- AFTER 36 YEARS OF LOYAL AND DEDICATED SERVICE TO CANADA, THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE AND THE COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS BRANCH, BRIGADIER GENERAL SABOURIN WILL BE RETIRING ON 4 JULY 2023.
- BGEN SABOURIN JOINED THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES IN HIS HOMETOWN OF QUEBEC CITY IN 1987. AFTER A FEW YEARS IN THE AIR CADETS AND WITH A FATHER IN THE VANDOOS, HE THOUGHT IT WAS A NATURAL CAREER CHOICE. THE MOVIE TOP GUN HAD JUST BEEN RELEASED AND HE THOUGHT HE COULD BE A PILOT JUST LIKE HALF OF THE OFFICER CADETS IN HIS CLASS. HE WAS ACCEPTED INTO THE REGULAR OFFICER TRAINING PROGRAM (ROTP) AND SPENT THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AT COLLEGE MILITAIRE ROYAL DE ST-JEAN. HIS CAREER AS A PILOT WAS VERY SHORT ALTHOUGH HE DID HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERTAKE A FEW SOLO FLIGHTS. HE EVENTUALLY BECAME A CELE OFFICER AND SPENT MANY MONTHS AT THE SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS IN KINGSTON WHILE LIVING IN THE DARK AND PUNGENT HALLS OF B1.
AFTER COMPLETING HIS CELE TRAINING, HE WAS ACCEPTED IMMEDIATELY INTO A POST GRAD AT INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE IN MONTRÉAL. HE HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO WORK ON THE ONLY CANADIAN TOKAMAK. AFTER COMPLETING HIS MASTER’S DEGREE, HE WAS FIRST POSTED TO 71 COMMUNICATION GROUP IN ST-HUBERT. LIKE MOST CELE OFFICERS, HE WAS THEN POSTED TO OTTAWA TO BE EMPLOYED AS THE OPERATIONS OFFICER FOR THE NATIONAL SERVICES MANAGEMENT CENTER. ONCE PROMOTED TO MAJOR, HE HAD HIS FIRST EXPERIENCE WORKING IN THE PROJECT WORLD AND SUPPORTED THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PEOPLESOFT FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECRUITMENT. HE WAS THEN POSTED TO THE CANADIAN FORCES NETWORK OPERATION CENTE. THROUGHOUT THIS POSTING, HE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING AS COMMANDING OFFICER FOR CFS ALERT BEFORE HEADING TO 17 WING WINNIPEG AS THE WING TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS OFFICER (WTISO).
AFTER A SHORT 2-YEAR POSTING IN WINTERPEG, HE WAS PROMOTED TO LCOL AND THEN HAD TWO EVEN SHORTER CONSECUTIVE POSTINGS AS THE TSO FOR CFSU(O) AS WELL AS TO TORONTO IN ORDER TO ATTEND JCSP. IN 2009, HE GOT POSTED TO BAGOTVILLE AS THE WING LOGISTICS AND ENGINEERING OFFICER. THE THREE-YEAR POSTING PROVIDED AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEPLOY TO KABUL FOR A FULL YEAR AS A PLANNER FOR THE STABILITY DIVISION. HE WAS THEN POSTED FOR THE LAST TIME TO OTTAWA IN 2012 TO THE NEWLY BRANDED DIRECTORATE OF AIR DOMAIN DEVELOPMENT IN THE AIR STAFF.
PROMOTED TO COL IN 2014, HE WAS POSTED TO DIRECTOR CYBER FORCE DEVELOPMENT, THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF POSTINGS WHERE HE WOULD ADVOCATE FOR MORE INVESTMENTS IN BUILDING A CREDIBLE CYBER FORCE FOR THE CAF. AFTER COMMANDING CFIOG, HE WAS PROMOTED TO BGEN TAKING OVER AS DGIMO AND THE JOINT FORCES CYBER COMPONENT COMMANDER. THIS POSTING WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING OF HIS CAREER AND ENDED AT THE PEAK OF THE COVID PANDEMIC. HE HAS SPENT THE LAST THREE YEARS IN UNIFORM AT DGICFD, A NEWLY BRANDED DIVISION FROM THE PREVIOUS DG CYBER. CLEARLY NOT AS CATCHY BUT A MUCH BETTER DESCRIPTION OF THE REVISED RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDING NORMALIZING FORCE DEVELOPMENT FOR INFORMATION CAPABILITIES. A THIRD YEAR IN THE JOB HAS ALLOWED HIM TO ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES SUCH AS THE GRANTING OF EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY FOR ALL BUT ONE MAJOR CAPITAL PROJECT FUNDED UNDER SSE. THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR THE CAF, WHERE MUCH WORK REMAINS AND MORE WORK YET TO COME.
- BGEN SABOURIN IS GRATEFUL TO ALL THE FRIENDS, FAMILY, COLLEAGUES, AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS WHO HAVE SUPPORTED HIM ENGAGING IN INTELLECTUAL CONVERSATIONS THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER. WHILE SERVING HE HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO TRAVEL CANADA NOT ONLY FROM EAST TO WEST BUT ALSO FROM SOUTH TO NORTH. MOST CANADIANS DO NOT APPRECIATE HOW GRANDIOSE CANADA IS UNTIL THEY HAVE HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO EXPLORE IT, AND BGEN SABOURIN REMAINS GRATEFUL FOR ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES THE CAF HAS PROVIDED TO HIM.
- BGEN SABOURIN VERY MUCH LOOKS FORWARD TO THE NEXT CHAPTER IN HIS LIFE. STARTING WITH ENJOYING HIS FIRST SUMMER IN A VERY LONG TIME, BGEN SABOURIN WILL BE LOOKING TO START A SECOND CAREER IN THE FALL. A DEPARTURE WITH DIGNITY WILL BE HELD ON FRIDAY, JUNE 30 AT THE LEITRIM ALL RANKS MESS AT 1400. PLEASE RSVP TO RORTHYNY NIM RORTHYNY(dot)NIM(at)FORCES(dot)GC(dot)CA OR DGICFDEXECUTIVEOFFICE-BUREAUEXECUTIFDGDFCI(at)FORCES(dot)GC(dot)CA. CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES, STORIES OR ANECDOTES CAN ALSO BE SENT TO THE SAME ADDRESS.