After over 36 years service to Canada, The Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals both the Regular and Reserve Forces Sgt Douglas Rickett is retiring.
Born into a military family, Sgt Rickett joined the Reserves while still in high school in Nov 1989. He started with Res EW Sqn Kingston ON, moved on to 722 Comm Sqn in Saint John NB, followed by 712 Comm Sqn Montreal PQ and finally 700 Comm Sqn Borden ON, where he got married, did a two and a half year callout to MACS Trenton to get his A/G/A qualification, and deployed on OP PRUDENCE in the Central African Republic, Op RECUPERATION (the ice storm) and Op ABACUS (Y2K).
Tiring of the contract lifestyle he joined the Reg Force in July 2000. Asked where he wanted to go, he said anywhere but Petawawa or Valcartier. Cpl Rickett was promptly posted to 2 CMBG HQ and Sigs, followed by 2 CER, and 2 ASG Sig Sqn (now 4 CDSG) in Petawawa. In 2007 a posting to MACS Trenton for five years doing A/G/A as a supervisor. That came with a promotion and a seven-and-a-half-month tour in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban in Zhari province as part of the CIMIC. After enjoying life for a while, he was posted to Ottawa in 2011 to get the smile off his face. While there he served with CANSOFCOM HQ J6, 765 Comm Sqn SABNS / CSNI admin, and then finally 764 Comm Sqn in the FCC as a Det Comd. In 2014 he was lucky enough to be posted to JTFN Yellowknife NWT, the best posting of his career and one of the best in the CAF. Occupying a Navy position and as it turned out, as the sole MCpl (or MS) in the Ops centre, he took on a Senior Watchkeeper (Sgt) role. In 2017, needing to get back into the Sigs world, he was posted to 38 Sig Regt Winnipeg as one of the Reg Force Support staff, but after less than a year was promoted out of the job. Sgt Rickett then became the Sole Reg Force Signal Operator Sgt at 17 Wing Winnipeg as the CIS Resource Section Commander (Help Desk manager and Msg Centre supervisor). In the middle of the COVID pandemic in 2020 Sgt Rickett was posted back to Ottawa where he served with CFINTCOM in J6 Ops for two years, another two years teaching COMSEC at 766 Comm Sqn, spent a couple of weeks at 764 Comm Sqn Space Operations Centre and finally landed at 764 COMSEC vault as the COMSEC support Sgt.
Sgt Rickett would like to thank the mentors who took an interest and say goodbye to peers and subordinates across the country.
Sgt Rickett would also like to thank his wife Maj Amy Rickett and his two daughters Moira and Fiona for always having his back and supporting him.
As long as Amy keeps him in Bullets, Booze and Cigars he will enjoy the life he will become accustomed to. He intends to sleep in for a couple of years, improve the house of last resort and maybe look for a civil service job.