John Cowan (RAN officer)
| John Joseph Cowan CSC, RAN | |
|---|---|
| Born |
23 July 1957 Penticton, British Columbia, Canada |
| Allegiance |
 Canada Australia |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Canadian Navy Royal Australian Navy |
| Years of service |
1976 –1996 (Canada) 1996 – present (Australia) |
| Rank | Commander |
| Commands held |
HMAS Choules HMAS Sirius HMAS Cerberus STS Young Endeavour |
| Battles/wars |
International Force for East Timor Operation Sharp Guard |
| Awards |
Conspicuous Service Cross Canadian Forces Decoration (Canada) |
Commander John Joseph Cowan CSC, RAN (born 23 July 1957) is the current Commanding Officer of HMAS Choules. John originally joined the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in 1976 as an Ordinary Seaman boatswain, eventually being Commissioned as an officer in 1988. John transferred to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 8 July 1996 the day after standing down from the RCN.
John was a member of the Navy League Cadet Corps and at age 13 transferred to the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets (RCSC). During his time in the RCSC he spent time onboard CCGS Quadra and later HMC Ship's Terra Nova and Yukon.
Service history
Royal Canadian Navy
John joined the Royal Canadian Navy as an Ordinary Seaman boatswain in 1976. He is qualified as a surface warfare specialist. He was deployed as part of the Canadian response and support to Operation Sharp Guard for the blockade of the former Yugoslavia. He qualified as a navigator during his seaman officer training course.
He spent the majority of his career as sea serving mainly with the Maritime Forces Pacific. He retired from the Royal Canadian Navy on 7 July 1996 after 13 years service.
Royal Australian Navy
John joined the Royal Australian Navy on 8 July 1996 retaining his commission and qualification as a ships navigator. He served as the navigator onboard HMA Ship's Brisbane and Tobruk.
John commanded HMAS Sirius from December 2008 until May 2010 and took command of HMAS Choules for its commissioning for April 2011 until December 2012.
Honours and awards
_ribbon.png){kind=small}
_ribbon.png){kind=small}
| | Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) | 26 January 2011[1] |
| | Australian Active Service Medal | |
| | International Force East Timor Medal | |
| | Defence Long Service Medal | For 15–19 years service |
| | Australian Defence Medal | |
| | Special Service Medal | (Canada) |
| | NATO medal for the former Yugoslavia | (NATO) |
| | Canadian Forces Decoration (CD) | (Canada) |
References
- ↑ Conspicuous Service Cross, 2011
External links
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Newly commissioned |
Commanding Officer HMAS Choules April 2011 – December 2012 |
Succeeded by Commander Ashley Papp |