Alain Forand

Alain Forand was born in Farnham, Quebec, Canada on 27 January 1944. He is married to Pierrette Langlois and is father of two sons: Jean Guillaume and Marc Antoine.

In 1967, Major-General Alain Forand enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces as an infantry officer with the Royal 22^e Régiment. He served in all the battalions of the regiment in Canada and Germany as well with the Canadian Airborne Regiment. Major-General Forand commanded the 3rd Battalion, Royal 22^e Régiment (Valcartier, Quebec, the 5th Mechanized Brigade Group of Canada (Valcartier, Quebec)) and the Quebec Area Land Force (Montreal, Quebec). His other assignments were the Aide de Camp (ADC) of the Commander of the Army, Infantry School Chief Instructor, Instructor at the Army Command and Staff College in Kingston (Ontario), responsible for training the Army and postings as Staff Officer at NDHQ (Ottawa, Ontario), at Colonel and Brigadier-General as responsible for plans and operations. Major-General Forand participated in three United Nations missions: UNFICYP (2), MINURSO (2), UNPROFOR.

He is known for many accomplishments throughout his career.

He served in Cyprus in 1974 with the Canadian Airborne Regiment during the Turkish invasion.^[1][2] He was awarded the Star of Courage for his extraordinary actions under enemy fire.

In 1991, he assumed the position of higher Liaison Officer Group belligerents "POLISARIO" and later became the Deputy Commander for the mission of the United Nations Referendum in Western Sahara. In 1993 he was given command of 5,000 soldiers of the 5th Mechanized Brigade Group of Canada and the Canadian Forces Base Valcartier. During this period, he was responsible for training more than 4,000 soldiers deployed to UN missions.

In 1995, Major-General Forand became the Commander of the Southern Sector of the United Nations in Croatia when the Croatian army became master of the Serbo-Croatian separatist republic. Major-General Forand often reported ^[3] war atrocities committed in the territory surrounding his area of responsibility.^[4][5] Despite threats by and constraints of the Croatian authorities, he ensured the safety of 1,200 Serbs that took refuge in his camp.^[6] Upon his return to Canada, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross for his actions in Croatia.

From 1996 to 1998, Major-General Forand was the Commander of the Quebec Area Land Force in Montreal. This command was marked by the Saguenay flood operation and the famous ice storm of 1998,^[7] where he successfully led the activities of more than 12,000 soldiers and worked closely with political, civil and public safety authorities to quickly resolve the crisis.^[8][9] In 1997, Major-General Forand was appointed Commander of the Order of Military Merit^[10] and in 1999 was admitted to the Order of St. John.^[11] From 1998 to 2000, Major-General Forand was the executive director of the Group of National Contingency Planning for Y2K.

On July 23, 1974, during the war in Cyprus, a Canadian patrol conducting a group of combatants out of a UN controlled area came under fire. Several combatant soldiers were killed or wounded and the Canadian officer leading the escort party was wounded. One of his men who began to render him first aid was also hit. At the bottom of a creek bed, the victims were exposed to continuing machine gun fire. Coming on the scene, Captain Alain Forand arranged for covering fire and, with complete disregard for his own safety, he crawled forward over the exposed ground, to aid the two casualties. Single-handedly, he managed to drag the wounded officer some distance up onto the bank of the creek where others then helped carry him out of the danger area. Captain Forand then directed the rescue of the wounded soldier.^[12][13]

From July to October 1995, Brigadier-General Forand served as Commander of Sector South with the United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation (UNCRO) in the Serb-controlled territory of Krajina in Croatia. During "Operation Storm",^[14] which started on August 4, 1995, he provided outstanding leadership and demonstrated extreme courage and determination. Thanks to his actions, countless UN peacekeepers and more than 700 Serb refugees escaped injury.^[15]