1. CAPTAIN ALEXANDER KISIELIUS WILL BE RETIRING FROM THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES ON 17 AUGUST 2020 AFTER 12 YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE TO CANADA.
2. ALEX ENROLLED IN THE FORCES UNDER THE REGULAR OFFICER TRAINING PLAN IN 2008 AND, FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF AN AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING DEGREE AT THE ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE OF CANADA, SPENT HIS CAREER AS A COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING OFFICER. HIS CAREER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE PLAYING RUGBY WITH THE RMC PALADINS, HIS EMPLOYMENT WITH THE CANADIAN FORCES CRYPTO MAINTENANCE UNIT, CANADIAN FORCES SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS, CANADIAN FORCES JOINT SIGNALS REGIMENT, AND HIS FINAL POSTING TO 19 WING COMOX. OVER HIS CAREER, HE DEPLOYED IN SUPPORT OF OPERATION NANOOK, OPERATION IMPACT AND OPERATION NEON, CROSSED HOLLAND IN THE 95TH EDITION OF THE NIJMEGEN MARCH, CLIMBED MOUNT KILIMANJARO IN SUPPORT OF ROMEO DALLAIRE’S CHILD SOLDIER INITIATIVE, AND HAD THE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD A CEREMONIAL GUARD AT THE TOWER OF LONDON IN ENGLAND.
3. ALEX WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THOSE WITH WHOM HE SERVED AND HAD THE PLEASURE TO LEAD. HE IS THANKFUL FOR THE GREAT FRIENDSHIPS DEVELOPED OVER HIS CAREER AND THE SUPPORT OF MANY EXCELLENT MENTORS AND COLLEAGUES. HE IS GRATEFUL TO ALL THAT HAVE BEEN KIND AND COMPASSIONATE AND REMEMBERS OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT HAVE PAID THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE.
4. UPON RETIREMENT, ALEX WILL REMAIN IN THE COMOX VALLEY WITH HIS SPOUSE EMILY AND HIS DOG BRUCE, WHERE HE WILL PURSUE NEW AND EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES SUPPORTING HIS COMMUNITY.
5. TO CELEBRATE HIS CAREER, ALEX WILL HOST A FAREWELL BBQ TO TAKE PLACE AT A TIME AND LOCATION TO BE ANNOUNCED AT A LATER DATE. IN LIEU OF GIFTS, ALEX WISHES THAT DONATIONS BE MADE TO THE CANCER SOCIETY OF CANADA. ANY FUNNY STORIES OR ANECDOTES CAN BE SENT TO WO NANCY ROSSIGNOL AT [email protected].
Best wishes to you and your family as you explore this next phase of your life.
Your patience and understanding have been greatly appreciated. Whenever there was an issue that was giving me grief, you were always there to make my life easier even if you did secretly say “not her again” when I would call.
It is a sad day for the military, losing someone of your caliber. For you though it is obviously time to spread your wings and explore other opportunities that present themselves. Whatever those are, I am sure that you will apply the same level of dedication and support.
Capt Kisielius/Alex,
You have been a tremendous help in my transition to the role of OC and the steep learning curve that comes with it. The dedication that you showed in fighting for the welfare of your team was truly remarkable. As you can see from all the comments here as well as from the positive feedback that I constantly received from COs/OCs and other satisfied customers across 19 Wing wrt your professionalism and leadership, you are leaving us with a significant void that we are unlikely to fill until the next superstar comes along.
Good luck in your future endeavours and see you around Comox Valley.
Nik
Capt,
Your dedication and leadership has been one that will be missed.
Thank you for your ongoing invaluable support to our office.
We knew we could always count on you.
Wishing you best of luck on your future endeavours.
Congrats on your retirement!
Congratulations on your retirement Sir !
It has been a pleasure working with you these past few years. I have always felt confident that you would provide the leadership we needed, you always had the right words and actions no matter what the issue. I thank you for your advice and support, it will be remembered.
I wish you all the best in your next chapter, your professionalism will take you far.
Happy to hear you are staying on the Island, great choice !
Sir,
Congratulations. Every single time there was a safety brief, you were always telling people what was going on in the area and expressing to the team to get out and enjoy the island life. It’s not surprising that you clearly have a fond love for this place and you will never want to leave. After 12 years of service, I think it’s safe to say you deserve it. I’ll always be available for some bike rides after work, I’ll try to keep up!
Cpl Tyler Boucher
Brother , you are a force to be reckoned with !! I am so very proud of your steadfast honor and dedication ! You are much loved within your group, your peers , and your family. Makes me want to join up so people will say such nice things about me one day !! Well done !!
Congratulations on your amazing journey so far. Good luck in all your future endeavours.
It has been a pleasure and an honour to work with you during your stay here in Comox. I wish you and Emily a great the best of luck your future adventures.
Sir,
I hope you will find success in your future endeavours. I realize that us 2Lts on this list had the least amount of interactions, but our appreciation for your services are nonetheless the same. You aspire us to be greater than we are now, and that is a beautiful parting gift.
Best of wishes and good luck in the next chapter of your life!
