Charles H. Belzile

Charles H. Belzile

Born	(1933-03-12) March 12, 1933 Trois-Pistoles, Quebec
Allegiance	Canada
Service/branch	Canadian Army/Canadian Forces
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	Canadian Army Royal 22^e Régiment
Awards	Order of Canada Commander of the Order of Military Merit Canadian Forces Decoration Vimy Award

Lieutenant General Charles Henri Belzile CM, CMM, CD (born March 12, 1933) was a Canadian army officer and a former head of the Canadian Army. He is an honorary member of the Royal Military College of Canada student #H22547.^[1]

Education

Born in Trois-Pistoles, Quebec, Belzile graduated from the Université de Montréal in 1953.

Military career

Belzile was commissioned in The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada in 1951.^[2] He was then assigned as a platoon commander in Korea.^[2] Upon his return from the Korean theatre, he assumed a number of staff and command positions including that of Adjutant with 2nd Battalion, Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and staff officer at Quebec Command Headquarters in Montreal.

In 1968 he was promoted lieutenant-colonel and appointed Commanding Officer, Royal 22^e Régiment in Valcartier.^[2] In 1972, he was appointed Commander, Combat Arms School, at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick as a colonel.^[2] He was later appointed to several high-profile positions in Canada and abroad. He commanded 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group in the former Federal Republic of Germany as a brigadier-general.^[2] As brigadier general he was Senior Canadian Officer at Headquarters, Central Army Group (CENTAG) in Hammonds Barracks, Seckenheim, Germany. As major-general in 1977 he took command of Canadian Forces Europe.^[2] In 1981 he was promoted lieutenant-general and appointed Commander, Mobile Command, the title under which the army was known at that time.^[2] He retired from active duty in 1986.^[2]

Later career

Following his retirement from the military, he held a position of Vice-President with SNC Industrial Technologies of Le Gardeur, Quebec, from 1987 to 1992.^[2] Since 1992 he has been President of CH Belzile Consultants. In 1994 he became part of a team on a study to improve the efficiency of the Irish Defence Forces.^[2] He served on the Special Commission on the Restructuring of the Canadian Forces Reserves.^[2] He was a member of the Special Advisory Group on Military Justice and Military Police Investigation Services.^[2] He was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets from 1993 to 1998.^[3] In 1998, he was appointed head of the Military Police Services Review Group.^[2] He has served as president of the Canadian Battle of Normandy Foundation (now the Canadian Battlefields Foundation), President of the Conference of Defence Associations and as a member of the Canadian War Museum Advisory Council.^[2]

Honours

In 2000, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.^[2] He has also been made a Commander of the Order of Military Merit.^[2] He was a recipient of the Vimy Award, which recognizes a Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of the nation and the preservation of our democratic values.^[2]

On 24 November 2001, he was appointed Honorary Grand President of The Royal Canadian Legion.^[2] He is a recipient of the French Légion d’Honneur.^[2]

References

Military offices
Preceded by LCol (BGen) G.R. Therriault, CD	Commander, 2nd Batallion Royal 22nd Regiment 1968–1970	Succeeded by LCol (MGen) G.H.J. Lessard, CMM, MB, CD
Preceded by	Commander, Combat Training Centre 1972–1974	Succeeded by
Preceded by BGen P.V.B. Grieve, CD	Commander, 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group 1974–1976	Succeeded by BGen J.E. Vance, CD
Preceded by	Commander, Canadian Forces Europe 1977–1979	Succeeded by
Preceded by LGen Jean Jacques Paradis, CMM, CD	Commander, Forces Mobile Command 1981–1986	Succeeded by LGen Jim Fox, CMM, CD
Preceded by	Colonel Commandant, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps 1988–1992	Succeeded by
Preceded by LGen J.E. Vance, CMM, CD	Colonel Commandant, Royal Canadian Army Cadets 1992–1996	Succeeded by MGen Howard Wheatly, CD
Preceded by LGen Jean Jacques Paradis, CMM, CD	Colonel of the Royal 22nd Regiment 1996–2000	Succeeded by MGen J.F.T.A. Liston, MBE, CD
Preceded by Col J.R.G. Saint-Louis, CD	President, Conference Defence Association 2000-2003	Succeeded by LGen Richard Evraire, CMM, CD

Commanders of the Canadian Army

General Officers Commanding	Edward Smyth Richard Luard Frederick Middleton Ivor Herbert William Gascoigne Edward Hutton Richard Haly Earl of Dundonald

Chiefs of the General Staff	Percy Lake William Otter Colin Mackenzie Willoughby Gwatkin James MacBrien Herbert Thacker Andrew McNaughton Ernest Ashton Thomas Anderson Harry Crerar Kenneth Stuart John Murchie Charles Foulkes Guy Simonds Howard Graham Samuel Clark Geoffrey Walsh

Commanders, Mobile Command	Jean Allard William Anderson Gilles Turcot William Milroy Stanley Waters Jacques Chouinard Jean Paradis Charles Belzile James Fox Kent Foster Jim Gervais

Chiefs of the Land Staff	Gord Reay Maurice Baril William Leach Mike Jeffery Rick Hillier Marc Caron Andrew Leslie

Commanders of the Canadian Army	Peter Devlin Marquis Hainse Paul Wynnyk

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