[9] His formative years were spent on NATO duty in West Germany with The Royal Canadian Dragoons in troop command and staff appointments.

On his return to Ottawa in March 1999, he was appointed J3 Plans and Operations during the period of deployments to Kosovo, Bosnia, East Timor and Eritrea.

[9] Natynczyk attended the U.S. Army War College, and was subsequently appointed Deputy Commanding General, III Corps and Fort Hood.

[9] On June 6, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Natynczyk as the next Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), replacing retiring General Rick Hillier.

On February 16, 2012, in Washington, the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, awarded the Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) to Natynczyk.

[14] Natynczyk retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in December 2012 to take on public service, after transferring control of the defence staff to his successor, RCAF General Thomas Lawson, just 2 months earlier.

[16] He was appointed as the 9th Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs Canada, effective November 3, 2014,[5] during the Harper ministry and continued in his role under Justin Trudeau.