Commander Geoff “Sammy” Everts was born in Pincher Creek, Alberta in 1967. The son of an oilman, he spent his childhood moving to wherever the oil and gas flowed best. He joined the Canadian Forces in 1989 and, on completion of his initial Naval training joined HMCS FRASER in 1992 where earned his Bridge Watchkeeping certificate and deployed as part of Operation FORWARD ACTION off the coast of Haiti.
On completion of the Above Water Warfare Course in 1994 Commander Everts served in HMCS HURON as her Above Water Warfare Officer (AWWO). Following his tour as AWWO, in 1996 he served at Venture, the Naval Officer Training Centre in Esquimalt where he instructed junior naval officers in navigation and seamanship. In 1998 Commander Everts returned to the fleet and served as Deck Officer in HMCS CALGARY deploying to the Arabian Gulf as part of Operation AUGMENTATION in support of United Nations imposed sanctions against Iraq.
In 2001 Commander Everts completed the year long Operations Room Officers course in Halifax. On completion of that course he joined HMCS PROTECTEUR and subsequently HMCS ALGONQUIN where he served as Weapons Officer then Combat Officer. In 2005 Commander Everts was selected for an overseas posting at NATO's Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC) in Lisbon, Portugal. During his time at the JALLC he deployed several times to Afghanistan to gather lessons from NATO's ISAF mission and participated in numerous NATO exercises throughout Europe.
In 2008 Commander Everts returned to Canada where he served with the Strategic Joint Staff Directorate of Current Operations at National Defence Headquarters until his appointment as Executive Officer of HMCS ATHABASKAN in 2009. During his short time in ATHABASKAN he spent most of his time at sea, participating in two international exercises and contributing to the relief efforts in Haiti as part of Operation Hestia following the devastating earthquake in January 2010 earning a CDS Commendation. Commander Everts was promoted to his current rank in 2010 and subsequently posted back to Ottawa where he served as the J5 International Plans Officer at Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM). Commander Everts completed the two year Joint Command and Staff Programme Distance learning programme in 2011 in his “spare” time.
Commander Everts was appointed Commanding Officer of HMCS Winnipeg 12 July 2011.
Cdr Everts is married to Jodie (nee McKay) and they have two boys, Fraser and Connor.
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