Canada swears in new top military officer

OTTAWA - Lt.-Gen. Thomas Lawson, a former fighter pilot and air force veteran, was sworn in Monday as new chief of the defense staff, Canada's top military post.

Lawson, 54, formally succeeded Gen. Walt Natynczyk, who held the post since July 2008, at a change-of-command ceremony at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

Newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff General Tomas Lawson speaks during a Canadian Forces change of command ceremony at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Oct 29, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

The new military chief, who has been in the air force for 37 years and most recently served as deputy commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, was appointed to the new post in August.

Under a 20-year defense strategy, the annual budget of about $18 billion for the Department of National Defense and the Canadian armed forces was scheduled to almost double to more than $30 billion between 2027 and 2028.

However, an independent analysis recently predicted that the federal government could cut $2.5 billion by 2014 to 2015 as part of Ottawa's deficit-reduction plan.

The armed forces' budget "will be tighter than what we had expected", Lawson told reporters after the ceremony.

The new Canadian top general will also have to oversee a planned purchase of Lockheed-Martin's F-35 stealth jets, which are intended to replace Canada's aging CF-18 Hornet fighter jets, in a procurement project that could cost $25 billion, or $9 billion more than the cost estimate.