Colonel (retired) Patricia Henry, OMM, CD

Well done! Congratulations on your retirement! The military’s loss is our gain!

Welcome to the team!

Colonel Patricia Henry enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1982 as a Private in the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada while attending the University of Waterloo. In 1984 she was commissioned as a logistics officer.

Early in her career, Colonel Henry served in a variety of demanding Army and Division level staff appointments including: Area Audit Officer, G3 Operational Tasker, Land Force Restructure Staff Officer, G1 Personnel Services and G1 Personnel Policy. In 1999 she was awarded the Land Force Commander’s Commendation for her leadership and development of the Army Diversity Training Program.

In 1999, Colonel Henry moved to the Chief of Military Personnel where she worked as the Staff Officer to the Director General Military Human Resources Policy and Plans. She was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 2001 and became the section head for Military Employment Policy development and implementation. In June 2008 she received a triple appointment serving as the Commanding Officer of the National Defence Headquarters Primary Reserve List, the MILPERSCOM Primary Reserve List and Supplementary Reserve for the entire Canadian Armed Forces. While retaining these appointments, she also served as the Special Assistant to the Chief of Military Personnel from 2008 until 2010. In 2013 she accepted a position as the Director of Reserves with Canadian Special Operations Forces Command and also served as the Headquarters Commanding Officer. In 2014 due to her extensive personnel background she was promoted to her current rank and appointed as the Director of Force Management where she continues to serve.

Colonel Henry is a graduate of the Joint Reserve Command and Staff Course and the Canadian Security Studies Program. She also holds a Post Graduate Certificate of Business Administration from Edinburgh Business School. She was appointed an Officer of Military Merit in January 2011.

She is married and is a devoted mother. In her spare time, she volunteers with the Ontario Special Olympics as a track and field coach, serves on the Research Ethics Board of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, pursues distance running including half marathons, and enjoys reading and playing the piano.