1. AFTER 31+ ILLUSTRIOUS YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE QUEEN AND COUNTRY, MASTER WARRANT OFFICER ALEX BERGMAN WILL RETIRE FROM THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES ON 07 MAY 2021.

2. MWO BERGMAN FIRST ENROLLED IN THE CAF 01 MARCH 1990 AT CFRC VANCOUVER INTO THE INFANTRY. AFTER COMPLETION OF BASIC TRAINING AT CFRS CORNWALLIS, HE WAS SENT TO THE RCR BATTLESCHOOL IN CFB PETAWAWA. AS A GRADUATE, HE WAS POSTED TO 2 RCR, CFB GAGETOWN, THEN PROMPTLY ONTO HIS FIRST DEPLOYMENT OP SALON (QUEBEC). THE NEXT FOUR YEARS IN 2 RCR WERE VERY BUSY WITH EXERCISES AND DEPLOYMENTS TO OP SNOWGOOSE (CYPRUS 1991-1992) AND OP CAVALIER (FORMER YUGOSLAVIA 1992-1993). IN 1994 HE COMPLETED AN OCCUPATIONAL TRANSFER TO 052 LINEMAN. UPON THE COMPLETION OF APPRENTICE TRAINING AT THE CANADIAN FORCES SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS (CFSCE) CFB KINGSTON IN JAN 1995, ALEX WAS POSTED TO 731 COMMUNICATION SQUADRON SHILO. HERE, ALEX WORKED ON MANY DIFFERENT INSTALLATIONS THROUGHOUT SASKATCHEWAN, MANITOBA AND DEPLOYED FOR THE MANITOBA FLOODS OF 1997 AND ON OP PALADIUM (2000) AS PART OF PROJECT 48, CABLING THE NEW HQ IN SAREJEVO BOSNIA. IN 2001 HE WAS POSTED TO 2 SERVICE BATTALION PETAWAWA, BUT NOT FOR LONG. HE WAS PROMOTED TO MASTER CORPORAL AND POSTED TO CFSCE JAN 2002. FIRST AS THE MAINTENANCE IC, THEN AS AN INSTRUCTOR. IN 2003 ALEX WAS SELECTED TO BE A MEMBER OF THE SIGNALS TROOP LOCATED IN DWYER HILL TRAINING CENTER. IT WAS HERE THAT ALEX MEET COLLEEN AND THEY WERE MARRIED. IN 2006, ALEX WAS PROMOTED TO THE RANK OF SERGEANT AND SENT TO 700 COMMUNICATION SQUADRON (P RES) CFB BORDEN AS THEIR OPS AND TRAINING SGT. ONCE THERE, ALEX AND COLLEEN WELCOMED THEIR DAUGHTER OLIVIA INTO THE WORLD. FEELING THAT A THREE YEAR POSTING WAS TOO LONG FOR ALEX, THE ARMY POSTED HIM BACK TO CFB SHILO, THIS TIME TO 2 PPCLI SIGNALS PLATOON. AFTER A VERY SHORT POSTING COMPRISING OF NUMEROUS EXERCISES AND A DEPLOYMENT TO OP PODIUM (OLYMPICS) IN 2010 AND THE WINNIPEG FLOODS, THE BERGMANS WERE RELOCATED BACK TO CFB KINGSTON IN 2011. AFTER ONE YEAR AT THE SCHOOL, ALEX WAS PROMOTED TO WARRANT OFFICER AND POSTED ACROSS THE STREET TO THE CANADIAN FORCES JOINT SIGNAL REGIMENT (CFJSR), 1 LINE SQUADRON AS A PROJECT COORDINATOR. IN 2015 HE WENT TO CFJSR RHQ AS THE REGT ASSISTANT LCS, AND DEPLOYED ON THE THEATRE OPENING OF OP UNIFIER, UKRAINE. ON RETURN HE BECAME THE REGT LCS, AND PROMOTED TO HIS CURRENT RANK OF MWO ON 01 JAN 2016. FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS ALEX TRAVELED THE GLOBE CONDUCTING RECCES AND PLANNING DEPLOYMENT SUPPORT INSTALLATIONS IN AREAS SUCH AS HAWAII, JAMAICA, LEBANON, JORDAN, BAHRAIN, UNITED KINGDOM, AND LATVIA FOR BOTH CFJSR AND CJOC. IN 2018 HE WAS POSTED TO 77 LINE REGT 5 LINE SQN AS THE SERGEANT-MAJOR, THEN DOUBLE-HATTED AS THE SQN LCS IN HALIFAX.

3. ALEX PROMISED COLLEEN AND OLIVIA THAT THEIR TRANSIENT LIFESTYLE IS NOW BEHIND THEM. SO, UPON RETIREMENT, ALEX WILL REMAIN IN THE HALIFAX AREA AND HAS ACCEPTED A POSITION AS A CONTRACTOR FOR DND.

4. DUE TO CURRENT EXISTING RESTRICTIONS, A DWD WILL BE HELD AT A DATE TBD. PLEASE SEND YOUR STORIES AND CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES TO WO GORD BELL AT [email protected].