15 Wing Commander

Colonel Bouchard joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1990. In April 1993, he was awarded his pilot wings at 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School (3 CFFTS) Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. Shortly thereafter, he was posted to 439 Combat Support Squadron (CSS) in Bagotville, Quebec, where he flew the CH-118 Iroquois and the CH-146 Griffon helicopters.

After his posting to Bagotville in 1997, Col Bouchard became a flight instructor at 3 CFFTS, where he flew the CH-139 Jet Ranger helicopter until 2000. Following his tour in Portage La Prairie, he was posted to 1 Canadian Air Division Head Quarter Transport and Rescue Standards and Evaluation Team in Trenton, Ontario, where he held the position of Staff Officer Standard and Evaluation for the CH-146 Griffons and CH-113 Labradors.

In 2003, he was posted on exchange to the United States, with the Department of Homeland Security, where he flew the HH-60-J (Jayhawk) with the U.S. Coast Guard at Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Col Bouchard is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College.

Upon returning to Canada in July 2006, Col Bouchard was posted to Ottawa, where he was employed as a Staff Officer (J5 Plans), in the newly formed Canada Command. During the summer 2008, Col Bouchard was again transferred, and this time made his way to 413 Squadron in Greenwood, NS where he served as a CH-149 Cormorant Pilot and as the Cormorant Flight Commander.

In January 2010, Col Bouchard deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan for the first seven months of the year and served with NATO, as the Chief of Plans (CJ5) for the Kandahar Airfield.

Upon his return to Canada during summer 2010, Col Bouchard moved to Comox, BC where he had the privilege to take command of 442 Squadron and fly the CH-149 Cormorant. After two years in Comox, he proceeded to Ottawa once again, but this time to be employed at National Defence Headquarters by the Chief of Programme, in the Directorate of Defense Programme Coordination, as a Strategic Analyst and Section Head.

In August 2014, Col Bouchard proceeded to the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy. He is a graduate of Senior Course 125. Returning to Canada in February 2015, he completed DP4 along with NSP7 at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto.

Col Bouchard was promoted to his current rank in June of 2015 and appointed Director General Coordination within the Strategic Joint Staff in Ottawa. Col Bouchard retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in May 2016 and joined Transport Canada (TC) as a pilot and Operational Fleet Renewal Coordinator, working in a team that looked after the implementation of two new fleets of helicopters and a simulator for the Canadian Coast Guard. Following almost two and a half years at TC, Colonel Bouchard rejoined the CAF in September 2018 and was employed as Director of Coordination for the Vice Chief of Defence Staff Group.

In 2020-2021, Col Bouchard was employed as the J53 Deputy Assistant Director within the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), and in July 2021 he was posted to Saskatchewan where he assumed command of 15 Wing Moose Jaw.