1. CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER (CWO) CRAIG ADAMSON WILL RETIRE FROM THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES (CAF) ON 26 FEBRUARY 2024 AFTER 26+ YEARS OF LOYAL AND DEDICATED SERVICE TO CANADA.

2. CWO ADAMSON ENROLLED IN THE CAF ON 25 FEBRUARY 1998 AT HMCS CATARAQUI IN KINGSTON, ON AS A BOATSWAIN (BOSN). DURING HIS TIME IN THE NAVAL RESERVE, HE HAD THE PLEASURE OF COMPLETING OCCUPATION TRAINING IN ESQUIMALT, BC, SAILING ABOARD VARIOUS MARITIME COASTAL DEFENCE VESSELS (MCDV) OUT OF HALIFAX NS, AS WELL AS COMPLETING HIS PRIMARY LEADERSHIP QUALIFICATION IN QUEBEC CITY QC. UPON COMPLETION OF HIS DIPLOMA IN ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY AND HIS APPOINTMENT TO MASTER SAILOR (MS), HE ELECTED FOR A COMPONENT TRANSFER TO THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE (RCAF) AS AN AEROSPACE TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS (ATIS) TECHNICIAN UNDER THE SKILLED ENTRY PROGRAM.

3. ON 7 DECEMBER 2003 HE WAS POSTED TO CFB NORTH BAY AS A CORPORAL AND EMPLOYED AT THE 22 WING TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SERVICES SQUADRON (22 WTIS) AS AN AIR DEFENCE SYSTEMS MAINTENANCE (ADSM) TECHNICIAN, PROJECTS TECHNICIAN AND LASTLY, AS A UNIX INSTRUCTOR FOR THE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM AND BATTLE CONTROL SYSTEM (ICS/BCS), FIXED. FOLLOWING HIS APPOINTMENT TO MCPL IN JULY 2008, HE WAS POSTED TO THE CANADIAN FORCES SUPPORT UNIT (CFSU) COLORADO SPRINGS, WHERE HE BECAME A NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR SUPPORTING CAF PERSONNEL POSTED ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES (CONUS). DURING HIS TIME IN COLORADO SPRINGS, HE WAS FORTUNATE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE 2010 OP NIJMEGEN BI-NATIONAL TEAM AND COMPLETED THE INTERNATIONAL FOUR DAY MARCH IN THE NETHERLANDS.

4. PROMOTED TO SERGEANT (SGT) IN JANUARY 2011, HE REMAINED IN COLORADO SPRINGS AS THE TECHNICAL MAINTENANCE SGT AND DEPUTY TELECOMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM OFFICER (D/TIS O) UNTIL HIS RETURN TO CANADA IN JULY 2012 AS THE ATIS TECH QL5A COURSE DIRECTOR AT THE AEROSPACE TELECOMMUNCATIONS ENGINEERING SUPPORT SQUADRON (ATESS) IN TRENTON, ON. FOLLOWING A QUICK TWO YEARS AT ATESS, HE WAS SELECTED TO DEPLOY TO OP CALUMET IN EGYPT’S SINAI PENINSULA AS THE TASK FORCE J6 AND NCO IC OF REMOTE SITES WITH MULTINATIONAL FORCE AND OBSERVERS (MFO). PROMOTED TO WARRANT OFFICER IN DECEMBER 2014, HE REMAINED ON TOUR ENSURING SERVICEABLE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS TO 26 CHECKPOINTS AND 3 COMMUNICATIONS SITES ACROSS THE AREA.

5. IN JULY 2015, HE WAS POSTED TO 8 AIR COMMUNICATION AND CONTROL SQUADRON (8 ACCS) WHERE HE WAS EMPLOYED AS THE RADAR WARRANT OFFICER AND ALSO AS THE COMMUNICATIONS WARRANT OFFICER. DURING THESE 2 YEARS AT 8 ACCS, HE DEPLOYED THE MPN-25 RADAR ACROSS CANADA SUPPORTING RCAF WINGS AS WELL AS DEPLOYMENTS TO ROMANIA AND ICELAND AS A MEMBER OF THE AIR TASK FORCE (ATF) IN SUPPORT OF OP REASSURANCE. IN 2017, PROMOTED TO MASTER WARRANT OFFICER, HE ATTENDED SECOND LANGUAGE TRAINING PRIOR TO HIS POSTING TO ADM(IM) AS A LIFECYCLE MATERIAL MANAGER (LCMM) FOR HIGH/LOW FREQUENCY COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS IN AUGUST 2018. IN JANUARY 2020, HE WAS SELECTED TO DEPLOY WITH OP IMPACT AS THE COMBINED JOINT OPERATIONS CENTER (CJOC) COMMUNICATIONS LIAISON OFFICER FOR THE US LED COMBINED JOINT TASK FORCE – OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE, OPERATING IN BOTH KUWAIT AND IRAQ.

6. IN JULY 2020, HE JOINED THE CWO CORPS AND WAS APPOINTED THE 22 WING MISSION SUPPORT SQUADRON (22 MSS) CWO WHERE HE HAD THE PLEASURE OF LEADING AN AMAZING TEAM IN SUPPORT OF THE CANADIAN AIR DEFENCE SECTOR (CADS) COMMUNITY. IN JULY 2022, HE RETURNED TO OTTAWA IN THE RCAF HEADQUARTERS AS THE ATIS TECH SENIOR OCCUPATION ADVISOR (SOA) AND CWO FOR THE DIRECTOR OF AIR DOMAIN DEVELOPMENT (DADD).

7. CWO ADAMSON WILL CHERISH HIS TIME IN THE CAF, THE ABILITY TO HAVE SERVED HIS COUNTRY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY THE LASTING FRIENDSHIPS, STORIES AND MEMORIES ACCUMULATED OVER THE LAST 26+ YEARS. HE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THOSE WHO HE HAS SERVED WITH, LEARNED FROM AND IS ESPECIALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE ONGOING SUPPORT AND SACRIFICE FROM HIS SPOUSE LAURA AND TWO BOYS COHEN AND LUCAS. HE HAS ACCEPTED A PUBLIC SERVANT POSITION IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION WITH THE CIO GROUP WHERE HE WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE CANADA.

8. A DEPART WITH DIGNITY (DWD) EVENT WILL BE HELD AT THE CFS LEITRIM ALL RANKS MESS ON 01 MARCH 2024, FROM 1200 TO 1500. SNACKS TO BE PROVIDED FOLLOWED BY THE PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES. ALL ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND TO SHARE STORIES AND CELEBRATE HIS RETIREMENT. PLEASE RSVP TO MWO RAY MOGGY AT [email protected]. CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES, STORIES, PHOTOS OR ANECDOTES CAN ALSO BE SENT TO THE SAME ADDRESS. THE DWD WILL ALSO BE STREAMED ON MS TEAMS FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT ATTEND IN PERSON.