The commanding officer (CO) is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law. In this respect, commanding officers have significant responsibilities (for example, the use of force, finances, equipment, the Geneva Conventions), duties (to higher authority, mission effectiveness, duty of care to personnel) and powers (for example, discipline and punishment of personnel within certain limits of military law).
Through the years, 349 squadron has known quite a number of CO's, which are listed here:
| CO's in the 1940s |
| CO's in the 1950s |
| CO's in the 1960s |
| CO's in the 1970s |
| CO's in the 1980s |
| CO's in the 1990s |
| CO's in the 2000s |
