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Chris Kilford, Ph.D.

Chris Kilford

Director

Canadian International Council

cakilford@gmail.com

Affiliation
Fellows

Commissioned in 1982 as an artillery officer, Chris served throughout Canada, in Germany, Afghanistan and Turkey in various command, instructional and staff roles.  He was the Commanding Officer of 4th Air Defence Regiment, Moncton, from 1999 to 2001 and Course Officer of the National Security Studies Course in Toronto between 2001 and 2004.  

While serving in National Defence Headquarters he was the Deputy Director of the team that wrote theCanada First Defence Strategy and later served as the Military Liaison Officer between DND and the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence.  In July 2009, Chris deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan as the Deputy Military Attaché until July 2010.  He then commenced Turkish language training and on becoming a Colonel was posted to Ankara, Turkey in July 2011 as the Canadian Defence Attaché with cross accreditation to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkmenistan. 

During his career Chris completed Army Staff College, the Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff Course, the Advanced Military Staff Course and was granted an equivalency for the year-long National Security Program. In 1992, he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Manitoba in Political Studies and later a Masters Degree in War Studies at the Royal Military College of Canada. Continuing with his studies, in 2009 Chris finished his PhD at Queen’s. His dissertation addressed the roles that militaries played in developing countries after 1945 and was published by the Canadian Defence Academy Press in 2010.

Chris retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in September 2014.  Today, he lectures extensively on Turkish and Middle Eastern defence and foreign policy issues and he is a sessional professor with the Canadian Forces College.  He is also a member of the national board of the Canadian International Council and president of the Victoria branch.

  • B.A. University of Manitoba,
  • M.A. War Studies (Royal Military College),
  • M.A. Defence Studies (Royal Military College)
  • Ph.D. Queen's University

Current Interests/Research:

  • Turkish and Middle Eastern security issues;
  • Civil-Mililtary relations in developing countries; and
  • Canadian foreign and defence policy.

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