Vice-Admiral Peter William Cairns (October 4, 1938 – February 18, 2023) was an officer of the

Canadian Armed 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. ...

. He was Commander Maritime Command from 14 July 1992 to 28 July 1994.

Career

Cairns joined the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

in 1956 and was appointed a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

in 1959.Peter Cairns
The Nauticapedia He became Commanding Officer of the

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

in 1972, Commander of the First Canadian Submarine Squadron in 1974 and Commanding Officer of the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

in 1976. He went on to command the destroyers in 1977 and in 1978. He became Deputy Commandant of the Canadian Forces Fleet School at Halifax in 1978. After that he was appointed Chief Project Technical Officer at Canadian Forces Maritime Command in 1979, Commandant of the Canadian Forces Maritime Warfare School later that year and Commander Fifth Canadian Destroyer Squadron in 1981. Next he became Chief of Personnel Careers (Officers and Senior Appointments) at the

National Defence Headquarters National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) ( French: ''Quartiers généraux de la Défense nationale'' (''QGDN'')) was created through the integration of Canadian Armed Forces Headquarters (CAF HQ) with the civilian Department of National Defence (DN ...

in 1983, Director-General Personnel Careers (Officers) in 1985 and Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations) to the

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 1987. His last appointments were as Commander Maritime Forces Pacific in 1989 and as Commander Maritime Command in 1992 before he retired in 1994. In retirement Cairns became Director of Business Development at the Aviation Services Division of Spar Aerospace. He died in Ottawa, Ontario on February 18, 2023, at the age of 84.

Awards and decorations

Cairns's personal awards and decorations include:

*He was a qualified Submariner and as such wore the Canadian Forces Submariner Dolphins

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cairns, Peter 1938 births 2023 deaths Canadian admirals People from Orillia Commanders of the Order of Military Merit (Canada) Royal Canadian Navy officers Commanders of the Royal Canadian Navy Canadian military personnel from Ontario