Bennett R. Coles

Bennett R. Coles served 15 years as an officer in the Canadian Navy. His deployments took him around most of the Pacific Rim and included such highlights as being in the first Canadian task force to visit Vladivostok since the fall of the Soviet Union, and being selected as the liaison officer to the Chinese Navy for its first ever visit to Canada. He was the first Canadian officer to set foot aboard a Chinese warship in Canadian waters, advising the Chinese captain and admiral for the day-long passage.

Throughout his career he undertook a variety of roles such as bridge officer, boarding party officer, warfare officer and navigator. He served several years in staff positions, including the start-up team for Operation APOLLO, which initiated Canada’s decade of support to the post-9/11 mission in Afghanistan. The highlight of his career was a pair of tours in the Middle East as a UN Military Observer, the first in the Golan Heights and the second in South Lebanon.

He retired from active duty in 2005, but quickly realized that his new career as an author wasn’t going to follow the path he’d envisaged. With the traditional publishing industry broken and the self-publishing industry stillborn, he eventually found himself heading up a maverick publishing company that takes the best of both worlds and creates something better. He makes his home on Canada’s West Coast with his wife and two sons.

Learn more by visiting www.bennettrcoles.com