Vanguard Magazine

10 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com Commander of the Joint Task Force (North) BY MARCELLO sukhDEO interView B Gen Carpentier began his career with the Canadian Forces in August 1986, fol- lowing his Basic Air Weap- ons Control course in North Bay, Ontario. Over the years he was posted on many different assignments and served in nu- merous roles. From the 12th Missile Warning Squadron in the late 80s to the Phased Array Ballistic Missile Early Warn- ing System, 1st Space Wing Headquarters Peterson AFB, National Defense Head- quarters in 1993. Then on AWACS in Geilenkirchen, Germany where he served as a Weapons Director, Fighter Allocator, and Mission Crew Commander. In 1999, following his promotion to Major, he was selected as the NATO Ex- change Officer representing the NATO Airborne Early Warning Force in France with the 36e Escadron. In July 2002, BGen Carpentier returned to North America and was posted to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma to fly on the USAF E3-B and C models. In addition to operational deployments in support of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, he served as the Wing Deputy Chief of Standards and Evaluations. In 2005, BGen Carpentier assumed command of 12 Radar Squadron and then served as the NORAD Director of In- spections, Peterson AFB, Colorado. In July 2010, BGen Carpentier was again selected for Command, this time of the Ca- nadian AWACS Detachment at Tinker AFB. He was then chosen as the Deputy Com- mander Alaskan NORAD Region. Follow- ing an extremely busy operational tour in Alaska, he was brought back to NORAD HQ as the J8 Deputy in August 2015 where he worked Requirements, Analysis, Resources and Science and Technology. In April 2018, BGen Carpentier was promoted to his current rank and appointed as Com- mander Joint Task Force North (JTFN). Over his five AWACS tours, BGen Car- pentier has amassed over 3480 flying hours and 186 combat and combat support mis- sions. Q Since you have recently taken com- mand of the Joint Task Force (North), what are some of the main areas you will be looking to focus on? While I am new to Joint Task Force (North) (JTFN), I was the Deputy Commander of the Alaskan NORAD Region from 2013 - 2015 and came here from NORAD HQ where I served as the Deputy J8, which dealt with resources, requirements, capabil- ity advocacy, analysis and science & technol- ogy (S&T) to include the Arctic problem set. JTFN's Area of Responsibility (AOR) is massive, as it spans over three territories. It encompasses 75 per cent of the country's national coastline and 40 per cent of its total land mass. Yet these numbers fail to prop- erly illustrate the true vastness of our AOR. Overlaying our AOR over the continen- tal United States (see map on page 12), I feel, is a better depiction for most North Americans to begin to understand the tyr- anny of time and distance my team deals with daily. The Arctic is constantly chang- ing, which means we must adapt and be ready to act rapidly when called upon. One of my priorities is to make sure that my staff has the right tools to respond to various scenarios that could occur in the North. The climate of the Canadian Arctic is extreme and harsh in the winter. Care- ful preparation and measured responses are key to success in conducting northern operations, as is working in collaboration with a myriad of other government, inter- national and non-government partners. This means that both Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and DND civilian employ- ees who work at JTFN must have the right training, skills and knowledge to oper- ate within the complex environment of a IntervIew wIth BGen PatrIck carPentIer

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