Daniel Ménard (born 1965/1966) is a Canadian executive and former Canadian Army brigadier general and NATO commander during the War in Afghanistan. At the time of his promotion, he was one of the youngest general officers in the Canadian Armed Forces. In 2010, he was dismissed from command of Task Force Kandahar in Afghanistan following an affair with a subordinate, and subsequently retired from the military. He entered the private sector in 2011 as managing director for Afghanistan with security company GardaWorld. In January 2014 he was arrested in Kabul following licensing issues under Afghanistan's strict regulations for private security contractors, but was released without charges after several weeks. He has since worked as an executive at several Quebec-based companies. Early life Daniel Ménard studied military and international studies at the Canadian Forces College while enlisted. He earned his masters in International Management from the University of Quebec. Military career Ménard joined the Canadian Army in 1984. He was initially posted to the 3rd Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment as a platoon commander. Ménard served in the United Kingdom, Germany, Haiti, and Bosnia. In 2005, as a lieutenant-colonel, he was the commanding officer of a unit stationed at CFB Valcartier in Quebec. From September 2008 to July 2009, he was a colonel in command of the 5th Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. He was promoted to brigadier general later that year at the age of 43, making him one of the youngest general officers in the Canadian Armed Forces at the time. Afghanistan Ménard was deployed to Afghanistan in November 2009 as commander of NATO's Joint Task Force Afghanistan and Task Force Kandahar, officially succeeding Brigadier General Jonathan Vance on November 19th. He was the sixth Canadian and second French Canadian commander of Task Force Afghanistan since Canadian troops were deployed to Afghanistan in 2006. He was initially in charge of 2800 Canadian soldiers, including units from Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, as well as 1200 American troops seconded to Canadian command. By December 3rd, that had increased to 2000 American troops. At that time, he announced that a unit from the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army would be seconded to Canadian command in Kandahar to assist with stabilizing the city. On December 18th, The Montreal Gazette reported that three American units had been seconded to Ménard's command, bringing his brigade to a