Commander Christopher Heckman

Commanding Officer - Maritime Operational Support and Intelligence Centre Royal Canadian Navy

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Christopher Heckman joined the CAF as a Naval Warfare Officer in 2001. After obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Hardware Engineering from the Royal Military College and completing initial naval officer training in 2005, he joined HMCS Fredericton and served as the ship's diving officer and as a bridge watch keeper (BWK). He sailed in support of Op NANOOK, Op CONNECTION, and Op CARIBBE. Specializing in Maritime Information Warfare (MIW), he completed the IW Director (IWD) course in 2008 and was posted to HMCS St. John's as the IWD, sailing on several task group exercises and a MISSILEX prior to being to HMCS Fredericton to deploy as the IWD on Op SAIPH. His contributions earned him a commendation from Commander CEFCOM (now CJOC). After returning in 2010, he was posted to the CF Maritime Warfare Centre as the IW Tactics and Doctrine officer before being posted to the CF Naval Operations School where he developed and instructed the Communications and Information Systems Officer course while completing a Master of Information Management from Dalhousie University. Completing the Operations Room Officer course in 2015, he served as a CCFL Battle Watch Officer during Ex JOINT WARRIOR and Ex TRIDENT JUNCTURE prior to completing his Combat Officer tour with HMCS Montréal in 2016. Promoted to LCdr, he deployed to Bahrain as the CTF 150 Communications Officer in support of Op ARTEMIS. After returning in 2016 he was posted to Ottawa to serve the Director of Naval Information Warfare as Senior Staff Officer (SSO) - Cyber, which culminated in the RCN Cyber Strategy 2020-2025 being published. He completed the Joint Command and Staff Program in Toronto in 2021, also earning a Master of Defence Studies from RMC. He then served as Executive Officer in HMCS St. John's prior to being appointed Commanding Officer of HMCS Glace Bay in 2022 and deploying as the Maritime Task Force Commander on Op PROJECTION - West Africa, and Op GLOBE - Haiti. Following the deployment, he was promoted to his current rank of Commander and served as SSO to the Chief of the Defence Staff where he was privileged to receive a CDS Commendation from General Eyre. He was then posted back to DNIW as the section head responsible for maritime C2, Cyber, Information Operations, Electronic Warfare, Tactical Data Links, and Space, prior to being appointed Commanding Officer of TRINITY – Maritime Operational Support and Intelligence Centre (MOSIC). Capitaine de frégate Christopher Heckman, Marine royale canadienne (MRC), commandant du Centre de soutien opérationnel maritime et de renseignement TRI