Rotary Program November 8, 2010

As we near Remembrance Day, the Rotary Club of Edmonton program will feature Brigadier-General Lamarre, DMM, CD. Brigadier-General Lamarre joined the Canadian Forces from Calgary in June 1981. His first posting after completion of his training as a Logistics Officer in 1986 was to Transportation Company of 1 Service Battalion, Calgary. There, he served as a Platoon Commander, Company Training and Operations Officer and Company 2 I/C. This posting was followed by a Regular Support Staff tour at Hamilton Militia District Headquarters from 1988 to 1990.

He was next posted to Force Mobile Command Headquarters in St-Hubert, Quebec. After working in the SSO Transportation and G4 Operations sections, he was sent to Croatia from January to August of 1994 as the Movements Officer for the Canadian Contingent. Promoted to the rank of Major while overseas, he was then posted to 1 Service Battalion, Calgary, as the Officer Commanding Transportation Company from 1994 to 1996.

After a short posting to J4 Logistics at National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ), he took over the responsibilities of Career Manager for all Army Logistics Officers, a position he held from June 1997 to June 1999. This was followed by a two year posting as G4 of 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group in Edmonton, Alberta.
Promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 2002, he served for one year as the G4 of Land Forces Central Area in Toronto until July 2003.

Thereafter, he was appointed the Commanding Officer of 1 Service Battalion in Edmonton, from where he deployed during the period of July 2004 to February 2005 to command the Canadian National Support Element of Operation ATHENA, Canada's contribution to the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

He was promoted to Colonel in June 2005 and attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. In June 2006, he was appointed Director Plans Support/Specialist within the Strategic Joint Staff. In September 2006, he was appointed Director Land Service Support, the G4 of the Canadian Army. He assumed command of 1 Area Support Group, the support formation in Land Forces Western Area, in June of 2008.  In June 2010, he was appointed Commander (designate) JTF-Afg HQ 5-11/Mission Transition Task Force and will deploy in June 2011.  He was promoted to his current rank in September 2010.

Brigadier-General Lamarre is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, the Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College, Kingston, the Canadian Forces College, Toronto and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science, a Masters in Defence Studies and a Masters of Science in National Resource Management.