Vice-Admiral Ronald Douglas Buck, CMM, CD

Vice-Admiral Ronald Douglas Buck was the 29th Commander of the Canadian Navy.

 

Vice-Admiral Buck joined the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) as a Cadet in 1967. He studied at McGill University.

He served in:

• HMCS Fraser
• HMCS Saskatchewan
• HMCS Margaree
• HMCS Preserver

In 1976, he took the year-long Combat Control Officers Course. An appointment to the destroyer HMCS Iroquois followed in 1977.

In 1979, Buck was chosen for an exchange posting to the United Kingdom at HMS Dryad. The exchange continued in 1981 with the Royal Navy Staff College Course in Greenwich.

He returned to Canada in 1982. He served on the staff of Maritime Command Headquarters (MARCOMHQ) as Staff Officer Combat Control Readiness. In 1983, he became Executive Officer of the destroyer HMCS Athabaskan.

In 1985, he was promoted to Commander, and went to National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) on the Naval Requirements Staff. He spent 1986 in year-long language training.

In 1987, he assumed command of the destroyer-escort HMCS Restigouche. In 1989, he was made Project Manager of the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel (MCDV) Project. In 1990, he was promoted to Captain(N). He was named Commander of the Fifth Canadian Destroyer Squadron, in 1992. In 1994, the name changed to Seventh Maritime Operations Group.

Promoted to Commodore in 1994, Buck was appointed Commander Canadian Forces Training System in Trenton. In 1995, he joined the Management Command and Control Re-engineering Team (MCCRT) at NDHQ. In 1997, he went to Esquimalt, British Columbia, as first Commander of the Canadian Fleet Pacific.

In May 1998, he was promoted to Rear-Admiral. He assumed Command of Maritime Forces Pacific in August of that year.

He was promoted to his current rank in December 2000. Vice-Admiral Buck returned to NDHQ as Commander Maritime Command and Chief of the Maritime Staff in June 2001.

In September 2004, he was appointed Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. He served in this position until he retired in 2006.