Lieutenant Colonel Sandi Banerjee, CD, joined the Army Reserve in 1987 as a Rifleman while attending the University of Toronto. In 1989, he was selected to attend Infantry Officer phase training at the Combat Training Centre in Gagetown, NB, and was commissioned into The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, Canada’s oldest, continuously serving Infantry Regiment.

LCol Banerjee has served in a variety of appointments
including reconnaissance and rifle platoon commander, and Officer Commanding infantry and combat support companies. In 2004 he was appointed Deputy Commanding Officer, a position he held until his deployment in 2006 as Deputy Commander, OP SAFARI – Task Force Sudan, where he was awarded the Force Commander’s Commendation as the Force J9 in Darfur, North and South Sudan.

His duties in Afghanistan include Combined Joint Plans for Kandahar City with NATO ISAF Regional Command (South), for which he was awarded the Canadian Expeditionary Forces Command Commendation, and Head of Governance Branch with 6th (UK) Division, for which he was awarded the Division Commander’s Commendation.

He was appointed Commanding Officer of The QOR of C from 2014 to 2017, during which time he also commanded 32 Battle Group under 2 CMBG.

In 2017, he was named as Canada’s representative to NATO’s Defence & Security committee at CIOR and also commenced duties as Directing Staff at the Army Command & Staff College in Kingston.

In addition to exchanges, taskings and teaching in Estonia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Malaysia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, he has worked for the Canadian Defence Academy; the Canadian Forces Recruiting, Education and Training Systems Command; the Jamaican Defence Academy, numerous Peace Support Training Centres and on two domestic response operations with 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group.

He is a graduate of the United States Marine Corps Joint Command & Staff College (Quantico), the Canadian Forces School of Management (St Jean), the United Nations & OCHA Planner and Operations Courses (Slovenia and Geneva), the African Centre for Conflict Resolution (Kenya), the Canadian Forces Land Command & Staff College (Kingston) and the Canadian Forces College (Toronto).