Colonel Jody G. Hanson, OMM, CD
Colonel (Col.) Jody Hanson was born and raised in Bright Sand, SK. She joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1996 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration with Honours from the Royal Military College (RMC) of Canada, Kingston, ON, in 2000. She is a graduate of the Joint Command and Staff Programme 39 at Canadian Forces College, Toronto, ON, and holds two Master’s Degrees: the first in Defence Studies from RMC, and the second in Business Administration from the Australian Institute of Business.
Col. Hanson has operationally qualified in two RCAF occupations: Air Combat Systems Officer and Aerospace Control Officer. She acquired 2,000 hours on the CC-130 Hercules over the course of her postings at 436 Transport Squadron and 413 Search & Rescue Squadron, and she qualified as an Instrument Flight Rules Air Traffic Controller at 8 Wing Trenton, ON. Col. Hanson’s deployment experience includes tours on Op APOLLO, Op CARAVAN, Op ATHENA, and Op CALUMET.
Throughout her career, Col. Hanson has been privileged with command opportunities such as 15 Wing Air Traffic Control Unit in Moose Jaw, SK and NORAD Canadian Detachment Western Air Defense Sector, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, USA.
She has served in a variety of staff positions in Canada and the US to include posts within RCAF Aerospace Warfare Center, Canadian Joint Operations Command, and as the Commander Center Director at NORAD-USNORTHCOM Headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO. She recently completed her tenure as the A3/Combined Aerospace Operations Centre Director at 1 Canadian Air Division/Canadian NORAD Region Headquarters, where she was responsible for the execution of RCAF operations across Canada and the world.
On 31 July 2024, Col. Hanson assumed command of 17 Wing/CFB Winnipeg.
