Lieutenant-General Christopher J. Coates CMM MSM CD is a former military officer of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

[5] He graduated from post-secondary education at the University of Calgary in chemistry and biochemistry.

[6] He was the operations officer with 10 Tactical Air Group in St Hubert, and the director of CAOC in Winnipeg, 1 Wing in Kingston.

[6] On March 22, 2021, Coates announced his retirement from the Canadian Armed Forces.

[7] The announcement came after Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan halted Coates planned promotion to lead the NATO Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy, following revelations that Coates had an extramarital affair with an American civilian in Colorado during his tenure as Deputy Commander of NORAD.