Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force
Major-General D.P. O'Reilly, OMM, CD
Major-General Denis O’Reilly grew up in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1991. He received his Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) pilot wings in 1995 and was posted to 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron (Edmonton, Alberta) where he flew the CH-135 Twin-Huey and later the CH-146 Griffon helicopter.
From 2000 to 2003, he was selected for foreign exchange duties with 664 Squadron Army Air Corps (Dishforth, United Kingdom) where he flew the Lynx anti-tank helicopter. His duties included Squadron Operations Officer and Squadron Second-in-Command. Upon promotion to Major in 2003, he was appointed Officer Commanding (OC) 664 Squadron.
Major-General O’Reilly returned to Canada in 2003 and served in various Flight Commander and operational positions in Gagetown, New Brunswick, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Kingston, Ontario. Promoted to the rank of Colonel in 2015, he was appointed Director Air Force Training until 2016 when he returned to his hometown of Moose Jaw to assume command of 15 Wing, home of RCAF pilot training and the Canadian Forces Snowbirds air demonstration team.
In August 2020, Major-General O’Reilly was posted to 2 Canadian Air Division as the Commander. Following two years leading individual training and education for the RCAF, he was posted in August 2022 to the Office of the Chief of the Defence Staff as Chief of Staff. In June 2023, he was appointed as Commander, Canadian Defence Academy, and promoted to his current rank in August 2023. In June 2025, Major-General O’Reilly was posted to the Air Staff and, in July 2025, he was appointed to the role of Deputy Commander, RCAF.
Major-General O’Reilly has served on operational deployments to Haiti (1996), Kosovo (1999), and Kuwait (2014). He is a graduate of the Advanced Aerospace Operations Course, the Joint Command and Staff Program, and the United States Air Force Air War College. He holds a Bachelor of Philosophy degree and a Masters of Defence Studies. He was appointed to the Order of Military Merit in November 2019.
Major-General O’Reilly and his wife have seven children.