Craig Baines

Craig Baines
Craig Baines in 2021
Born	c. 1960s Saskatchewan, Canada
Allegiance	Canada
Service / branch	Royal Canadian Navy[a]
Years of service	1987–2022
Rank	Vice-admiral
Commands	Royal Canadian Navy Maritime Forces Atlantic Canadian Fleet Atlantic Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt HMCS Winnipeg
Awards	Commander of the Order of Military Merit Meritorious Service Cross Canadian Forces' Decoration

Vice-Admiral Craig Alan Baines CMM MSC CD is a retired senior Royal Canadian Navy officer who served as Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy from 2021 to 2022.

Personal

Baines hails from Saskatchewan and before his military career was a national judo medallist and graduate from the University of Manitoba.[1]

Military career

He was appointed Commander Canadian Fleet Atlantic in July 2014 [2] before being promoted to Commander Maritime Forces Atlantic in 2017.[3]

He joined Maritime Command in 1987 and completed the Forces Regular Officer Training Program. He served as navigation officer on a number of ships before completing an operations course. In 2004 he served as executive officer of HMCS Calgary, and in 2007 he was appointed commanding officer of the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Winnipeg.[4]

In 2010 he served as the base commander of Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt. This was followed by a stint as special advisor to the Chief of Defence Staff, after which he became fleet commander of Canadian Fleet Atlantic.[4]

He became Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy on January 12, 2021.[5] He stood down in May 2022 pending retirement, and retired in late 2022.[6][7]

Post military career

In October 2022, it was announced that Baines had joined Modest Tree as a strategic advisor, for the company’s efforts in the marine, aerospace and defence industries.[8]

Controversies

Baines apologised after it was reported that he had played golf with General Jonathan Vance while the latter was under investigation for alleged abuse towards female military staff.[9]

Honours and decorations

Baines's personal awards and decorations included the following:

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Order of Military Merit (CMM)	Appointed Commander (CMM) on 21 September 2020[10]
	Meritorious Service Cross (MSC)	Appointed (MSC) on 7 October 2009[11] Military division Received the for his leadership of HMCS Winnipeg during counter-piracy operations.
	Special Service Medal	with NATO-OTAN Clasp
	NATO Medal Non-Article 5	with Africa clasp
	Canadian Forces' Decoration (CD)	with two Clasp for 32 years of services

Command Commendation

Notes

1. Known as Canadian Forces Maritime Command until 2011

References

1. "Honorary Degree recipients". University of Manitoba. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
2. "Atlantic navy fleet gets new commander". The Chronicle Herald. July 12, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
3. "Royal Canadian Navy welcomes new commander of its East Coast fleet". GlobalNews. September 1, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
4. "Rear-Admiral Craig Baines, MSC, CD". Royal Canadian Navy. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
5. "Vice-Admiral Craig Baines takes command of Royal Canadian Navy". The Chronicle Herald. January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
6. Berthiaume, Lee (21 April 2022). "Military officer retires, heads to Ukraine amid sex misconduct investigation". The Globe and Mail.
7. "Royal Canadian Navy welcomes new Commander". 30 May 2022.
8. "Retired Vice Admiral of Royal Canadian Navy joins Modest Tree".
9. "Navy commander apologizes for golfing with former chief of defence staff under military police investigation". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. June 13, 2021.
10. "Order of Military Merit List". The Governor General of Canada.
11. "Meritorious Service Decorations List". The Governor General of Canada.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by Art McDonald	Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy 2021–2022	Succeeded by Angus Topshee
Preceded by John Newton	Commander Maritime Forces Atlantic 2017–2021	Succeeded by Brian Santarpia
Preceded by Scott Bishop	Commander Canadian Fleet Atlantic 2014–2017	Succeeded by Craig Skjerpen