Good afternoon, everyone.
We're pleased to be joined today by General Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, as we continue on with meeting number 59.
General Thomas Lawson graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada with an electrical engineering degree in 1979. He then completed his wings and fighter training and was posted to 421 Squadron of CFB Baden Soellingen, where he flew the CF-104 Starfighter.
In 1988 General Lawson was promoted to major and was posted to Montgomery, Alabama, to attend the United States Air Force Air Command and Staff College.
In 1996 he was posted to National Defence Headquarters as a career manager and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel.
In 1998 Thomas Lawson was appointed commanding officer of 412 Squadron, where he flew the CC-144 Challenger until 2000.
In 2003 he was promoted to colonel and held various staff positions with the air force before joining the CF transformation team in 2005, where he led the stand-up of the Strategic Joint Staff.
In 2006 General Lawson was posted to CFB Trenton and completed a year in command of that base before being promoted to brigadier-general in May 2007.
In September 2009 he was promoted to major-general and appointed assistant Chief of the Air Staff.
In July 2011 he was promoted to lieutenant-general, and on August 15 of that year he was appointed deputy commander of NORAD and posted to Colorado Springs, a place I hope we'll be travelling to soon.
On August 27, Prime Minister Harper announced the appointment of Lieutenant-General Lawson as incoming Chief of Defence Staff to replace outgoing General Walter Natynczyk.
General Lawson, welcome, and thank you for appearing. It's good to have you here. Although you have been to committee before, I understand you're going to speak for longer than our regular 10 minutes with your opening comments. We will accommodate you, and we look forward to everything you have to say.
You have the floor, sir.