A former commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan Thursday pleaded guilty to having an affair with a subordinate while in Kandahar and trying to obstruct a probe into the scandal, Xinhua reported.
Entering a plea deal at a military court in Montreal, Quebec, retired brigadier general Daniel Menard was also ordered to pay a fine of 7,000 Canadian dollars (about 7,400 U.S. dollars), according to local press.
His rank was reduced to colonel, a symbolic punishment since he already retired from the military.
Menard, 45, also apologized to his wife and children at the court.
Canadian military laws prohibit service men and women to have sexual relationships during deployment.
Once a rising star in the Canadian military before the affair was exposed, Menard was removed from his post in Afghanistan in June 2010 and sent back to assume command of the army in Quebec. He resigned in November and is now unemployed.
Menard's lover was reprimanded and fined 700 Canadian dollars last year.
His trial came at a time as Canada is wrapping up its military mission in Afghanistan with the scheduled withdrawal of 3,000 troops while only 900 Canadian soldiers would stay there as military and police trainers.