Minister of National Defence Visits RMCSJ

De passage à Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu dans le cadre de l’annonce de trois investissements visant l’’amélioration des infrastructures militaires au Québec , l’honorable Peter MacKay, ministre de la Défense nationale, a fait un bref arrêt au Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean pour y rencontrer quelques élèves-officiers. À la gauche du ministre se trouve le 10966 Lieutenant-général (à la retraite) Michel Maisonneuve, Directeur des études au CMR Saint-Jean

While in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu to announce three investments to improve military infrastructure in Québec, the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, stopped briefly at Royal Military College Saint-Jean to meet some officer-cadets. To the left of the Minister is 10966 Lieutenant-General (retired) Michel Maisonneuve, RMC Saint-Jean Academic Director.

________________________________

________________________________

A tip of the hat to the following members who just recently updated their Club membership status: Chapeau aux membres suivants qui ont tout récemment mis à jour leur adhésion au Club:

4846 Geoffrey D Richardson; 3613 Barry A. Culham; 7769 Micheal A. Lawrance; 20710 Greg Beck.

In This Issue 19:

• Grad Wishes from Bob Benn, President, RMC Club of Canada

• Frontenac Squadron Takes Right of Line

• CDS Drops by Currie Hall for a Surprise Visit with IV Years

• Gash is Back! Better Than Ever!

• The Town Hall

• Band Put Their Instruments Away for Well Deserved Recognition

• Here,There & RMCC

• Advanced Combatives Bootcamp

• Class Notes…

• What are these 24 up to these days…?

• RSM Coggins’ Farewell to the Cadet Wing – 55 Years Ago

• Who Is He? 4th RMC Graduate to Become Commandant

• Deaths | Décès

• Careers | Carrières

• Notices | Avis “BOOMER’S” BIKE RIDES IN SUPPORT OF BOOMER’S LEGACY;

• Grad Info; Ottawa Golf Tournament; Reunion Weekends info & much more

KINGSTON WATERFRONT HOTEL – CLICK ON PHOTO – FOR RESERVATIONS & OTHER INFO

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Congratulations. You have successfully completed your respective stages of education and training, and it is now time to face a new set of challenges.

For those of you completing your education at RMC Saint-Jean, the challenge will be to continue your education in a markedly different environment, with its own culture, traditions, and physical setting. Integrating with your Second Year peers will present both opportunities and challenges, but I am sure the cohesiveness you have displayed while in Saint- Jean will be easily transferable to Kingston. Your demonstrated ability to work hard, play hard, and above all have fun doing it, will make you a valuable asset wherever you are assigned.

Pour les lauréats de Kingston, vous avez été préparés dans un milieu de choix au Canada. Les défis que vous avez rencontrés et surmontés, autant physiquement qu’intellectuellement, ont été nombreux et importants. Vos capacités ont grandi en conséquence et elles seront mises à l`épreuve plus tôt que plus tard. De se trouver parfois au bas de l’échelle n’est pas drôle, mais si vous montez cette échelle en vous servant de ce que vous avez appris au CMRC et si vous gardez votre sens de perspective et d`humour, le succès n’est pas garanti mais vos chances de réussite sont multipliées énormément.

Above all, if you have embraced three things as a result of your time at military college, the journey will have been well worth it, and they are:

Truth, Duty, Valour : Vérité, Devoir, Vaillance

9889 Bob Benn – President , RMC Club of Canada

_________________________

Well done to each member of the Class of ’13.

Exams are over, the character and achievements of the soon-to-be graduates are now a matter of record.

As we post this, Convocation and the Commissioning Parade are merely days away. Permit us to wish you individually much success and good fortune in the chosen career ahead of you. Expectations are that you all will enhance the good name of the Royal Military College of Canada wherever you go.

We are confident that you will always talk and behave at the level one would expect of a military college graduate.

As our good friend Herb Brav from South Camp in the Sinai constantly used to say: Safety, Team Work, and always set the example high!

TDV

Bill & Rolande Oliver

Editor e-Veritas

Frontenac Squadron Takes Right of Line

By: 25961 Ethan Strong (Click on photos for better viewing)

As the year comes to a close at RMC, so too does the Commandant’s Cup competition. Congratulations to Frontenac (4) Squadron, who won the annual competition and has earned the right to lead the Cadet Wing on graduation parade.

B Division has captured the spot of top division and, as a result, all three of its squadrons (4, 5 and 6) will be excused from duty for the 2013-14 year.

The Commandant’s Cup competition has made resurgence in recent years and is now frequently updated and emphasized by the training wing, making it a great command tool and means of good-hearted competition between cadets.