Sir,
Congrats! I’m very surprised to hear that you are actually retiring from the forces. I’m honoured that I had the opportunity to work with you under your command team. A good leader inspires a good follower; encourages me to do the same. I supposed to take you crabbing with our scuba diving gears to experience the chasing game under water and picking your own. All the best to you and Emily, you know where to find the scuba club if you want some diving in the island.
You’re the best Kis! I’m so stoked for your transition to the civilian world and can’t wait to see what the future holds for you. I’ll always be grateful for our friendship and our many rides between Kingston and Ottawa. Keep livin’ it up on the West Coast and stay in touch. I wish you, Emily and Bruce the very best!
Alex,
Congratulations you deserve a great send off, your patience, understanding and mentorship you have shown to my team and myself has been greatly appreciated. I enjoyed working with you over the past couple of years, you have made a great impact on me with your professionalism and jovial conversations. I am looking fwd to seeing you in and around the area. Wishing you and Emily the very best. Take care and enjoy the next phase of life as I am sure you will be recognized as an asset with whatever you take on.
WO Tom Church
Alex,
I have so appreciated getting to know you, and getting to learn from you this year. Coming into the Defense world, I had an incredibly steep learning curve. Having the privilege of being lead by someone who was kind, intelligent, and took many opportunities to teach me was a fantastic example of leadership. Getting to learn from you has not only helped me to become a better technician, but also a better leader.
I have thoroughly enjoyed our many discussions and have appreciated being able to call you my manager, but also a friend. I firmly believe that you will have great success in whatever you choose to do in your future and look forward to hearing about the ways in which you continue to excel.
I wish you nothing but success and happiness in your future.
It has been a pleasure and an honour to work at your side during your stay here in Comox. Your calm demeanour has helped us through some challenging situations within the section. Thank you for your dedication and commitment. In serving along side with you, you have left such a great impression and big shoes to fill for your replacement. I wish you and Emily a great adventure into the next step of your journey.
Sir,
It was a pleasure to have worked with you at 19 Wing. I wish you all the best with your retirement and future endeavours. Enjoy the little things.
Take care.
Sir,
Congratulations on your retirement. It was a pleasure to have met you in Comox during my OJT. Thanks for all the support you’ve provided to us. I wish you the best of luck in the next chapter of your life and career.
All the very best.
Congrats on your retirement. I want to thank you for all your help and guidance when I transferred from the RegF to the Public Service. Also, I would like to thank you again for your continued mentorship, while you were in uniform.
Even though your time in the military was short, you have left a lasting impression and you will be greatly missed. Thanks for all that you have contributed.
I want to wish you good luck on the next phase of your journey called “Life”. Take care.
Sir,
Congratulations on your retirement. Alex it seems to me all the great leaders retire at an early stage in their career. I want to thank you for your friendship and compassion thru my difficult time. I wish I could find words to change your mind and remain in the CAF to try and beat my 39 years of service but I know you must do what is best for you. Thank you for extending my career. I like the photo of you in front of the London Bridge too bad the photographer did not point out to you to align your belt buckle with your buttons on your uniform or use photo shop to edit the picture.
May you have a long happy life in your second career.
All the best Paul McCree
Sir,
Congratulations for your retirement. I feel blessed to start my career with you. I really appreciate your insightful and meaningful advices. I learnt lot from you. I wish all the best to the next chapter of your life.
Merci pour le temps consacré à éduquer un jeune lieutenant. Je vous souhaite la meilleure des fortunes dans vos projets futurs.
Congrats on your retirement and best wishes in your new career. When I met you in Ottawa, you were a cool guy and I really enjoyed your company.
Congrats on your retirement Alex. You packed quite a lot into your military career. Thanks for sharing your experiences and insights with us peasants while on CELE training at CFSCE. All the best in your future endeavors!
Alex, i am more than honoured to have had the privilege to serve with you as my command team partner, and most of all my friend. From working together to create positive change within the flight, and across the wing in support of operations to mounting the queen’s guard together we have truly done it all. Our stories of mountain biking at Wales bike park, meeting the crazy Andy Powell we certainly were a team who worked hard, and played hard. I have had excellent times with you both in and outside of the workplace and I know you will succeed at anything you do. I truly hope in my absence that you continue to ride and support the maintenance of the mtb trail network in Cumberland. This is not the end of our journey, merely the beginning, and I will see you again in a few short years. I wish you, Bruce, and Emily all the best and I hope you can live out your desire to be a staycationer on Vancouver Island. All the best and until next time
my friend.
Congratulations Alex on your many accomplishments in uniform, and best of luck as you move on to your next chapter.
As I left The Regiment (CFJSR), I noticed more than a few framed photos of the Regimental Officers surrounding their CO and proudly wearing mess dress at the VOM … you are easily spotted … brandishing outlandish socks in every one. Well played sir …
All the best to you and yours.
Sir,
Congrats on your retirement from the CAF. I would like to wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
Sincerely,
Warrant Officer, Michael J. Clarke
G7 Trg Des Sigs LST, Combat Training Centre Headquarters (CTC HQ)
Congrats Michael, it is great that you have finished your service to Canada.. I hope that your next phase of your life will be as rewarding as the last. I know your family are very proud. CHIMO