Colonel John Roper was born on 14 March 1977 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1994 as a Reservist where he deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1999 as a member of Op PALLADIUM Roto 4. In 2002, he completed a Component Transfer to the Regular Forces as a Communications and Electronics Officer. As a junior officer, he was first posted to the Canadian Forces Joint Signal Regiment where he served as Regimental Requirements Officer, Squadron 2IC, and Telecommunications Maintenance Troop Commander. While there, he deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2006 as the NCCIS Troop Commander / J6 Operations Officer in support of Op ATHENA. In 2007, he was posted to the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics as a Squadron 2IC, instructor, and Course Director for the CELE officer course.

Promoted to Major in 2009, he was assigned to the Directorate of Air Personnel Strategy in Ottawa working on RCAF workforce management and occupation recovery for all RCAF managed occupations of both Regular and Reserve Force components. He then relocated with his family to 22 Wing North Bay in 2010, where he assumed the duties of Wing Telecommunications and Information Services Officer. In 2012, he was posted to Directorate of Military Careers as the CELE Career Manager where after 12 months was sent as a student to the Joint Command and Staff Programme at the Canadian Forces College in 2013.

Following graduation, he was moved back to Ottawa to ADM(IM) as EA to the COS(IM) where he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 2015. Following promotion, he was posted to DComd NORAD and assigned to NORAD and USNORTHCOM (N&NC) Headquarters to be employed as the N&NC Chief, Command and Control Mission Services Branch.

Following 3 years in this position he was promoted Colonel Acting While So Employed to finish his 4 years in Colorado as the N&NC Vice Chief, Joint Cyber Centre, Cyberspace Operations Directorate focusing on Binational Cyber Operations. This included the planning and execution of Defensive Cyberspace Operations Internal Defensive Measures (DCO-IDM) on NORAD operated networks and mission systems.

In July 2019, Colonel Roper was posted to 22 Wing North Bay as the Commanding Officer, Mission Support Squadron and 22 Wing Deputy Wing Commander. After an amazing 2 years, he was promoted to Colonel and assumed the appointment as Director Aerospace Equipment Program Management (Radars and Communication Systems) in Ottawa.

Colonel Roper holds a Master of Defence Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, a Bachelor of Science from the University of Prince Edward Island, and a Diploma in Applied Computer Programing from the Information Technology Institute.

Colonel Roper is married to his wonderful wife and they are the proud parents of their daughter​.