Major Gavin J. Ellis joined the Canadian Forces in 2005 as a direct entry officer after graduating from the University of Ottawa with a degree in Computer Engineering. Upon completion of trade training in 2008, he was posted to the 8 Wing Telecommunications and Information Systems Squadron (8 WTISS) in Trenton, ON. At 8 WTISS, he assumed the roles of Operations Officer and then Telecom Services Officer before becoming the Deputy Officer Commanding. In 2009, Maj Ellis was selected as the 8 Missions Support Squadron (8 MSS) CIS Officer and deployed in January of 2010 to Op HESTIA, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as the A6 in support of air operations and the humanitarian efforts following the earthquake. Later that same year, 8 MSS deployed to the Theatre Support Element in Camp Mirage supporting the Afghanistan mission. After the closure of Camp Mirage in November 2010, Maj Ellis was deployed to Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan as the Theatre ISSO.

In 2011, Maj Ellis was posted to Canadian Forces Information Operations Group HQ as project director of several expeditionary SIGINT projects and spent 3 months as augmenting staff at CFSCE supporting the CELE Basic Course before being promoted to his current rank in 2013. Maj Ellis was then posted to Ramstein, Germany within the A6 Requirements section of NATO Air Command where he had the opportunity to work with representatives from a multitude of nations, ran what is likely one of the best messes in Europe as PMC and still had time to visit over 30 countries throughout Europe. On his return to Ottawa in 2016, he served as Canada’s liaison to the NATO Communications and Information Agency directly supporting ADM(IM) in all files related to NATO communications. He then was given the opportunity to deploy once again in 2019, this time to OP IMPACT Det Qatar as Canada’s Cyber Liaison Officer to Op INHERENT RESOLVE. In this role, he worked in the US Combined Air Operations Center as part of the Strategic Division where he supported the operational planning related to defeating the last remaining elements of ISIS’s caliphate.

Following the deployment to Qatar, Maj Ellis become Officer Commanding ‘B’ Sqn in the Canadian Forces Network Operations Center responsible for the deployable elements of CAF’s Defensive Cyber Force including its Cyber Protection Teams and Red Team. During his time as OC, he oversaw the deployment of cyber forces throughout Canada and Europe. He was also given the opportunity to become the first Cyber Task Force Commander responsible to support CAF defensive cyber operations within Eastern Europe. In July 2022, Maj Ellis was appointed as the Communications and Electronics Branch Adjutant.

Major Ellis is supported by his wonderful wife Erin and they are proud parents of a daughter and son.