BGen Martin Girard joined the Canadian Forces in June 1981 and started at College Militaire Royal de St-Jean on 15 August 1981. He was transferred to the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston in 1982 where he graduated from RMCC in Electrical Engineering in May 1986. His first posting was B Tel O for CFB Gagetown from 1987-1989.

He has served in numerous operational, staff and project appointments at NDHQ and the operational commands such as Chief Engineer DWAN, EA ADM IM, CF Deputy J6, CEFCOM J6, CANOSCOM OS J3 and COS.

BGen Girard also served in three operational deployments: First Gulf War (1990-1991) as second in command of 1 Ptarmigan Squadron of 1st (UK) Armoured Division HQ and Signal Regiment; Bosnia (2002-2003) as Commander Signal Support Group SFOR; Haiti (2008-2009) as Task Force Commander Port au Prince and Chief of Staff MINUSTAH for which he received a Meritorious Service Medal in November 2010.

BGen Girard has commanded and reluctantly relinquished command at CFS Leitrim (2000-2002), CFSCE (2003-2005) and CFSSG (2012-2014).

He is a graduate from Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College (1993), Advanced Signal Officer Course, Canadian Forces College (1998), National Security Programme (2012) and CAPSTONE (2015). He also received a Masters Degree in Telecommunication Management at the Royal Military College of Canada (1996).  BGen Girard has been appointed as an officer to the Order of Military Merit on the 25th of October 2011.

Promoted to Brigadier-General on 29 May 2014, he was appointed Director General Military Signal Intelligence and Deputy Commander Canadian Forces Intelligence Command until 4 April 2016 where he moved to New York to become Military Advisor to the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations. He left New York City on 29 July 2020 and retired from the Canadian Armed Forces, the C&E Branch and the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals on 4th Sep 2020 and he is now enjoying retirement with his beautiful wife Gyl in Bromont, QC.