Colonel Steve Chouinard joined the CAF in 1986 and graduated from the Collège Militaire Royal de Saint-Jean in 1991 with a Bachelor in Military and Strategic Studies. He obtained a Masters in International Relations from Laval University (Québec City) in 1993.
Following Navigator Wing graduation in 1994, he was posted to 415 (MP) Squadron in Greenwood. Catching the end of the Cold War, he took part in numerous Anti-Submarine Operations including many hours chasing Russian submarines from NATO bases in the North Atlantic.
In 2000, he was posted to the Maritime Proving and Evaluation Unit (MP&EU) in Greenwood as a CP140 Aurora project officer and Test Director. As part of the CF Atlantic Littoral ISR Experiment (ALIX), he qualified as one of the first CF UAV mission commander on the Predator B (Altair) where their trial findings paved the way for the operational use of tactical UAVs for the RCAF. Promoted to Major in 2003, he remained at MP&EU where he occupied the functions of Senior Navigator and Deputy Commanding Officer.
Posted to the Directorate of Air Requirements (DAR) in Ottawa in 2006, he progressed the approval of many Aurora operational capability upgrades.
Promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 2009, he attended le Collège Interarmées de Défense in Paris where he completed the French Command and Staff College. He took command of 14 Wing Operations in Greenwood in 2010 where he initiated the deployment of the Aurora aircraft during the air campaign in Libya the next year. In 2012, he was posted to the Embassy of Canada in Washington DC as the Assistant Air Attaché. Accredited to the United States Air Force, he was involved in supporting RCAF strategic CANUS cooperation initiatives. Promoted to Colonel in 2016, he is the current Director of Air Requirements.