Into the Breach

“General Eyre’s Into the Breach recounts this remarkable leader’s ability to stay above the fray and provide grand strategic guidance under an environment of ceaseless urgency. Few who have not held that level of command can grasp the weight of decisions made with incomplete information, competing priorities, and no room for hesitation. Eyre’s account offers a rare and honest window into what it takes to lead with clarity when the ground itself is shifting. These are lessons as important to soldiers as to anyone charged with leading an institution through crisis. This is a book that deserves to be read not just by those in uniform, but by anyone who will one day be asked to lead when it matters most.”
— LIEUTENANT-GENERAL THE HONOURABLE ROMÉO DALLAIRE (Canadian Army, retired)
“This vivid account of General Wayne Eyre’s stellar career as a top soldier gives a deeply personal validation to recent Canadian military history. He has seen it all and has written it down in such a meaningful and human way.”
— THE RIGHT HONOURABLE ADRIENNE CLARKSON, former governor general of Canada
“A farm boy from Saskatchewan who rose to the highest rank in Canada’s military, General Wayne Eyre regales with his personal story of an exciting and arduous career path. Much to his credit and character, he never flinched and always faced the challenges thrown at him head-on, and was rewarded with an appointment as our country’s Chief of the Defence Staff at a time when Canadian senior military leadership was being dragged through the mud.”
— MAJOR-GENERAL LEWIS MacKENZIE (Canadian Army, retired)
“Having had the privilege of serving alongside Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, I witnessed firsthand the professionalism, courage, and quiet determination General Eyre describes so vividly in these pages. Into the Breach is not only the story of one remarkable military career; it is also a tribute to generations of Canadians who have answered their nation’s call with distinction. A thoughtful, timely, and deeply important book.”
— GENERAL STANLEY McCHRYSTAL (United States Army, retired)
“Wayne Eyre was there through it all, eventually becoming the country’s top soldier. He saw everything—the good and the bad—and his memory of events is one we must learn from during this dangerous and critical moment in Canadian and world history. General Eyre has a dramatic story to tell, and if you want to understand how Canada’s military really works, you need to read this book.”
— PETER MANSBRIDGE, former chief correspondent for CBC News
“As a soldier, a scholar, and the most senior commander of Canada’s military forces, Wayne Eyre built a vast reservoir of experience and wisdom. A must-read from one of Canada’s finest soldiers and leaders of the twenty-first century, indispensable for junior leaders as well as those charged with the most senior military and national security appointments.”
— MAJOR-GENERAL MICK RYAN (Australian Army, retired)

General Wayne Eyre retired in 2024 as Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff. In that role, he led Canada’s military through a complex mix of international and domestic crises.

During his decades of military service, he led numerous operations in Canada and deployed on missions to Cyprus, Croatia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and South Korea. He was the most senior Canadian military officer ever permanently stationed in the Indo-Pacific region when he became the first non-American deputy commander of United Nations Command in South Korea.

He also commanded the reconnaissance platoon in the Battle of Medak Pocket—Canada’s largest battle between the Korean and Afghanistan Wars—and the unit mentoring the Afghan National Army in Kandahar, Canada’s largest-ever combat advisory mission up to that point.

Eyre is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada, holds three master’s degrees and an honorary doctorate of military science, and is the recipient of numerous high-level Canadian and foreign decorations. Since retirement, he has been writing, teaching, speaking, and advising.

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