J.R.M.G. (Guy) Laroche is a retired major-general of the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

. Laroche enlisted in the Canadian Forces in 1979. By 1980 he had completed his training as an infantry officer and was posted to the Royal 22^e Régiment at

CFB Valcartier Canadian Forces Base Valcartier (CFB Valcartier), now re-designated 2 Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier (2 CDSB Valcartier), is a Canadian Forces base located in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, north northwest of Quebe ...

, near

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

. Laroche is a graduate of Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College, Kingston, Ontario; the Canadian Forces Staff College in Toronto, Ontario; and the

Industrial College of the Armed Forces The Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (Eisenhower School), formerly known as the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), is a part of the National Defense University. It was renamed on September 6, 20 ...

, Washington, D.C. Laroche also holds a BA in business administration from the

Université du Québec The University of Quebec ( French: ''Université du Québec'') is a system of ten provincially run public universities in Quebec, Canada. Its headquarters are in Quebec City. The university coordinates 300 programs for over 87,000 students. Th ...

and a M.Sc. from the

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

, Washington, D.C. Throughout his career, Laroche served with three battalions of the Royal 22^e Régiment in a variety of positions and commanded the 1st Battalion. Laroche also served as a squad commander while attending the Royal Military College, in Ottawa as a staff officer for the Directorate of Land Information Resources (DLIR) in NDHQ, in Kingston, Ontario, where he took a position with the directing staff at the Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College, and in Valcartier as Base Personnel Services Officer and G3 of

5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (french: 5e Groupe-brigade mécanisé du Canada) (5 CMBG) is a Canadian Forces brigade group that is part of 2nd Canadian Division of the Canadian Army. It is based at CFB Valcartier, near Quebec City, Quebec. Th ...

. Laroche served on two occasions under the auspices of the United Nations in Cyprus (1981 and 1992). He also served in Bosnia-Herzegovina twice (1997 and 1999) as battle group commander and as chief of staff of the 5th Canadian Multinational Brigade. Finally, he served as a commander during the 1990 Native American crisis in Kahnawake, Canada. Laroche was promoted to the rank of colonel in July 2004, when he assumed the duties of J3 International at NDHQ. Following the changes in the Army transformation, Laroche was appointed J3 of

Canadian Expeditionary Force Command Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM, French: ''Commandement de la Force expéditionnaire du Canada'' or ''COMFEC'') was an operational element of the Canadian Forces for operations outside of Canada, created in 2006 and merged into the Ca ...

. In July 2006, he was chosen to be the commander of the 5th Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. As soon as he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 2007, he was given the job of commander of Joint Task Force Afghanistan rotation four. In the aftermath of the

2010 Haiti earthquake A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...

, Laroche was appointed the commander of a 2,000-strong Canadian military assistance force. For his outstanding performance, he was awarded a second

Meritorious Service Cross The Meritorious Service Cross (french: Croix du service méritoire) is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, one of the two Meritorious Service Decorations gifted by the Canadian monarch, his or her Governor-in-Council. Cr ...

in October 2010. He retired in 2010.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy alumni Canadian generals Living people Royal 22nd Regiment officers {{Canada-mil-bio-stub