Peter Cairns
Born(1938-10-04)October 4, 1938
Orillia, Ontario, Canada
DiedFebruary 18, 2023(2023-02-18) (aged 84)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Allegiance Canada
Service/branch Royal Canadian Navy
Canadian Forces Maritime Command
Years of service1959–1994
Rank Vice-Admiral
Commands heldHMCS Onondaga
First Canadian Submarine Squadron
HMCS Fraser
HMCS Margaree
HMCS Assiniboine
Maritime Warfare School
Fifth Canadian Destroyer Squadron
Maritime Forces Pacific
Maritime Command
AwardsCommander of the Order of Military Merit
Canadian Forces' Decoration
Other workDirector - Spar Aerospace

Vice-Admiral Peter William Cairns CMM CD (October 4, 1938 – February 18, 2023) was an officer of the Canadian Armed Forces. He was Commander Maritime Command from 14 July 1992 to 28 July 1994.

Career

Cairns joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1956 and was appointed a midshipman in 1959.[1] He became Commanding Officer of the submarine HMCS Onondaga in 1972, Commander of the First Canadian Submarine Squadron in 1974 and Commanding Officer of the destroyer HMCS Fraser in 1976.[1] He went on to command the destroyers HMCS Margaree in 1977 and HMCS Assiniboine in 1978. He became Deputy Commandant of the Canadian Forces Fleet School at Halifax in 1978.[1] After that he was appointed Chief Project Technical Officer at Canadian Forces Maritime Command in 1979, Commandant of the Canadian Forces Maritime Warfare School later that year and Commander Fifth Canadian Destroyer Squadron in 1981.[1] Next he became Chief of Personnel Careers (Officers and Senior Appointments) at the National Defence Headquarters in 1983, Director-General Personnel Careers (Officers) in 1985 and Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations) to the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic in 1987.[1] His last appointments were as Commander Maritime Forces Pacific in 1989 and as Commander Maritime Command in 1992 before he retired in 1994.[1]

In retirement Cairns became Director of Business Development at the Aviation Services Division of Spar Aerospace.[2] He died in Ottawa, Ontario on February 18, 2023, at the age of 84.[3]

Awards and decorations

Cairns's personal awards and decorations include:


RibbonDescriptionNotes
Order of Military Merit (CMM)
  • Appointed Commander (CMM) on 8 June 1990[4]
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
  • Decoration awarded in 1977
  • Canadian version
Canadian Forces' Decoration (CD)
  • with two Clasp for 32 years of services
  • He was a qualified Submariner and as such wore the Canadian Forces Submariner Dolphins

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Peter Cairns The Nauticapedia
  2. ↑ Peter Cairns CFN Consultants
  3. ↑ "Remembering the life of Peter Cairns 1938 - 2023". ottawacitizen.remembering.ca. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  4. ↑ "The Governor General of Canada List". Gouvernment of Canada. 11 June 2018.
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