Canavan presently sits on the board of defense contractor USfalcon.[2]
Canavan commanded Special Operations Command Europe and the Joint Special Operations Command, and retired after serving as the chief of staff for the United States European Command. On the morning of the September 11 attacks, he was in Puerto Rico and had failed to designate a replacement. In the wake of the attacks, Canavan resigned his position as Associate Administrator for Civil Aviation Security at the FAA amid controversy over Air Marshal assignments to Bush administration Cabinet members and confidence in his leadership.[3][4]