He was the President of the Canadian Space Agency from 2013 to 2014 and Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces from 2008 to 2012.

He was the President of the Canadian Space Agency from 2013 to 2014 and Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces from 2008 to 2012.

Then CDS, Walter Natynczyk, said later that year that while recruiting has become more successful, the Forces was facing a problem with its rate of loss of existing members, which increased between 2006 and 2008 from 6% to 9.2% annually.

In January 2004, he deployed with III Corps to Baghdad, Iraq, serving first as the Deputy Director of Strategy, Policy and Plans, and subsequently as the Deputy Commanding General of the Multi-National Corps – Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Canadian Major Generals Walter Natynczyk, Peter Devlin, and Nicholas Matern served as Deputy Commanding Generals of Multi-National Corps - Iraq.

Walter John "Walt" Natynczyk, is a retired Canadian Army general who has served as Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs since 2014.

On June 6, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Natynczyk as the next Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), replacing retiring General Rick Hillier.

He retired on July 1, 2008, and was replaced by former Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (VCDS) Walter Natynczyk.

He attended Royal Roads Military College and Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean, graduating in 1979 with a degree in Business Administration.

He attended Royal Roads Military College and Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean, graduating in 1979 with a degree in Business Administration.

Before joining the regular Canadian Army, Natynczyk spent five years in the Royal Canadian Air Cadets.

Natynczyk retired in December 2012, after transferring control of the defence staff to his successor, RCAF General Thomas Lawson, just 2 months earlier.

On August 27, 2012, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the appointment of Lawson as Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), replacing General Walter Natynczyk.

In January 2004, he deployed with III Corps to Baghdad, Iraq, serving first as the Deputy Director of Strategy, Policy and Plans, and subsequently as the Deputy Commanding General of the Multi-National Corps – Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Walter John "Walt" Natynczyk, is a retired Canadian Army general who has served as Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs since 2014.

Walter John "Walt" Natynczyk, is a retired Canadian Army general who has served as Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs since 2014.

Walter John "Walt" Natynczyk, is a retired Canadian Army general who has served as Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs since 2014.

He was the President of the Canadian Space Agency from 2013 to 2014 and Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces from 2008 to 2012. On June 6, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Natynczyk as the next Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), replacing retiring General Rick Hillier.

Both Polish-Canadian and German-Canadian, he was born to a family of European emigrants from war-ravaged Europe: Polish father (who was a soldier in Polish Army during World War II) and German mother on October 29, 1957, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he grew up along with his two sisters, he worked as a Winnipeg Free Press paperboy and a hamburger flipper at a fast food establishment.

Both Polish-Canadian and German-Canadian, he was born to a family of European emigrants from war-ravaged Europe: Polish father (who was a soldier in Polish Army during World War II) and German mother on October 29, 1957, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he grew up along with his two sisters, he worked as a Winnipeg Free Press paperboy and a hamburger flipper at a fast food establishment.

Both Polish-Canadian and German-Canadian, he was born to a family of European emigrants from war-ravaged Europe: Polish father (who was a soldier in Polish Army during World War II) and German mother on October 29, 1957, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he grew up along with his two sisters, he worked as a Winnipeg Free Press paperboy and a hamburger flipper at a fast food establishment.

Both Polish-Canadian and German-Canadian, he was born to a family of European emigrants from war-ravaged Europe: Polish father (who was a soldier in Polish Army during World War II) and German mother on October 29, 1957, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he grew up along with his two sisters, he worked as a Winnipeg Free Press paperboy and a hamburger flipper at a fast food establishment.

Both Polish-Canadian and German-Canadian, he was born to a family of European emigrants from war-ravaged Europe: Polish father (who was a soldier in Polish Army during World War II) and German mother on October 29, 1957, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he grew up along with his two sisters, he worked as a Winnipeg Free Press paperboy and a hamburger flipper at a fast food establishment.

Both Polish-Canadian and German-Canadian, he was born to a family of European emigrants from war-ravaged Europe: Polish father (who was a soldier in Polish Army during World War II) and German mother on October 29, 1957, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he grew up along with his two sisters, he worked as a Winnipeg Free Press paperboy and a hamburger flipper at a fast food establishment.

He attended Royal Roads Military College and Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean, graduating in 1979 with a degree in Business Administration.

His formative years were spent on NATO duty in West Germany with The Royal Canadian Dragoons in troop command and staff appointments.

His formative years were spent on NATO duty in West Germany with The Royal Canadian Dragoons in troop command and staff appointments.

His formative years were spent on NATO duty in West Germany with The Royal Canadian Dragoons in troop command and staff appointments.

In 1983, Natynczyk assumed duties as a Squadron Commander at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario.