Col McCarthy was commissioned as an army Logistics Officer in 1983 on graduation from the Royal Military College of Canada (BA -Honours -Economics & Commerce). He graduated from Canadian Forces College (Command and Staff Course) Toronto in 2000, received a Master of Defence Studies degree from RMC in 2004 and was promoted to his current rank in January 2006.
Col McCarthy has served the majority of his career in army field units. Field appointments have included: platoon commander, Quartermaster and company commander 1 Service Battalion, Quartermaster Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), Company Second in Command and acting Company Commander 41 Ordnance Company BAOR (Exchange Officer British Army), and G1/G4 Operations as well as Acting Deputy Chief of Staff, Headquarters 1 (UK) Armoured Division (second Exchange Officer tour British Army in Germany). He considers himself extremely privileged to have served as the last Commanding Officer of 2 General Support Battalion, Petawawa, from 2004-2006.
Col McCarthy has served on three operational deployments: Cyprus (UNFICYP 1988/89) with the Strathcona's, the Persian Gulf War (1991/92) with 1 (UK) Armoured Division, and Bosnia (NATO SFOR 1997/98) with 1 Service Battalion. He deployed with 1 Service Battalion in support of the Winnipeg flood relief operation in 1997 and with 1(UK) Armoured Division on Exercise SAIF SAREEA II, a 3 month combined and joint desert exercise in the Oman in 2001.
Col McCarthy's first non-field tour was at the rank of Major on the G4 staff at Land Force Central Area Headquarters, Toronto. He also served as the Base Technical Services Officer at Canadian Forces Base Chatham, New Brunswick and completed two tours at National Defence Headquarters (Logistics Officers' Occupational Analysis and J4 Logistics Plans). He assumed the position of J4 CEFCOM in January 2006.
