COLONEL SIMONDS C.G. , CD

Colonel C.G. Simonds assumed the duties of Regimental Colonel for The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery on 22 February 2012 in Ottawa.

Colonel Simonds joined the Canadian Forces in 1975 as a Reserve Force member. Transferring to the Regular Force in 1976, he graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada with a degree in Chemical (Nuclear) Engineering and was commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery in 1980.

As an artillery officer, he commanded at the troop level in the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery at Lahr, Germany, served as the Chief Standards Officer and Battery Commander at the Air Defence Artillery School at Chatham, New Brunswick and commanded 127 Air Defence Battery, 4 Air Defence Regiment at Lahr. He also served as the Second-in-Command of the 2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery at Petawawa, Ontario and commanded Canadian Forces Base Shilo in Manitoba.

On international operations, Colonel Simonds served as the Chief of Intelligence and Operations in the Headquarters, Multi-National Division South-West in Bosnia-Herzegovina (SFOR) for one year and most recently as the Commander of Canada’s Task Force Jerusalem, attached to the Office of the United States Security Coordinator for Israel and Palestine.

Colonel Simonds has staff experience at Mobile Command Headquarters and the Chief of the Land Staff, as both an international plans officer and staff officer to the Chief of Staff. Internationally, he served as the Military Adviser at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations in New York. At National Defence Headquarters he has served as a section head responsible for force planning and programme coordination and as the Senior Military Assistant to the Minister of National Defence. He is currently the Director General Coordination in the Strategic Joint Staff.

Colonel Simonds is a graduate of the Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College, the Aerospace Systems Course and the Canadian Forces College (Command and Staff Course and Advanced Military Studies Programme).

 

Duties of the Regimental Colonel (Regt Col)

The Regt Col’s primary responsibility is to provide stewardship/leadership over Lines of Operation (LO) 3-5 of the RCAs Family Strategy, in the same way that DArty does for LO 1-2, while recognizing that DArty remains primus inter pares, and is the primary interlocutor with the Land Staff.  This will include exercising a degree of oversight over heritage affairs and that of the RCA Executive Board. In exercising his functions, the Regt Col is responsible to Artillery Senate, is responsive to the Colonel Commandant, and coordinates his efforts with those of DArty and the RCAA. Given the nature of LO 3-5 issues, he should also be mindful of the support stakeholders such as Honoraries, retired members and others can bring to bear in advancing these issues.

The Regt Col may establish standing committees and sub-committees to be responsible for providing information, material and/or assistance to permit the senior leadership of the RCA to provide the maximum benefit for the Regimental family. The standing committees and/or sub-committees formed may also be responsible for the implementation of instructions as directed by the Regt Col.

Past Regimental Colonel’s

February 2011              Colonel P.J. Williiams, CD