I’m a critical thinker. I don’t think about what people do. I think more about why people do it …because if you understand why, then you can understand how to support them.
Becoming commander of 38 Canadian Brigade Group, spanning Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and northwestern Ontario, was no easy milestone. Yet Colonel Evelyn Kotzer has always met challenges head on.
She credits her work ethic and problem-solving skills to growing up on a farm near Glenavon, SK. She had no interest in joining the military until a recruiter spoke to her Grade 12 class about the stability and opportunities that the CAF provided.
[I liked] knowing that I would come out of this with, not just a job but a career, something that I could keep going with … and I was one of those people who liked to prove people wrong.
Kotzer enlisted in 1994, earning an engineering degree from the Royal Military College of Canada before joining the Signals trade.
Over her career, she has commanded at the troop, squadron and unit levels, and served as a battalion signal officer and school adjutant. Her operational experience includes the G8 Summit on Op GRIZZLY in 2002 and deploying on Op UNIFIER in 2024-25. Working with Ukrainian partners, she helped turn battlefield lessons into training programs that prepared Ukrainian soldiers for the realities of war.
I am of Polish and Ukrainian descent. Being deployed on OP UNIFIER was one of the most meaningful experiences of my career.
Rising through the ranks, Kotzer is now a full Colonel and commands 38 Canadian Brigade Group. Being a female in command has its challenges, but her authentic leadership style has become a source of inspiration.
Knowing that my success has made other people — other women — want to be successful. I think that is probably one of my greatest gender successes … not just the fact that I’m a female commander, but the fact that I have inspired other women.
Kotzer is also a strong advocate for diversity, empathy, and cultural understanding in the military, establishing the 38 Canadian Brigade Group Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee.
Character matters; how you treat people matters; how you view yourself, your own integrity.