Ethell was born in
Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1937, the son of a nurse and a navy chief petty officer. He enlisted in the
Canadian Army in 1955 after being rejected by the
Navy and rejected from the
Air Force. Ethell enlisted as a
rifleman in the
Queen's Own Rifles of Canada at the age of 17 and underwent basic training at the
Currie Barracks in Calgary. He served in
West Germany during the
Cold War and rebadged to
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in 1970 when the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada was removed from regular army service. He rose through the
non-commissioned officer ranks to
warrant officer until he was commissioned as an officer in 1972. Demonstrating an ability for leadership, Ethell steadily rose to the rank of
colonel. He successively became a veteran of 14 international peacekeeping deployments, with service in
Cyprus,
Lebanon,
Syria,
Jordan,
Egypt,
Israel,
Central America and
the Balkans. Following his military retirement in 1993, Ethell became involved in humanitarian efforts, including
CARE Canada. He is an officer in the
Order of Canada and the
Order of Military Merit and a member of the
Alberta Order of Excellence. ==Lieutenant governor==