1 Canadian Air Division / Canadian NORAD Region Commander

Major-General CA (Chris) McKenna, OMM, MSC, MSM, CD

Major-General (MGen) McKenna joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1994, initially as an Army Reservist, and then attended the Royal Military College of Canada receiving his degree in Chemical and Materials Engineering in 1999. He also holds a Master’s degree in Defence Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada (2013).

MGen McKenna earned his RCAF Pilot wings in 2002 and served as a Rotary Wing Tactical Aviation and Special Operations Aviation pilot in the RCAF. He has commanded at the Flight, Squadron, Wing, and Task Force level and has served in a variety of command and staff positions including postings in CANSOFCOM units, RCAF HQ and in the Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) HQ.

MGen McKenna deployed twice to Bosnia in 2003/04 as part of NATO’s Stabilization Force (SFOR), and twice to Afghanistan; with CANSOFCOM in 2005/06 and as Officer Commanding (OC) Chinook in 2010/11, flying in support of Canada’s combat mission. In 2018/19, he deployed to Africa as the Commander of Canada’s Air Task Force (ATF) in Mali as part of the UN’s Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

MGen McKenna commanded 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron (THS) from 2014 to 2016 flying the CH147F Chinook and he commanded 1 Wing, the RCAF’s Tactical Aviation Wing, from 2020 to 2021. From 2021 to 2024, he served as the RCAF’s Director General of Air and Space Force Development, working to set the requirements and coordinate the acquisition for several key new RCAF capabilities such as the CC330 Husky MRTT, the P8A Poseidon, and the MQ9B RPAS.

MGen McKenna has over 2600 flying hours in both Special Operations and conventional rotary wing aircraft. He is a graduate of the Canadian Army Command and Staff College, the Joint Command and Staff Programme (JCSP), the National Security Programme (NSP), and he has earned US Army Senior Aviator Wings.

MGen McKenna is an Officer of the Order of Military Merit (OMM) and has been awarded the Meritorious Service Cross (MSC), and the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM).

MGen McKenna was promoted to his current rank in 2024. He is married to a retired Canadian Army Health Services Officer, and they have two lovely young girls.