp (minimum of 210 days)
	Special Service Medal	with NATO-OTAN Clasp
	Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal
	United Nation Advance Mission in Cambodia Medal	UNAMIC
	United Nation Transitional Authority in Cambodia Medal	UNTAC
	United Nation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Medal	MONUC / MONUSCO
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	Decoration awarded in 2012[10] Canadian version
	Canadian Forces Decoration (CD)	with two Clasp for 32 years of services
	Alberta Centennial Medal	Decoration awarded in 2005
	Order of Military Merit (Brazil)	Decoration awarded 28 July 2018[11] Grand Officer level Federative Republic of Brazil award
	Order of Military Merit José María Córdova	Decoration awarded 29 September 2018[11] Grand Cross level Republic of Colombia award
	Baryaal Darajaah Uak Medal	Decoration awarded 4 February 2011 Successful 1st Grade Islamic Republic of Afghanistan award
	Legion of Merit	Decoration awarded 28 May 2011[12] Officer level United States award

He was a qualified Paratrooper and as such wore the Canadian Forces Jump Wings
Command Commendation

References

1. "New commander of Canadian army has Ukrainian roots". Unian. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
2. Lydia Neufeld. "New head of Canada's Army from Breton, Alberta". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, July 14, 2016.
3. "Major General PF Wynnyk: Biography". Canadian Army. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
4. "Top ranks of Canadian Forces get shake-up with new army, navy commanders". CBC. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
5. New Commander for the Canadian Army: changes in the Canadian army command, July 16, 2018
6. "Vice-chief of defence staff resigns, citing plan Mark Norman was to replace him - National | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. July 9, 2019.
7. "Former Canadian Forces second in command appointed municipal affairs top civil servant | Edmonton Journal". October 5, 2019.
8. "Order of Military Merit List". The Governor General of Canada.
9. "Meritorious Service Decorations List". The Governor General of Canada.
10. "The Queen Diamond Jubilee Medal List". The Governor General of Canada.
11. "Canada Gazette, Part 1". Gouvernment of Canada.
12. "Canada Gazette" (PDF). Gouvernment of Canada.

External links

Media related to Paul Wynnyk at Wikimedia Commons

Military offices
Preceded by Marquis Hainse	Commander of the Canadian Army 2016–2018	Succeeded by Jean-Marc Lanthier
Preceded by Mark Norman	Vice Chief of the Defence Staff 2018–2019	Succeeded by Jean-Marc Lanthier