Graduating cadets get tips from Canada’s top General

By Captain Yvette Grygoryev

Canada’s Top General the Chief of the Defence Staff, 12192 Tom Lawson, spoke to fourth year cadets in historic Currie Hall, at the Royal Military College of Canada yesterday. General Lawson made time from his busy schedule to brief the cadets, who will be graduating next week, about where their careers may take them next.

“Everywhere I go, I speak to a greater audience from a higher dais, and that is because of the tremendous efforts of our men and our women,” Gen Lawson said.

“We are really delighted that you will now be joining the ranks with lieutenant bars on,” he added.

Gen. Lawson graduated from RMCC with an Electrical Engineering Degree in 1979. He offered a candid discussion on the current role of the Canadian Forces around the world and discussed his top priorities, including operational excellence, taking care of ill and injured soldiers, procurement of effective equipment and infrastructure.

According to Gen. Lawson, cadets who graduate from RMCC make life-long friends and learn lessons that will take them further on in their careers, as they prepare to begin their careers as officers and leaders of different units in the Canadian Forces.

Gen. Lawson offered sage words of advice for cadets to take the lessons they learned at RMCC and apply those lessons to their future careers.

“Take the lessons you’ve picked up, good and bad, and these will influence your own leadership philosophy,” he advised.

Most cadets at RMCC have spent the past four years learning skills that will allow them to be competent leaders. They have focused on four pillars of learning including athletics, academics, leadership and language in a program that also includes an intensive military training component.

Upon completion of their program, cadets become commissioned officers in the Canadian Forces.

Gen. Lawson also advised cadets to ask questions.

“Ask questions incessantly, ‘Why do we do it this way?’. Some of you will find ways to do things better,” he explained.

“The Canadian Forces like people who first ask the questions and then find the solutions,” Gen Lawson also added.

Gen Lawson shared a few anecdotes of his time at RMCC, including his experience advancing from a shy and quiet cadet in the third rank (row) to the Cadet Wing Commander and marching the parade around.

“Eventually all the tough stuff dumps off and only the outstanding part remains,” the CDS said of his memories of RMCC.

Gash Parade ’13: Go-Carts, Santa Claus and a Trojan Horse

Photos & article by: 25961 OCdt Ethan Strong (Click on photos for better viewing)

It was a bizarrely entertaining scene on the parade square last Friday (10 May) with the revival of gash parade: a tradition where the graduating class dresses up in costumes for parade practice.

There were so many great costumes I won’t even begin to explain… the pictures speak for themselves. The effort and interest that cadets put into this year’s gash parade shows the strong esprit-de-corps of the wing (and just what cadets can do with a little time and motivation).

Well done, Class of 2013!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video by: 26346 OCdt (II) Dan Ryan

By: 25961 OCdt Ethan Strong

The tone was bittersweet as the Commandant addressed the college for the last time before graduation: bittersweet for the graduating class, the commandant, and the college community.

The commandant, 14835 Brigadier-General Eric Tremblay, began by addressing the graduating class. The graduating class, just 9 short days from graduation, has the bittersweet feeling of leaving the college after 4 long years. The graduating class has the excitement of the next phase of their careers approaching, and the looming acceptance of leaving their home of 4 years, to set the tone for their final week at the college. Their “toolboxes” are full and they are ready to “walk the talk”, as the Commandant put it.

The class of 2013 are not the only ones preparing to leave the college, as the Commandant is also moving on at the end of the end of this term. This made the tone personally bittersweet for the Commandant as, just like the class of 2013, he is leaving the college for the next step in his career. Best of luck in your future endeavors sir!

The majority of the Commandant’s speech to the college addressed the way forward for the college in retrospect to what has been happening during his time as Commandant. The Commandant stressed that there are many ways to get our officers an undergraduate education, but that the role of RMC is to do more than that; the role is to produce “officers well educated”. In the face of budget cuts, the college must look for efficiencies and bear in mind the role of the college as we move forward.

For better or for worse, it is a time of change at the college: the class of 2013 is graduating, the Commandant is moving on and the college is undergoing changes. Each of these aspects of change has both bitter and sweet connotations that will make our experience at the college interesting as we move forward.

Best of luck to the Commandant and Class of 2013 as they move on!

Medals & Coin Presentations…

The College took the time during the Town Hall, to pause and recognize the contribution of members whose tireless efforts and dedication to RMCC and the CAF are extraordinary. Prizes and awards were given in the form of medals, commendations and Commandant’s Coins. You will find below a list of all members who were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the college community. Congratulations to everyone!

