Colonel Commandant - Canada

Canada

The Canadian Forces widely uses Colonels Commandant as honorary appointments to act as advocates for members and to advise on relevant policy matters. In Reserve Regiments there has usually been an Honorary Colonel and an Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel, while in the Regular Force, the title used is Colonel Commandant or Colonel of the Regiment. Many units also have a Colonel-in-Chief who is often a member of the Royal Family, frequently with a name connection to the Regiment. Example: The Queen's York Rangers (First American Regiment) having the Queen and later the Duke of York, as Colonel-in-Chief. In the Artillery, the Monarch holds this role with the appellation "Captain-General". All of these "honoraries" are in head-of-family roles, approachable in varying degrees by anyone in the "regimental family".

The Colonel Commandant of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC), is an appointment given by the Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada to a distinguished retired armoured forces officer. The appointment is for three years, during which the incumbent is on the Canadian Forces' reserve list as the senior officer of the Corps. He is responsible for advising the army commander on matters pertaining to the RCAC. A colonel commandant travels widely to canvass the views of all ranks in the Corps and frequently attends military policy conferences, ceremonies and unit celebrations. He is an ex-officio member of the RCAC Association's executive committee.

In 2001, the Canadian Forces Medical Branch (CFMB) canvassed past and present members for nominations to the role of Colonel Commandant. The role is ceremonial but the colonel commandant acts as a link between the CFMB and the wider civilian medical community. The position is not restricted to former senior medical officers; consideration is given to medical practitioners who are "particularly prominent and well respected within the world of civilian medicine."

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