Leading Troops In Afghanistan To Syria, General Carignan Becomes The First Woman To Serve As Commander Of The Canadian Military

General Jennie Carignan. (Twitter/@NationalDefence)

JAKARTA - General Jennie Carignan became the first woman to lead the Canadian armed forces, after she officially began her role on Thursday.

Trained as a military engineer, General Carignan has led troops in Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, and Syria for 35 years serving in the Canadian military.

"I feel ready, excited, and supported to face these various challenges," said General Carignan at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, reported by Reuters July 19.

"The conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, the increasing tensions in various places around the world, climate change, increasing demands against our personnel at home and abroad, and the threat to our values and democratic institutions are only a few of the complicated challenges we need to face and overcome," explained General Carignan.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Defense announced the appointment of General Carignan by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"The prime minister announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Jennie Carignan as the next Chief of Defense Staff," the Defense Ministry tweeted on social media X.

His appointment as military commander made him receive a promotion to general.

General Carignan replaces General Wayne Eyre, who has served as the highest military commander since 2021, as Canada is working to increase its defense budget and modernize its armed forces.

Last week, PM Trudeau announced his government's intention to achieve the NATO defense spending target of 2 percent of GDP by 2032. Canadian defense spending is estimated to reach 1.39 percent of GDP in the fiscal year 2024-25, according to government projections.

It is known that the Canadian armed forces are struggling to meet recruitment and slow targets in replacing outdated equipment.

Last November, the naval chief said the navy was in "critical condition" and might not be able to carry out its main tasks by 2024.

"We face many internal challenges such as recruitment and retention," said General Carignan.

"We know the challenges we face and what we need to do to overcome them," he said.

PM Trudeau, who calls Carignan a "tendice for all Canadians and the world", has implemented policies designed to improve gender equality since taking office in 2015.

In 2018, he appointed Brenda Lucki as the first female head of the Canadian Royal Equestrian Police.

The last two governor generals, Canadian official representatives for the British empire, were all women. PM Trudeau appointed both of them.