General Henault enrolled in the Canadian Forces in 1968.  He served his early tours as a pilot and flight instructor, accumulating over 4,500 flying hours of flying time. In addition to flying, he served as an air traffic controller, an aviation staff officer in a Brigade Headquarters, and as Project Director in Ottawa for the replacement of tactical light helicopters. From 1987 to 1989 he was the Commanding Officer of 444 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, a unit of 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group at the Canadian Forces Base (CFB) in Lahr, Germany.  From 1990 to 1992, General Henault was the Base Commander at CFB Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, heading Canada's premier flying training centre.  A number of Air Force command and staff appointments followed, including command of 10 Tactical Air Group in St. Hubert, Quebec and Chief of Staff Operations at Air Command Headquarters (HQ) in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  In 1996, he was posted to Ottawa to begin a series of jobs at National Defence HQ that included military planning and operations and Deputy Chief of the newly-formed Air Staff.  In 1998, he was promoted Lt.-Gen. and appointed Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, or head of operations.  General Henault's three-year tenure was highlighted by the Canadian contribution to the Kosovo air and ground campaigns and other significant NATO missions, including the Stabilization Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  In June 2001, he was promoted to his present rank and appointed Chief of the Defence Staff, a position he held until February 2005, and a period marked by the highest operational tempo for the Canadian Forces in the previous 50 years including those generated by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  Canada was also active during his tenure in coalition and United Nations missions including those in Haiti, Ethiopia-Eritrea, the Golan Heights, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone.  General Henault was elected by his NATO peers to the position of Chairman of the NATO Military Committee in November 2004 and assumed that position at NATO HQ in Brussels in June 2005.  He represented all NATO Chiefs of Defence at NATO HQ and served as the NATO military spokesperson and military advisor to the North Atlantic Council.  He completed his three-year commitment to NATO in June 2008, returning to Canada to retire after 40 years of military service and the distinction of being the longest-serving four-star General in Canadian history (7 years).  General Henault is a graduate of the École supérieure de Guerre aérienne (ESGA) in Paris, France and Canada's National Defence College.  He is also an Honorary Ancien of the NATO Defence College in Rome, Italy.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Manitoba, and is an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy (Military Science) of the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario.  He is also an Honorary Professor of the University of Pecs in Pecs, Hungary. General Henault currently lives in Ottawa, ON and is the Chairman of the Board and Strategic Executive Advisor for ADGA Group Consultants Inc., an Ottawa-based consulting firm; a member of the Board of Directors for Eurocopter Canada Ltd in Fort Erie, ON; ; and, a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Defence & Security Studies at the University of Manitoba.  He is also the Vice-President of the Conference of Defence Associations (CDA) Institute in Ottawa and a member of the Advisory Board of the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI).