Retirements
AFTER MORE THAN 9 YEARS OF LOYAL AND DEDICATED SERVICE TO CANADA, CPL D. MENDONSA WILL RETIRE FROM THE CANADIAN FORCES ON 19 JUNE 2023. CPL MENDONSA WAS SWORN INTO THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES AS AN ENGINEERING OFFICER, ON JULY 14, 2014, UNDER THE ROTP PROGRAM. HE GRADUATED FROM THE COLLEGE MILITARE ROYAL SAINT-JEAN IN MAY 2015, AND COMPLETED HIS BASIC TRAINING IN AUGUST OF 2015. HE WAS THEN SENT TO THE ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE OF CANADA AND COMPLETED HIS DEGREE IN GENERAL SCIENCE IN MAY OF 2020. CPL MENDONSA COMPLETED A COMPONENT TRANSFER, IN 2020, TO BECOME AN ATIS TECHNICIAN, AND COMPLETED HIS POET, AND ATIS QL3 AT CFSCE. HE WAS THEN POSTED TO CFS LEITRIM IN 2022, WHERE HE WORKED AS A MEMBER IN THE HADCS AND SNS/SERVICE DESK SHOPS UNTIL HIS DEPARTURE. CPL MENDONSA IS EXTREMELY THANKFUL TO ALL THE PEOPLE HE HAS MET AND WORKED WITH THOUGHOUT HIS CAREER AND WILL CONTINUE TO CARRY ON ALL THE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE HE HAS GAINED AS A MEMBER OF THE CANADIAN FORCES FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. AFTER RELEASING, CPL MENDONSA WILL ENTER THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY OF THE COMPANIONS OF THE CROSS […]
AFTER 25 YEARS OF LOYAL SERVICE TO THE QUEEN, THE KING AND CANADA, MAJOR J.F. POTVIN WILL OFFICIALLY RETIRE ON JUNE 19, 2023. MAJ POTVIN ENROLLED IN THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES IN CHICOUTIMI, ON APRIL 7, 1998, AS AN ARMOURED SOLDIER. AFTER COMPLETING HIS RECRUIT COURSE IN SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU AND TRADES TRAINING IN VALCARTIER, HE WAS ASSIGNED TO 12 RBC IN VALCARTIER. DURING THE NINE YEARS ON THIS ASSIGNMENT, HE PARTICIPATED IN MULTIPLE UNIT AND BRIGADE EXERCISES IN GAGETOWN, WAINWRIGHT AND VALCARTIER. HE DEPLOYED TO BOSNIA IN 2001 AS AN ARMOURED DRIVER AND CREW SURVEILLANCE OPERATOR. IN 2007, HE WAS ACCEPTED IN THE UNIVERSITY TRAINING PLAN FOR NON-COMMISSIONED MEMBERS TO BECOME A SIGNAL OFFICER. MAJ POTVIN ATTENDED LAVAL UNIVERSITY FROM 2007 TO 2010 IN QUEBEC CITY AND COMPLETED A BACHELOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE. HE COMPLETED HIS COURSE IN KINGSTON AND WAS TRANSFERRED TO QGET IN 2011 IN VALCARTIER. HE WAS PROMOTED TO CAPTAIN AND TRANSFERRED TO 5 RALC IN 2012, WHERE HE DEPLOYED IN AFGHANISTAN AND CAME BACK AS THE UNIT SIGNAL OFFICER FOR THE FOLLOWING YEARS. IN 2015, HE WAS POSTED TO OTTAWA AT THE STRATEGIC JOINT STAFF AS A LEVEL 0 TASKER AND DATA ANALYST. IN 2017, […]
SGT J. BEZANSON WILL BE RETIRING FROM THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES ON 5 JUNE 2023. SGT J. BEZANSON JOINED THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES IN HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA AS A PRIVATE AT THE AGE OF 26. AFTER COMPLETING BASIC MILITARY QUALIFICATION (BMQ) IN SAINT-JEAN, QUEBEC, WAS PROMOTED TO CORPORAL AND POSTED TO HIS HOMETOWN IN CFB GREENWOOD, NOVA SCOTIA. SGT BEZANSON GRADUATED FROM WEST KINGS HIGH SCHOOL IN 1996 AND PURSUED POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION AT KINGSTEC VOCATIONAL SCHOOL, RECEIVING A DIPLOMA IN ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN IN 1998. DURING THIS TIME, HE TRAVELED ACROSS EASTERN CANADA AS A NATIONAL WRESTLING REFEREE, COACHING HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING AND WORKED AS A SHORT-ORDER CHINESE COOK. AFTER COMPLETING HIS POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION, HE STARTED WORKING AT A LOCAL COMPUTER REPAIR SHOP AND GAINED FULL CUSTODY OF HIS FIRST CHILD, WHO WAS 3 YEARS OF AGE THEN. SGT BEZANSON LEFT THE CHINESE RESTAURANT TO WORK AS A COOK AT THE LOCAL PIZZA DELIGHT RESTAURANT WHERE HE MET THE MOTHER OF HIS SECOND CHILD. SGT BEZANSON QUICKLY MOVED IN TO THE KITCHEN SUPERVISOR POSITION AND WOULD ASSIST THE OWNER WITH OPENING A NEW STORE IN YARMOUTH, NOVA SCOTIA. SGT BEZANSON WAS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO RUN A CARPET […]
