- SERGEANT ERIC G. NADEAU WILL RETIRE FROM THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES, CANADIAN ARMY AND THE COMMUNICATION AND ELECTRONIC BRANCH ON 15 JANUARY 2021, AFTER 33 PLUS YEARS OF LOYAL AND DEDICATED SERVICE TO CANADA.
2. SGT NADEAU ENROLLED IN THE PRIMARY RESERVE (P RES) ON 2 JUL 1986 AT THE AGE OF 17, WITH 1 RNBR, A COY IN EDMUNDSTON, NB, WHILE TAKING PART IN A SUMMER YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM (SYEP). HE LEARNED TO OPERATE THE FNC1 SERVICE RIFLE, THE FNC2 AUTOMATIC RIFLE, THE SUB-MACHINE GUN AND THE BROWNING PISTOL. HE PARTICIPATED IN MANY EXERCISES LOCALLY AND AT CFB GAGETOWN TRAINING ARE. ON 7 APR 1987, HE TRANSFERRED OUT OF P RES AND IN THE REG FORCE THE VERY NEXT DAY AT CFRC BATHURST, NB AND THEN MADE HIS WAY TO ERFC SAINT-JEAN TO START RECRUIT TRAINING AND RECEIVE HIS AIR FORCE UNIFORM. AFTER RECRUIT SCHOOL, HE BYPASSED LANGUAGE SCHOOL WITH A FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH PROFILE AND HEADED TO ETFC SAINT-JEAN FOR CEOP (POET EN FRANÇAIS). ON 8 AUG 1988, AFTER JUST OVER A YEAR WITHA MIX OF TRAINING AND PAT, HE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED POET, RECEIVED HIS NUDIST AND LIGHTNING (C&E) HAT BADGE AND HEADED TO CFSCE TO LEARN TO BECOME A RADAR TECHNICIAN. THERE HE TOOK THE BASE DEFENCE FORCE (BDF) DUTIES COURSE IN LATE AUGUST THEN BEGAN RADAR TECH (CW) TRAINING ON 19 SEP 1988. HE GRADUATED ON 16 FEB 1989 AND HEADED TO CFB GAGETOWN TO WORK IN THE RADAR SECTION OF MAINT COY.
3. DURING HIS STAY IN GAGETOWN, PTE NADEAU COMPLETED HIS QL4 OJT PACKAGE AND RECEIVED HIS FIRST HOOK. HE BECAME PROFICIENT ON THE GROUND METEOROLOGICAL DEVICE (GMD), TELLUROMETER, CHRONOGRAPH AND ITS REPLACEMENT: MUZZLE VELOCITY INDICATIOR (MVI), WORKED ON A COUNTER-MORTAR RADAR (CMR) MOUNTED ON A M-113 TRACKED VEHICLE, BACKED UP INTO A WALL WITH SAID M-113 WHILE LOOKING FOR A BRAKE PEDAL, AND ASSISTED ON THE GROUD RADARS PILOT COURSE. HE RETURNED TO CFSCE ON 18 SEP 1990 AND COMPLETED COMET COM/RDR QL5A COURSE ON 6 FEB 1991. HE WAS PROMOTED TO CPL ON 10 APR 1991 AND WAS POSTED TO CFB PETAWAWA, 2 RCHA ON 31 AUG 1991. SINCE 2 HORSE DID NOT HAVE A RDR SECTION, HE WAS ATTACHED TO 427 SQN, MET SECTION FOR THE DURATION OF HIS POSTING. THERE HE WORKED MAINLY ON THE GMD. IN 1994, HE VISITED TCTI IN CORNWALL WHERE HE WAS INTRODUCED TO THE GMD REPLACEMENT THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME THE ARTILLERY METEOROLOGICAL SYSTEM (AMS) CURRENTLY IN USE. ON 17 MAY 1995, HE MADE HIS WAY WEST TO 19 WING/CFB COMOX WHERE HE WOULD WORK ON NAVAID RDR EQUIPMENT.
