James Stuart Salt (1968 - Present)
James Stuart Salt
The Salt's
and
the Sea
The eldest son of James Gordon and Joyce Denise Salt, JAMES was born on the 2nd of November 1968 in St. Stephen, a small town bordering the province of New Brunswick and the State of Maine. As had been the case with his Father, Grandfather and Great-Grandfather, he would also be inundated with tales of the life of a mariner and it would not be long before that call would see JAMES at sea serving his Country.
In September of 1991, JAMES re-enrolled in the Canadian Forces and became the 5th generation in a long line of mariners. While not nearly as eventful of those of his forefathers, his time at sea was not without its challenges. During the first 14 years of his career, he would spend nearly 12 of those posted to active, sea-going vessels, operating in the waters of the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean and he would stop in some of the very same ports of call as did his ancestors years before. His time within the Navy has led him as far north as Iqaluit, in the Canadian Arctic, and as far south as Chile, with numerous stops in-between. Spain, the United Kingdom, Lebanon, Cyprus, France, Belgium, the Panama Canal, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, the Netherlands, the Hawaiian Islands, the Territory of Guam, and hundreds of ports along the American and Canadian Coastlines have all provided a respite during his years of traveling.
The Canadian Navy ...
JAMES enrolled in the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet organization at the age of 12 and over the next 6 years, he would serve in two cadet corps in the Ontario Region (RCSCC Repulse & RCSCC Scarborough) and eventually obtain the cadet rank of Chief Petty Officer First Class. His summers were spent at various summer cadet camps in British Columbia and Ontario and in the summer of 1985, he toured Germany, Switzerland and France as part of a Tri-Service Cadet Band sent to Europe by the Government of Canada to partake in the International Year of the Youth festivities.
JAMES was accepted into the Royal Military College of Canada in May of 1987 and attended the Kingston, Ontario academic institution for one year before honourably releasing. Over the next few years he would spend his summers as a deckhand on various motor vessels touring on the Great Lakes but would eventually return to the Navy, this time with the expectation of Command.
Watchkeeper Under Training
Bridge Watchkeeper
Navigator
Shipborne Aircraft Controller
Instructor
Operations Room Officer Course
Combat Officer
Staff Officer
Joint Command & Staff Programme
Programme Officer
Executive Officer
Project Director
Commanding Officer
Chief of Staff
Director Naval Major Crown Projects
Director Strategy Development
Postings
Bridge Watchkeeping Certification
Promoted Sub-Lieutenant
Commanding Officer Commendation – HMCS ALGONQUIN
Promoted Lieutenant (Navy)
Navigating Officer Certification
Shipborne Aircraft Controller Certification
Operations Room Officer Certification
Surface Ship Command Qualification
Promoted Lieutenant Commander
Commanders Commendation – Joint Task Force Lebanon
Joint Command & Staff Programme Qualification
Bachelors of Military Arts and Science (with distinction)
Promoted Commander
Commanders Commendation - MARLANT
Promoted Captain (Navy)
Qualifications, Promotions, Honours & Awards
In addition to his involvement in countless multi-national exercises and numerous at sea rescues, JAMES would partake in the interception of illegal migrants from the Fujian province of China off the shores of British Columbia and would bear witness to and assist in the seizure of over 14 tons of narcotics bound for the streets of Canada, the largest seizure of its kind at the time in British Columbian history. In 2003, JAMES along with 236 of his fellow shipmates would experience one of the more challenging aspects of life as a mariner; a fire at sea. It would take the crew of the OTTAWA over four hours to extinguish the engine room enclosure blaze, off the Baja Peninsula, and the ship would soon hold the unlucky record as having experienced the largest recorded Halifax Class fire since the arrival of the Frigates to the Canadian Navy.
In May of 2004, JAMES successfully challenged and completed his Surface Ship Command Qualification. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in March of 2005 and was subsequently posted to National Defence Headquarters in the Nation’s Capital where he was employed as a Staff Officer within the Maritime Security Branch of the Directorate of Maritime Requirements (Sea). While there, he progressed a number of Maritime Security related projects, including the acquisition and integration of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) for the Canadian Navy.
Not one to enjoy sitting idle behind a desk for too long a period, in the summer of 2006 JAMES was one of seven naval officers that deployed to the volatile region of southern Lebanon to assist in the evacuation of nearly 14,000 Canadian citizens from the war torn area during the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, the largest evacuation of its kind since the Second World War. His experiences as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Navy during this operation, presented at the 2007 Maritime Security Conference, was published in 2009 by the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies at Dalhousie University in the book titled "Breaking the Box: The Increasing Demands of Non-Combat Roles of Maritime Forces."
In the summer of 2008, JAMES was selected to attend the year long Joint Command and Staff Programme held at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto, Ontario and, upon graduation, he remained on staff to serve as a faculty member for the Director of Curriculum. While employed at the College, he completed his Bachelors degree in Military Arts and Science, with distinction, through the Royal Military College of Canada. In January 2009, JAMES returned once again to Victoria and was appointed as the Executive Officer of HMCS CALGARY. His final deployment with the ship saw him spend three months off the coasts of Central and South America supporting the Joint Interagency Task Force South in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Promoted to Commander in April 2010, JAMES returned to the Directorate of Maritime Requirements (Sea) in Ottawa and assumed the role of Project Director for the Halifax Class Modernization programme.
On 12 July 2012, JAMES assumed Command of Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) FREDERICTON and spent the next two years returning the ship to operational status in preparation for her deployment scheduled for late 2014, the first of the modernized frigates to do so. In May of 2014, he returned to National Defence Headquarters and has filled a number of roles, including as Director Naval Major Crown Projects where he spend two years managing the largest recapitalization of the Royal Canadian Navy since the Second World War. He is currently responsible for developing National Military Strategy for the Canadian Armed Forces and resides in Ottawa, Ontario with his wife, Angela (nee Wylie), their two children, Ethan and Ella, and a very active Portuguese Water Dog named Chester.
1993
1993
1994
1995
1995
1997
2001
2004
2004
2005
2007
2008
2009
2010
2014
2016
1991 - 1993
1993 - 1995
1995 - 1996
1996 - 2000
2000 - 2001
2001 - 2002
2002 - 2005
2005 - 2007
2007 - 2008
2008 - 2009
2009 - 2010
2010 - 2012
2012 - 2014
2014 - 2016
2016 - 2018
2018 - Present
Naval Officer Training Centre (NOTC) Venture
HMC Ships SASKATCHEWAN, COWICHAN,
ORIOLE, & RESTIGOUCHE
HMCS ALGONQUIN
HMCS THUNDER
HMCS HURON
NOTC Venture
HMC Ships YELLOWKNIFE, NANAIMO, SASKATOON
Canadian Forces Naval Operations School
HMCS OTTAWA
Directorate Maritime Requirements (Sea)
Canadian Forces College Toronto
Canadian Forces College Toronto
HMCS CALGARY
Halifax Class Modernization Programme
HMCS FREDERICTON
Directorate Capability and Structure Integration
Naval Force Development
Strategic Joint Staff