Brian Walter Natale Santarpia is a Canadian naval officer. He joined
Maritime Command in 1986 and served in various postings before rising to commanding officer of the
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
from 2007 to 2008. This was followed by a posting to Commanding Officer of Sea Training Atlantic and then advisor to the
Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. Santarpia then commanded Canada's chief naval base on its Atlantic coast,
CFB Halifax, with promotion to
commodore and the position of Director General Naval Personnel. In June 2020, Santarpia became Commander Maritime Forces Atlantic.
Career
He joined the Canadian Forces as part of
Maritime Command as a MARS (Maritime Surface/Sub-surface) officer in 1986 and served in various postings before commanding from January 2007 to July 2008.
This was followed by a stint as Commanding Officer of Sea Training Atlantic.
In 2009 he was promoted to
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
and served as an advisor to the
Vice Chief of the Defence Staff before taking command of
CFB Halifax.
He was promoted to commodore in July 2013 as Director General Naval Personnel.
In December 2014 he commanded
Combined Task Force 150.
He was appointed Commander Maritime Forces Atlantic in June 2020.
In 2020, as chief of staff of the
Canadian Joint Operations Command
The Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC; french: links=no, Commandement des opérations interarmées du Canada) is one of the two unified commands of the Canadian Armed Forces, the other one being the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command ...
, Rear Adm. Santarpia supported using the
COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to test
propaganda techniques on Canadians, saying “This is really a learning opportunity for all of us and a chance to start getting information operations into our (CAF-DND) routine."
Awards and decorations
Santarpia's personal awards and decorations include the following:
Command Commendation
References
Canadian admirals
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
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