ASSOCIATION NEWS

Vol. 3, Issue 1, Spring 2025

Greetings to our Members!

Yes, all former and serving members (Regular Force and Reserve) of the C&E Branch and its founding elements are automatically members in perpetuity of the C&E Association. Your family members are welcome to apply for Associate Membership. See everything about us and the rest of the C&E Family at https://cmcen-rcmce.ca/association.

FROM THE EDITOR

It’s been far too long since our last newsletter, mostly as I allowed myself to get distracted by other happenings in my life.  I am back, and determined to get back on schedule in publishing our newsletter!  I hope you find it useful, and please let me know at [email protected] if you have anything you would like me to share with the group.

NEW COLONEL COMMANDANT

We are proud to welcome Brigadier-General Martin Girard, OMM, MSM, CD (Retired) in his new role as Colonel Commandant of the Communications and Electronics Branch.

The Colonel Commandant is not involved in the operational affairs of the units of the Branch. They are considered a ‘conscience keeper’ of the Branch and a guardian of its traditions: a link between the past and the present. They represent all members of the C&E Family including serving members (Regular and Reserve), retired members, and their families. They are the channel of communication between the Branch and the Colonel-in-Chief, and a leader that fosters esprit de corps throughout its membership.

BGen (ret’d) Girard served in the Canadian Armed Forces from Jun 1981 to Sep 2020. He served in numerous operational, staff, and command appointments in Canada and three operational deployments overseas: First Gulf War (1990-1991) as second in command of 1 Ptarmigan Squadron of 1st (UK) Armoured Division HQ and Signal Regiment, Bosnia (2002-2003) as Commander Signal Support Group SFOR, and Haiti (2008-2009) as Task Force Commander Port au Prince and Chief of Staff MINUSTAH for which he received a Meritorious Service Medal in November 2010.

Congratulations on your well deserved appointment!

For more information and photos on the appointment ceremony, check out: https://cmcen-rcmce.ca/colonel-commandant-appointment-ceremony-23-january-2025/

VETERANS’ CORNER

We’re introducing a new feature to better serve our retired members. For this issue, we would like to draw your attention to some websites where several links lead to information that can be useful to those of us who retire from the military to become …veterans!  Watch this space for more news and information.

https://letstalkveterans.ca
https://www.ombudsman-veterans.gc.ca/en

MEMBER BENEFITS

As part of our service to C&E Association members, we approach companies and service providers to negotiate favoured rates and services for you.  TD Insurance provides preferred rates for home, auto, tenant, cottage, and travel insurance.  For more info, check out https://www.tdinsurance.com/affinity/cmcen.

UNIT AND ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTERS

We’re pleased to report that we are continuing to get updates and newsletters from units and C&E associations from across the country.  One of the core functions of the C&E Association is to “connect with and promote a close association with all members of our extended C&E military community”.  If you have anything you’d like to share, be it news, a picture, or even a newsletter from your own local association, send it to [email protected] and we’ll do our best to include it.  Please enjoy!