Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Kenneth J. Summers (born July 20, 1944) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...

retired naval officer, best known for being the commander of the Canadian contingent of the Persian Gulf War coalition.

Early life and education

Summers was born July 20, 1944 and graduated from Royal Military College in Kingston in 1967 before serving as an officer both at sea and in several postings ashore. In 1989 he was promoted to

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, ...

and appointed Commander Canadian Fleet and Chief of Staff Operations in Halifax, the appointment he was holding when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August, 1990.

Career

Summers assumed command of the Canadian Naval Task Force that sailed from Halifax to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body ...

, and upon arrival he was appointed Commander Canadian Forces Middle East, with headquarters in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an a ...

. All Canadian naval, air and land forces in the Gulf came under his command during the implementation of

Operation Friction Operation Friction was a Canadian military operation that saw the contribution of 4,500 Canadian Forces personnel to the 1991 Gulf War. The larger US components were Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Operation Friction initial ...

, where Canadian naval and air units engaged in combat for the first time since the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{{ ...

. After the Persian Gulf War, Summers served in Maritime Forces Pacific Headquarters (MARPAC HQ) as Chief of Staff to Commander MARPAC 1991. He was promoted to

and was appointed as a Commander Canadian Defence Liaison Staff Washington in 1992. He served in National Defence Headquarters, Ottawa as Chief of Personnel Planning and Resources Management 1994 and as Director General Maritime Development 1995. He was appointed Chief of Staff Operations,

Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic was based at ...

in Norfolk VA USA from 1997 to 2000. He retired in 2000.

Awards and decorations

Summers's personal awards and decorations include the following:

Order of Military Merit (Canada) ribbon (OMM)

CAN Meritorious Service Cross (military division) ribbon

References

External links

Biography at The Rt. Hon. Sir Winston Spencer Churchill Society of British Columbia web pageCanada's 25 Most Renowned Military Leaders
Royal Canadian Navy officers Canadian admirals Military leaders of the Gulf War Living people 1944 births Canadian military personnel from Ontario Royal Military College of Canada alumni {{Canada-mil-bio-stub