7 Wing (Space) Commander

Colonel Alain Lafrenière, CD

In January of 1999, Colonel Lafrenière joined the Canadian Forces under the Officer Candidate Training Plan. Upon Wings graduation at the Canadian Forces Air Navigation School in 2002, he was posted to 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron in Shearwater, Nova Scotia, to fly as a Tactical Coordinator on the CH-124 Sea King. For the following six years, he was a member of the Helicopter Air Detachments onboard NCSM Ville-de-Quebec, HMCS Halifax, HMCS Preserver and HMCS Charlottetown. This tour included deployments at sea on NATO Standing Naval Force Atlantic in 2004, and on Operation ALTAIR in the Middle East in 2007-2008. Col Lafrenière was subsequently posted to 406 Maritime Operational Training Squadron where he occupied the positions of Tactical Coordinator Instructor and Navigator Training Flight Commander.

In 2010, career progression steered him temporarily away from a flying position and he was posted to the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Studies to attend the Aerospace Systems Course. A year later, he was moved to the Directorate of Air Requirements (DAR) within the Chief of the Air Force Staff in Ottawa, where he occupied the positions of Maritime Helicopter Mission System Analyst and Section Head for DAR-3 Maritime Aviation, Electronic Warfare, and Avionics.

In 2013, he was selected to attend the Joint Command and Staff Programme (JCPS) at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto. Upon graduation from JCSP, he was posted back to 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, where he deployed as detachment commander onboard HMCS Fredericton for Operation REASSURANCE. In his last year at 423 Squadron, he occupied the position of Squadron Deputy Commanding Officer. In the summer of 2016, he was selected as the first Canadian to attend the year-long United States Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.

In the summer of 2017, he had the privilege to be selected to command 406 Maritime Operational Training Squadron. For the following two years, he led the implementation of aircrew and maintainer training for the newly acquired fleet of CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopters. Upon completion of an exciting command tour at 406 Squadron, Col Lafrenière was posted as Coordinator for the Director General – Operations at the Canadian Joint Operational Command headquarters, participating in the support and oversight of all Canadian Armed Forces missions, domestically and abroad. In the fall of 2020, Col Lafrenière was selected to serve as the Military Assistant to the Governor General of Canada. In the summer of 2021, he was promoted to his current rank and posted to Washington, DC, as the Canadian Forces Air and Space Attaché.

Col Lafrenière holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Computer Science from the University of Manitoba, a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Manitoba, a Master of Defence Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, and a Master of Philosophy in Military Strategy from the United States Air Force Air University.