4. IN 1995, THE C&E BRANCH REVIEWED 5 TECH TRADES: RADIO TECH, RADAR TECH, TERMINAL EQUIPMENT TECH, TELETYPE TECH AND COM TECH, AMALGAMATED THEM AND SPLIT IT INTO 3 DISTINCT TRADES: ATIS TECH, LCIS TECH AND SIS TECH TRADES. IN JAN 1996, CPL NADEAU LOST THE DRAW AND COT’D TO LCIS TECH AND WAS FORCED TO TRADE HIS AIR FORCE UNIFORM FOR ARMY UNIFORM. HE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY SENT ON BASE SIDE TO WORK WITH BASE TELECOM. THERE, HE TOOK PART OF A BASE WIDE TELECOM AND NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE PROJECT LED BY 1 LINE TROOP. ON 6 AUG 1997, AFTER A REQUEST TO MOVE EAST, HE WAS POSTED TO CFB ESQUIMALT, DET ALDERGROVE/MASTQUI TO WORK ON HIGH POWER HF COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS. HE SOON RETURNED TO CFSCE TO COMPLETE HIS CONVERSION TO LCIS IN THE FALL AND THEN TO COMPLETE THE AN/FRT-510 HIGH POWERED HF TX MAINT COURSE. ON 4 JUL 1998, AFTER 12 YEARS OF UNDETECTED CRIMES, HE RECEIVED HIS CD. DURING THE FALL 2000, HE WAS SELECTED AND ATTENDED THE INITIAL COURSE AT HARRIS COMMUNICATIONS IN ROCHESTER, NY, ON NEW HF TRASNMITTERS THAT CAF PURCHASED TO REPLACE THE AGING AN/FRT-510. THIS NEW TX AND PERIPHERALS COURSE WOULD BECOME HFCS MAINTENANCE COURSE. ON 1 DEC 2002, HE WAS APPOINTED MCPL.
5. ON 31 MAR 2003, MCPL NADEAU WAS POSTED TO ASU PETAWAWA, 2 GS BN, 2 FD WKSP, LCIS TAC RAD MAINT SECTION AS MRT COMMANDER. HE SOON RETURNED TO CFSCE TO COMPLETE BATTLE GROUP SYSTEMS MAINTENANCE COURSE IN THE SPRING AND RETURNED TO PETAWAWA TO COMPLETE CFPLQ COMMON PILOT IN THE FALL, IN MARCH 2005 HE STARTED TRAINING FOR DEPLOYMENT TO AFGHANISTAN AS PART OF THE JTF AFGHANISTAN NSE. HE LEFT FOR KABUL ON 31 JUL 2005, CLOSED THE CAMP AND MOVED TO KANDAHAR AROUND END OCT TO SET UP SHOP. HE RETURNED HOME ON 10 FEB 2006. HE WAS AWARDED GCS WITH ISAF BAR IN KABUL AND SWASM WITH AFGHAN BAR IN KANDAHAR. HE RETURENED TO PETAWAWA AND TOOK A POSITION AS LPO PURCHASER, IC SOON AFTER. ON 29 MAY 2008, HE WAS POSTED TO 2 CMBG RCD. HE FIRST WORKED AS A ONE-MAN SHOW BEING THE ONLY TECH SURROUNDED WITH SO MANY BROKEN HEADSETS. EVENTUALLY, 3 MORE TECHS CAME TO DIG HIM OUT OF THOSE HEADSETS. HE RECEIVED HIS FIRST CLASP TO HIS CD ON 1 NOV 2008 DURING THE LELIEFONTEIN PARADE. ON 24 JUN 2009, HE WAS PROMOTED TO SGT.
