Major Justin E.P. Behiels was born in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, in 1977, and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. He began his military career in 1995 when he enlisted with 3 Field Engineer Squadron as a reservist while completing a Bachelor of Arts in Geography at the University of Ottawa. During this time, he was also an active member of the Canadian Ski Patrol System.
In 2002, Major Behiels was commissioned under the Direct Entry Officer Program (DEO) initially as a pilot. Upon completing Engineer Phase IV in Gagetown, New Brunswick, he was posted to 2 Combat Engineer Regiment (2 CER) in Petawawa, Ontario, where he commanded 2 Troop, 23 Field Squadron. He deployed to Afghanistan on Operation ATHENA in 2006 and participated in NATO Operation MEDUSA, for which he was awarded the Sacrifice Medal after being wounded in combat operations. During this deployment, he also served as Battle Group Duty Officer for 1 Royal Canadian Regiment. His earlier operational experience included a deployment to Bosnia in 1997 as a Sapper with 2 CER, 24 Field Squadron, Heavy Equipment Troop.
In 2008, Major Behiels was selected for an exchange posting to the United States Army Engineer School (USAES) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. As an instructor with the Combat Engineer Division, he delivered over 1,500 hours of engineer tactics and leadership instruction to U.S. Army officers, earning the U.S. Army Master Instructor qualification and the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM). During this posting, he completed the Joint Engineer Officer Course, Joint Firepower Course, Intermediate Search Advisor Course, and received certification from the Master Teacher Program conducted by the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also served on the U.S. Army Learning Model 2015 Working Group and trained more than 3,000 U.S. Engineer Lieutenants.
Returning to Canada in 2012, Major Behiels assumed command of 11 Engineer Squadron within 1 Engineer Support Unit (1 ESU) serving in Moncton and Kingston. In 2014, he was posted to the Canadian Army Command and Staff College, where he served as Directing Staff, Course Coordinator, Engineer Advisor, and Master Teacher Program Facilitator. He completed a Master of Arts in Learning and Technology from Royal Roads University in 2018. Following Spanish language training, Major Behiels was posted in 2021 to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) in Fort Benning, Georgia. In 2022, he graduated from the
U.S. Command and General Staff Officer Course (CGSOC) with a Master of Operational Studies, and subsequently served as an Instructor, Operations Officer, and Deputy Director with the institution.
Major Behiels will retire in Kingston, Ontario, with his spouse Holly, their children Holden and Sloane, and their English Springer Spaniel, Charlie.
CHIMO!