Major Brinkema joined the Canadian Armed Forces in September 2002. Tactical Combat Service Support experience was gained at 1 General Support Battalion and 1 Service Battalion Edmonton where Major Brinkema held the positions of Administrative Officer (Admin Company) / Platoon Commander and Company Second in Command (Transport Company) from 2003 to 2006.  Operational support experience was gained at 7 Canadian Forces Supply Depot where Major Brinkema served as the Officer in Command of the Equipment Fielding Coordination Centre from 2006 to 2008.  He returned to 1 Canadian Mechanised Brigade Group as the G4 Supply from 2008 to 2010.  From 2010 to 2012 Major Brinkema served as the CANOSCOM Materiel Movements Operations Officer (J3 Mov Ops 3) where he was responsible for the strategic deployment and repatriation of materiel from Afghanistan (MTTF), the materiel transition to Op ATTENTION, and strategic materiel movement in support of the Canadian Armed Forces engagement in Libya, Op MOBILE.  Major Brinkema served the Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) as J4 Mov Plans from 2012 to 2013.  From 2013 to 2016, serving as the Deputy Commanding Officer of the CJOC Operational Support Hub Europe (Cologne, Germany), he oversaw strategic multimodal movements and third line decompression operations for Op ATTENTION, Op REASSURANCE, Op UNIFIER, Op IMPACT and Op RENAISSANCE.  In 2016 he was assigned as G4 (Chief Logistician) of 41 Canadian Brigade Group where, in 2017, he deployed to Latvia as the Rotation 0 Task Force J4 (Chief Logistics).  In 2019 Major Brinkema was posted to Tallinn, Estonia as Section Head Movements and Transportation / Engineering Operations of the NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU) Estonia.  In 2021 as Joint Task Force North Detachment Commander for Nunavut he assumed principal liaison authority for the Canadian Armed Forces.  His responsibilities are to engage with federal and territorial government departments and agencies, Indigenous Associations, NATO, Foreign Militaries, and Commercial Entities.  Secondarily he is a planning authority for Northern Operations, and principal planner / officer commanding for all civil / military operations within Nunavut.  Finally, Major Brinkema is the principal coordinator for Emergency Management and Search and Resue operations between JTFN and Nunavut Emergency Management. 

Prior to joining the Canadian Armed Forces, Major Brinkema held management positions in Mercedes-Benz Canada and Ford Credit Canada.  His academic profile includes a Bachelor of Management Degree from the University of Lethbridge, a Master of Business Administration Degree from Royal Roads University and a Doctor of Business Administration degree from Athabasca University.  He and his wife Nicki are avid adventures and travelers and very much enjoy nature and life in Iqaluit.