Lieutenant-Colonel Tod Strickland was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal on Thursday, December 6, to recognize his contributions to Canada, both at home and abroad.
“I was honoured and proud to receive the medal,” said Strickland. “Seeing my fellow recipients, both military and civilians, and hearing their stories of long and selfless service to Canada, left me more than a little humbled. To have been included in a group of folks like that is a little daunting.”
Strickland was born in Comox, but raised in Powell River. He attended Brooks and Max Cameron secondary schools and was a member of Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps 2781 for five years. After living in Powell River for 18 years, Strickland joined the army in 1988.
Upon completion of basic infantry officer training he was posted to the Third Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) where he began his regimental service as a rifle platoon commander. He has since served with all three battalions of the regiment in command and staff positions, enjoying numerous exercises and deploying on both domestic and international operations. His last regimental service was as deputy commanding officer of First Battalion PPCLI during that unit’s participation on operations in Afghanistan in 2006.
Outside of the regiment, Strickland has served in a wide variety of different positions. These have included a posting to the Royal Canadian School of Infantry where he led the Assault Pioneer Cell and two tours in the Brigade Headquarters of First Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. Posted to Ottawa following completion of Command and Staff College in 2008, he first worked for Chief Military Personnel, before being promoted to his current rank and moving to the Strategic Joint Staff, where he was a lead planner for operations in Afghanistan.
In August 2010 he again deployed to Afghanistan, this time as assistant chief of staff for Task Force Kandahar, returning to Canada in July 2011. In addition to this most recent operational experience, his foreign deployments include two tours with the regiment in Bosnia and Operation Enduring Freedom in Kandahar province in 2006. Domestically, he was deployed in support of Canadian Forces operations in Quebec following the ice storm, as well as fighting forest fires in British Columbia.
