Brigadier-General Lowell Thomas joined the Canadian Armed Forces in December 1980. Throughout his career, he has served in numerous command positions within to include troop, squadron, and as the 50th Commanding Officer of the Royal Canadian Dragoons. Brigadier-General Thomas was the Director of the Royal Canadian Armour Corps from 2007 to 2009. From June 2010 to July 2012, he was Commander of the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, Canadian Forces Base/Area Support Unit Wainwright.

Brigadier-General Thomas served as a staff officer at Brigade, Division, Army, and Canadian Forces Headquarters levels. In 1998, Brigadier-General Thomas was seconded to the United States Army, 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized) in Fort Stewart, Georgia, USA, on the Divisional Headquarters staff for a two-year period. During this time, he completed deployments to Kuwait and Egypt.

In 1988, he deployed as part of the United Nations Forces to Cyprus (UNFICYP) as the Sector Senior Duty Officer. In 1996, he deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina as the Commanding Officer of the Brigade Reconnaissance Squadron as part of the NATO Implementation Force (IFOR). His latest deployment was to Afghanistan from June to December 2005 (International Security and Assistance Force) (ISAF) as the Commanding Officer of Task Force Kabul. During his tour in Afghanistan, his unit conducted operations in both Kabul and Kandahar.

He is a graduate of Royal Roads University with a Masters in Leadership and Training, and a recent graduate of the Canadian Forces National Security Program. Promoted to Brigadier-General on the 6th of September 2012, he assumed the duties of the Chief of Staff Canadian Joint Operations Command on 21 September, 2012. He took command of the 4th Canadian Division/Joint Task Force (Central) in Toronto, ON on 11 July, 2014.

Department of National Defence, Canada

The Warriors' Day Parade Council welcomes Brigadier-General Thomas as our 2014 Reviewing Officer.