Lieutenant General

Lieutenant-General (Canada)

In the Canadian Forces, the rank of lieutenant-general is an Army or Air Force rank equal to a vice-admiral of the Navy. A lieutenant-general is a general officer, the equivalent of a Naval flag officer. A lieutenant-general is senior to a major general or rear-admiral, and junior to a general or...

 Peter John Devlin CMM

Order of Military Merit (Canada)

The Order of Military Merit is a military honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the second highest order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada...

, MSC, CD

Canadian Forces Decoration

The Canadian Forces Decoration is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to the Governor General of Canada upon his or her appointment as viceroy, which includes the...

 is the Chief of the Land Staff

Chief of the Land Staff

The Chief of the Land Staff is the commander and institutional head of the Canadian Army. The Chief of the Land is based at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario.-History of the post:...

 in the Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

.

Military career

Educated at the University of Western Ontario

University of Western Ontario

The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...

, Devlin was commissioned into The Royal Canadian Regiment, having joined the Canadian Forces in 1978. Devlin served in an operational role in Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 between 1984 and 1985 and in the Former Yugoslavia

Former Yugoslavia

The former Yugoslavia is a term used to describe the present day states which succeeded the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....

 in 1992. In 1994, following his experiences in the Former Yugoslavia, Devlin published a report which was highly critical of the fact that the international community "had no International Peacekeeping Training Centre".

He was appointed Commanding Officer

Commanding officer

The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...

 of 1st Battalion of The Royal Canadian Regiment in 1997. Then, in 1998, he was the Canadian Battle Group Commanding Officer in Bosnia.

He became Commander

Commander

Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

 of 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group

2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group

2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group is a Canadian Forces brigade group that is part of Land Forces Central Area of the Canadian army. It is currently based in CFB Petawawa...

 in 2002.

He served with the International Security Assistance Force

International Security Assistance Force

The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...

 as Commander of the Kabul Multinational Brigade in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 from 2003 to 2004.

He was appointed Deputy Commanding General of III (US) Corps and Fort Hood, Texas

Fort Hood, Texas

Fort Hood is a United States military post located outside of Killeen, Texas. The post is named after Confederate General John Bell Hood. It islocated halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas....

 in 2005 and deployed with the Corps to Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. He was Deputy Commanding General of the Multi-National Corps – Iraq from 2006 to 2008 - in that capacity he told the Washington Post that the Multi-National Force was giving "greater legitimacy to the effort here in Iraq.". In 2008 he was made Deputy Commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command

Canadian Expeditionary Force Command

Canadian Expeditionary Force Command is an operational element of the Canadian Forces for operations outside of Canada....

.

In March 2010, it was announced that Devlin would be appointed Chief of the Land Staff

Chief of the Land Staff

The Chief of the Land Staff is the commander and institutional head of the Canadian Army. The Chief of the Land is based at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario.-History of the post:...

within the year. The change of command took place on 21 June 2010.