4 Wing Chief Warrant Officer - Biography

Chief Warrant Officer D.B. Mistry, MMM, CD

Chief Warrant Officer Dipen Mistry was born in Leicester, England, and moved to Canada at age 10. He enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces on 28 February 1995, completing his infantry training and serving as a full-time reservist in various infantry units until 2001. During this time, he studied Criminology and Criminal Justice with a concentration in Psychology at university. In 2001, he transferred to the Canadian Forces Intelligence Branch.

In early 2002, CWO Mistry was posted to the Canadian Forces Electronic Warfare Centre (CFEWC) at Shirley’s Bay and deployed on Operation APOLLO, providing intelligence support to Long Range Patrol and Tactical Airlift units in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. In 2003, he was posted to 14 Wing Greenwood, offering intelligence support to Long Range Patrol and Transport and Rescue Squadrons, as well as non-combat operations like counter-drug operations with the RCMP and fisheries patrols with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).

In August 2005, CWO Mistry was selected as an Intelligence Specialist with the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM), serving for nearly a decade in various roles and deployments both nationally and internationally. As a graduate of the Joint Staff Operations Programme, he contributed to operational and ISR planning during multiple special operations missions.

In July 2014, CWO Mistry was posted to the NATO Intelligence Fusion Centre at RAF Molesworth, U.K., as a High Value Target Analyst with the Special Operations Intelligence Division. He was appointed acting Deputy and Division Chief SOID in April 2015 while also serving as the Division Senior Enlisted Leader (SEL). He played a key role in setting up a Special Operations Command and Control Element to support NATO Maritime Command and Operation ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR, and shifted the division’s focus to counter the Russian and Hybrid Warfare threat along NATO’s eastern flank and terrorism threats on NATO’s southern flank.

Returning to Canada in August 2016, CWO Mistry was posted to 2 Expeditionary Readiness Centre (2 ERC) in CFB Bagotville as a Subject Matter Expert on Intelligence. He served as an Observer, Controller, Trainer (OCT) for RCAF Expeditionary Operations, focusing on operations centres and the C2 construct, and was the senior Intelligence Operator and Meteorological Technician occupation advisor for the base.

In late 2017, CWO Mistry was selected as the UK Public Duties (Queen’s Guard) Air Task Force MWO, planning and executing the first-ever RCAF mounting of the Queen’s Guard in the UK from May to July 2018. In July 2018, he became the Executive Assistant (EA) to the RCAF Command CWO, gaining a deep understanding of strategic level headquarters and joint command relationships. He then served as the 21 Aerospace Control and Warning Squadron (21 AC&W Sqn) CWO from 2020 to 2022, the Air Environment CWO Career Manager with Director Senior Appointments in Ottawa from 2022 to 2023, and was appointed 4 Wing and CFB Cold Lake CWO on 13 July 2023. He is also the current Joint Task Force Nijmegen CWO.

CWO Mistry’s decorations include a Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation, Commander Canadian Special Operations Forces Command Commendation, and he is a Member of the Order of Military Merit.