After graduating with a BSc in 1959, he joined the Royal Canadian Navy and thereafter gradually progressed through the commissioned officer ranks.

In 1970, he joined the CCS 280 Programming Team as a Programmer at Canadian Forces Headquarters (CFHQ) in Ottawa.

[2] Subsequent appointments included Director Maritime Requirements (Sea) at the National Defence Headquarters in 1983; Director General of Maritime Doctrine and Operations in 1986; and Chief of the Canadian Nuclear Submarine Acquisition Project in 1987.

[2] Promoted to full Admiral in 1993, he briefly served as Chief of Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces before retiring at the end of the year.

[1] His last appointment was as Canada's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels, Belgium in 1994.