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

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

. Laroche joined 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 2nd Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier (2 CDSB Valcartier), formerly known as and commonly referred to as Canadian Forces Base Valcartier (CFB Valcartier), is a Canadian Forces base located in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valc ...

, near

Quebec City Quebec City 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 Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

. 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 (Washington, D.C.), National Defens ...

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

Université du Québec The Université du Québec () is a system of ten provincially-run public universities in Quebec, Canada. Its headquarters are in Quebec City. The university coordinates 1400 programs for over 100,000 students. The government of Quebec founded ...

and a M.Sc. from the

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

, 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 () (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. The brigade group is the formation respons ...

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

, 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 () is a State decoration, decoration that is, within the Orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, Canadian system of honours, one of the two Meritorious Service Decorations gifted by the Monarchy of Canada, Canadia ...

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