MASTER CORPORAL C.A.D. WIEBE WILL RETIRE FROM THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES (CAF) ON 19 JUNE 2023 AFTER 20 PLUS YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE TO CANADA. 2. MCPL WIEBE ENROLLED WITH THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES AS A NAVAL ELECTRONIC SENSOR OPERATOR ON OCT 2002 AT NEW WESTMINISTER, BC. AFTER COMPLETION OF BASIC TRAINING AND NAVAL FLEET SCHOOL HE WAS POSTED TO THE HMCS OTTAWA AT CFB ESQUIMALT WHERE HE SAILED ON TF ARTEMIS. SHORTLY AFTER HIS DEPLOYMENT HE WAS POSTED AT MARPAC HQ AT CFB ESQUIMALT. HE WAS LATER PROMOTED TO MASTER SAILOR IN JAN 2013 AND WAS POSTED ON THE HMCS WINNIPEG, BUT REQUESTED RE-DEPLOYMENT AND WAS ATTACH POSTED TO THE HMCS REGINA WHERE HE SAILED ON TF ARTEMIS, AND AGAIN ON OP REASSURANCE. IN JUL 2015 AFTER SERVING PROUDLY IN THE RCN, MCPL WIEBE DECIDED TO COMPONENT TRANSFER TO THE RCAF AND BECOME AN ATIS TECH. AFTER COMPLETION OF HIS QL3 TRAINING IN JUN 2017 MCPL WIEBE WAS POSTED TO 8 WING TRENTON SERVING AT 8 WCIS. IN NOV 2022 MCPL WIEBE RECEIVED THE POSTING THAT WOULD CHANGE HIS LIFE, A POSTING TO BEAUTIFUL COMOX BRITISH COLUMBIA. IT WAS HERE THAT HE WOULD WANT TO PLANT HIS […]
WARRANT OFFICER A. WELTON IS RETIRING FROM THE CANADIAN FORCES AFTER 17 YEARS OF SERVICE ON 7 JUNE 2023. WO WELTON JOINED THE CAF ON THE 29TH OF MARCH 2006 IN HAMILTON ONTARIO. UPON COMPLETION OF HER ATIS TECH QL3 SHE WAS POSTED TO NORTH BAY WHERE SHE MET HER FUTURE HUSBAND DAN AND SPENT THE NEXT 2 YEARS. IN 2009 WO WELTON WAS POSTED TO OTTAWA WHERE SHE WORKED FOR SJS AND ACHIEVED THE APPOINTMENT TO MCPL IN 2013. IN 2015 WO WELTON WAS POSTED TO SSU DET WINNIPEG WHERE SHE WAS PROMOTED TO THE RANK OF SGT IN 2017. IN DEC 2017 WO WELTON DEPLOYED TO KUWAIT ON OP IMPACT AS THE JTFSC IT SUPERVISOR. IN 2018 WO WELTON WAS POSTED TO 14 WING GREENWOOD WHERE SHE HAS WORKED AS THE SMC SUPERVISOR. IN 2022 SHE WAS PROMOTED TO HER CURRENT RANK AND MADE SMC MANAGER. WO WELTON HAS BEEN AN INSTRUMENTAL PART OF CIS FLT SINCE HER ARRIVAL AND WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE THAT EVEN THOUGH SHE IS RETIRING FROM THE CAF SHE HAS CHOSEN TO REMAIN IN GREENWOOD AND HAS TAKEN A DND POSITION WITHIN THE FLT. WO WELTON AND […]
AFTER 19 YEARS OF LOYAL AND DEDICATED SERVICE TO CANADA AND THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES, WARRANT OFFICER D. NEELY WILL RETIRE ON 16 AUG 2023. WO NEELY ENLISTED IN THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES IN JULY 2004 AS A SIGNAL OPERATOR. AFTER COMPLETING BASIC TRAINING AT CANADIAN FORCES LEADERSHIP AND RECRUIT SCHOOL (CFLRS) SAINT-JEAN SUR RICHELIEU, HE HEADED TO THE CANADIAN FORCES SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS (CFSCE) IN CFB KINGSTON TO COMPLETE HIS TRADE QUALIFICATION TRAINING. HIS FIRST POSTING WAS TO THE CANADIAN FORCES JOINT SIGNAL REGIMENT (CFJSR) IN CFB KINGSTON WHERE HE SPENT THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF HIS CAREER AS A COMMAND POST OPERATOR AND SIGNALS DISPATCH SERVICE DRIVER. DURING THIS TIME, HE WAS PROMOTED TO THE RANK OF CORPORAL AND DEPLOYED TO AFGHANISTAN, FROM JAN TO OCT 2008 WITH THE JTFA-REG COM (S) HQ. UPON HIS RETURN FROM DEPLOYMENT, WO NEELY WAS POSTED TO 731 SIGNAL SQUADRON IN CFB SHILO. PROMOTED TO THE RANK OF MASTER CORPORAL IN 2010, WO NEELY WAS THEN POSTED TO THE SECOND PRINCESS PATRICIA’S CANADIAN LIGHT INFANTRY (2PPCLI) AS THE SIGNALS PLATOON IS NETWORK ADMIN DET IC. IN 2012 HE WAS TRANSFERRED TO BRAVO COMPANY AS THE COMPANY SIGNALLER, […]