Community of Practice

Ambassador

Simon Bernard

MAJOR-GENERAL SIMON BERNARD, OMM, CD, DEPUTY COMMANDER, CANADIAN JOINT OPERATIONS COMMAND.

Simon Bernard is a General Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces. An Infantry Officer from the Royal 22e Régiment, he has been employed in operations and plans positions from Battalion and Brigade, through Division, Army, Joint Operations Command, Strategic Joint Staff and Departmental levels. While at Canadian Forces College in 2008, he completed a Systemic Operational Design elective and as the Task Force Kandahar lead planner (J5), he used “Systems of Systems Analysis” within a whole-of-Government planning approach to understand the complex environment of Southern Afghanistan and develop tactical stabilization plans. This involved developing a tailored approach to the planning and conduct of civil-military operations in the Province of Kandahar.

He participated in an experiment with Defense, Research and Development Canada – Valcartier, which developed and delivered an innovative toolbox for collaborative planning in a Joint Interagency Multinational and Public (JIMP) environment. He has completed the 67th Session at the Center for Advanced Military Studies and the 70th Session at the National Defense Institute of Advanced Studies in Paris, France.

In 2020, he launched a Military Design familiarization program which saw more than 250 members of the Canadian Armed Forces learn Design methodologies. He holds a Bachelors’ degree in Administration, a Masters in War Studies and a Diploma from the French École de guerre and is the CAF Ambassador of the Archipelago of Design network and an advocate for Design Thinking in the Profession of Arms and currently holds the role of Deputy Commander Canadian Joint Operations Command. The complexity of the Security Environment is prone to using Design Thinking in creating and modernizing our approach to Campaigning at the strategic and operational levels.