6. IN AUG 2009, SGT NADEAU WAS POSTED TO CFB/ASU GAGETOWN BASE MAINTENANCE AS LCIS SHOP SUPERVISOR. DURING THE FALL, THE SHOP MOVED TO 3 ASG SIGS SQN AND HE WAS OFFICIALLY POSTED TO THE SQN EARLY IN THE NEW YEAR. THERE HE WORKED IN NON-TAC SHOP AND THEN AS ASSISTANT ISSO. IN MARCH 2010, HE RETURNED TO CFSCE ONCE AGAIN TO ATTEND AND COMPLETE LCIS TECH QL6A COURSE. ON 1 APR 2011, HE WAS POSTED TO CFRC HALIFAX DET FREDERICTON TO WORK AS INFORMATION SYSTEM MANAGER LOOKING AFTER IT EQUIPMENT FOR DETS IN NB AND PEI.
7. AROUND 2010, C&E BRANCH REVIEWED THE LCIS TECH, SIG OP AND LINEMEN TRADES, COMBINED THEM INTO ONE ACISS OCCUPATION WHICH WOULD FURTHER BE DIVISED INTO 5 SUB-OCCS: CORE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS, COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS AND LINE TECHNOLOGISTS AS WELL AS COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY MANAGERS. ON 1 OCT 2011, SGT NADEAU LOST THE DRAW AGAIN AND COT’D TO ACISS-CST DP3A. ON 29 OCT 2012, HE WAS POSTED TO SSU (ATL) DET GAGETOWN BUT REMAINED AT CFRD FREDERICTON TO CONTINUE WORKING AS ISM. HE TRAVELLED TO ALL NB AND PEI CFRD LOCATIONS AND MAINTAINED THEIR NETWORK AND COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, MOVED MONCTON AND CHARLOTTETOWN DETS TO NEW LOCATIONS AND CLOSED BATHURST AND SAINT-JOHN DETS. ON 13 JUL 2015, HE WAS POSTED TO CFSCE KINGSTON AND TOOK THE POSITION OF LOG TP WO; THEN HE WAS POSTED BACK TO GAGETOWN ON 31 JUL 2017, AT CTC HQ TO WORK AS QSTP MGR WHERE HE WILL STAY UNTIL HIS RELEASE. THERE, HE RAN SEVERAL QSTP AND TP ONLY WRITING BOARDS, MOST IN KINGSTON BUT ONE IN TRENTON. ON 11 MAR 2019, HE RECEIVED 2ND CLASP TO HIS CD. BETWEEN 2018 AND 2020, THE BRANCH REVIEWED THE ACISS OCCUPATION AND DECIDED TO SEPARATE THE OCCUPATION INTO 4 DISTINCT OCCUPATIONS: SIGNALS OPERATOR, SIGNALS TECH, INFORMATION SYSTEMS TECH AND LINE TECH. ON 1 SEP 2020, HE LUCKED OUT AND COT’D TO SIGNALS TECH. ON 15 JAN 2021, AFTER 33 PLUS YEARS AND 4 OCCUPATIONS, SGT NADEAU WILL RETIRE AS A SIG TECH.
8. SGT NADEAU WILL RETIRE TO THE FREDERICTON AREA, WITH HIS SPOUSE ROXANNE AND HIS YOUNG DAUGHTER ÉMILIE, WHERE HE PLANS TO RELAX, HEAL AND BE A STAY AT HOME DAD FOR THE FIRST FEW MONTHS. HE WILL REKINDLE WITH OLD HOBBIES LIKE PLAY THE DRUMS, AND TAKE ON THE NEW ONES, LIKE PHOTOGRAPHY AND MAYBE MINIATURE TRAINS, TRAVEL ETC. HE WILL EVENTUALLY TAKE TIME TO PLAN HIS NEXT STEP FOR THIS GREAT ADVENTURE CALLED LIFE.
9. SGT NADEAU DOES NOT WISH FOR A FORMAL GATHERING NOR A DWD, BUT HE WOULD CELEBRATE HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS WITH HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
10. ANECDOTES, STORIES, CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES AND ANY PICTURES ARE WELCOME. PLEASE SEND BY EMAIL TO MWO STEVE PRICE ([email protected]) CSN 432-3814.