14 Wing Commander - Biography

Colonel Luc Vachon, CD

Colonel (Col) Luc Vachon was born in Sherbrooke, QC. He enlisted in the Primary Reserve Force as a Health Care Administration Officer with 52nd Field Ambulance in 1992. After completing a bachelor's degree in business administration at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières in 1998, he transitioned to the Regular Force in 2000 as an Airborne Combat System Officer (ACSO).

Upon successfully completing ACSO Wings training in 2001, he was assigned to 407 Maritime Patrol Squadron (Sqn) at 19 Wing Comox, where he served as a Navigator/Communicator aboard the CP-140 Aurora. Throughout his tenure with 407 Sqn, he participated in Operation SIRIUS, providing vital support to the NATO coalition campaign against terrorism, engaged in numerous Operation CARIBBE initiatives, and contributed to both domestic operations and international exercises. In July 2006, he was reassigned to 404 Long Range Patrol (LRP) and Training Sqn as an Instructor, where he spearheaded the development of the CP-140 Aurora Incremental Modernization Project Block I to Block II Conversion Training. In April 2009, he assumed the role of Aide-de-Camp to the Commander at Canada Command Headquarters in Ottawa, during the active periods of Operation PODIUM and Operation CADENCE.

In August 2010, he achieved the rank of Major and was posted to 405 LRP Sqn at 14 Wing in Greenwood. Over a two-year tenure, he was appointed as the Aircrew Flight Commander, and undertook an eight-month deployment to Afghanistan as the Task Force Kandahar Air Lessons Learned Officer. Following a year at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto in 2012, he graduated from the Joint Command and Staff Programme 39 with a Master of Defence Studies. In 2013, he returned to 405 LRP Sqn, assuming the role of Deputy Commanding Officer. In 2014, after only one year, he was assigned to the Combined Air Operations Centre Strategy Division within 1 Canadian Air Division (1 CAD) Headquarters in Winnipeg, and was appointed as the lead planner for Operation IMPACT rotation 0. In 2015, he undertook the responsibilities of Executive Assistant to the Commander of 1 CAD. 

He achieved the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in June 2016 and continued his service in Winnipeg as the Senior Staff Officer for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance. In June 2017, he led the Air Task Force — Iraq as the Commanding Officer of the Operation Support Element during the Operation IMPACT deployment. Post-deployment, he was subsequently appointed as the Deputy Director Fleet Readiness of 1 CAD. In 2018, he assumed the position of Commanding Officer of 405 LRP Sqn. In 2020, he was assigned to Canadian Forces College Toronto as a member of the Military Faculty, serving as Directing Staff and providing instruction for the Joint Command and Staff Programme. 

Col Vachon attained his current rank in 2022 and was designated as the Joint Air Component Coordination Element Director within the Canadian Joint Operations Command.

Col Vachon assumed command of 14 Wing Greenwood on 23 August 2024.