Lieutenant-Colonel Bob Mitchell, CD
LCol Mitchell hails from Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador. He enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces via the Regular Officer Training Plan in the summer of 1996. His first year was spent at the College Militaire Royale de St. Jean before moving to the Royal Military College of Canada in the summer of 1997. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2001 and was posted to the Canadian Forces Air Navigation School at 17 Wing, Winnipeg, where he was awarded his Air Navigator wings in 2002 and selected for the CP-140 Aurora.
Posted to 405 Long Range Patrol Squadron, 14 Wing Greenwood, LCol Mitchell completed Maritime Operational Aircrew Training (MOAT) in August 2003. His crew won the 2003 O'Brien Competition and subsequently represented Canada at the 2003 Fincastle Competition that was held in Perth, Australia. While still a member of the 405 “Pathfinders”, he upgraded to Navigator Communicator (NAVCOM) A Category and became a qualified Maritime Patrol Crew Commander.
In 2007, LCol Mitchell was posted to 404 Long Range Patrol and Training Squadron where he occupied positions as NAVCOM Instructor, Senior NAVCOM Instructor, NAVCOM Standards, and Tactical Cell Lead. In 2010, still during his time with “The Herd”, he deployed to the Indian Ocean to serve a 5-month counter-piracy tour as the Combined Task Force 151 Air Operations Officer aboard HMS Cornwall.
Posted to 1 Canadian Air Division in 2011, LCol Mitchell occupied the position of Senior Staff Officer Long Rang Patrol 2. Promoted to Major in 2012, LCol Mitchell was moved into A5 Continental Plans and was selected as the Strategy Division Chief for Exercise RIMPAC 12, operating out of the Combined Air Operations Centre at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. In 2013, he was appointed as the Air Component Commander for Operation NUNALIVUT, which is a Northern Domestic Sovereignty Operation in Canada’s High Arctic.
In 2014, LCol Mitchell was posted back to 404 Squadron and became the Tactical Cell Flight Commander, tasked with the implementation of the very first CP-140 Aurora Block III MOAT course. In 2015, he deployed to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as the Operation IMPACT CP-140 Liaison Officer.
In 2016, LCol Mitchell was posted to 415 Long Range Patrol Force Development Squadron and assumed the duties of the Deputy Commanding Officer and was appointed as the Deputy Air Task Force Commander for Operation NANOOK. In 2017, he deployed to Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait as a Long Range Patrol Crew Commander as part of Operation IMPACT, becoming the first 415 Squadron Crew Commander to lead a crew into a theatre of operations in over 10 years.
In 2018, LCol Mitchell left the CP-140 flying community, after amassing over 3500 flying hours, to attend the New Zealand Defence Force’s Advanced Command and Staff Course in Wellington, New Zealand. Graduating with merit, LCol Mitchell was presented with a Master of Strategic Studies from Victoria University of Wellington.
In 2019, LCol Mitchell was posted to Headquarters New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) in Wellington where he represented the Royal Canadian Air Force as an exchange officer, working as the Assistant Director Strategic Engagement – Asia within the NZDF’s Strategic Commitments and Engagement Branch.
LCol Mitchell was promoted to his current rank in June 2022 and became the Commanding Officer of 19 Operational Support Squadron from July 2022 to June 2025. He became Wing Commander of 9 Wing Gander in July 2025.
LCol Mitchell is an engaged member of the local community and has been a volunteer firefighter for 16 years. He is married to Renee Mitchell and they have two sons, Hayden and Jackson.