Medals

The Canadian Forces Decoration is awarded to Officers and Non-Commissioned Members of the Canadian Forces with good record of conduct, who have completed twelve years of service. Each subsequent 10 years of service earns a member an additional clasp on the medal. OCdt Marchall and NCdt Ezekiel were awarded the decoration for 12 years of service. The decoration clasp for 32 years of service was awarded to LCol Gosselin, LCdr Hamilton and BGen Tremblay.

The General campaign Star is awarded to members of the CF who deploy into defined theater of operations to take part in operations in the presence of an armed enemy. One rotation bar recognizes 210 days of eligible service. The first rotation bar was awarded to Capt. Champion.

The Diamond Jubilee medal is presented for contributions to Canada in commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s ascension to the throne. The Diamond Jubilee medal was presented to LCol Jason King.

Commandant’s Commendation

Miss Sandra Martingano was recognized for 15 years of exemplary service to the Ministry of National Defence as a civilian.

Miss Kathy Neilson was commended for her outstanding dedication to the RMCC Slowpoke facility and the highly professional manner in which she has represented RMCC both within DND and outside to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission over the past 13 years.

Miss Marcelle Poirier was commended for her outstanding dedication to RMCC in her role as the Administrative Assistant to the Chief of Staff and as the Coordinator of translation services.

Master Warrant Officer Brown, commissionaire, was recognized for his dedication to the security of RMCC across his two decades of service.

BGen Tremblay’s Coin of Excellence

OCdt Antoine Pelletier was given this award for his dedication and hard work during MOC weekend in March, where he exhibited an outstanding performance as the leader of his team.

Miss Deborah Reimer was recognized by the commandant for her outstanding management within the Environmental Services Group, where she developed a system to improve fiscal management. Her actions to improve this process render her model to her colleagues and to the college as a whole.

Mr. Graeme Duke-Gibbs is a very active member of the RMCC Yacht and Sailing Club where he has taken on many of the administrative responsibilities in recent years. Mr. Duke-Gibbs was recognized by the commandant for tremendous efforts to support this club and RMCC.

Sgt (retired) Trevor Wilson was awarded a Commandant’s coin for his valuable contribution to supporting RMCC’s rapidly evolving educational technologies as a CIS section data analyst for 2 years.

Mr. Mike Gatien was given this award for his outstanding involvement in the college as a mechanical technologist since 1981. Mr. Gatien has mentored thousands of students, researchers and faculty as well as managed many projects, making him an invaluable member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Mr. Gabov, and his Assistant Brittany Webster, lavished great care and attention on the decorative paintings in Currie Building and demonstrated great artistic skill in its execution. They have made a lasting contribution to the College which was recognized with the presentation of the Commandant’s Coin.

The following members of the Sandhurst support staff were presented the Commandant’s Coin for their tireless efforts which facilitated the team’s pursuit of excellence. Without their support, the success of the team at the annual West Point competition would not have been possible.

WO Chris Desjardins; WO Chuck Cote; Sgt Chad Hotner; Steve Mitchell; OCdt Aaron Brideau; OCdt Cindy Lavine; OCdt Andrew Legge; OCdt Matthew Bowser; and OCdt Adam Goddard

Most Valuable Member RMCC Band, presented by retired LCol. (ret) Gilles Langlois:
Fall Term 2012 – 25747 OCdt. Gonzo – Winter Term 2013 – 26320 OCdt. McNaughton

Band Put Their Instruments Away for Well Deserved Recognition

Article by 25796 NCdt Kevin Chung

The RMC Band took time to recognize its outstanding members this past Thursday evening with prizes, awards and a year-end party. Under the supervision of the Band Officer, MWO Ronald Reedy, the Band Master WO Catherine Norris, the Cadet Wing Band Officers, 25621 OCdt Stephanie Clark and 25846 OCdt Tyler Molloy, and coordinators, 25796 NCdt Chung and 26256 OCdt Greenwell, the event was a great success.

The event was attended by college senior leadership: LCol Patrick Lemyre, CPO1 Keith Davidson and MWO Wallace Rideout. LCol (ret) Gilles Langlois was also in attendance to present the award which bears his name.

Awards that were presented include the Most Deserving Member Award for each branch of the band, the Most Valuable Member of the RMCC Band Award (two recipients, one for each term) and 4th year certificates, which were presented to eligible 4th year band members who have served the band since arriving at the college.

Most Deserving Member Award, presented by the Director of Cadets, LCol. Patrick Lemyre:
Brass and Reed – M2080 OCdt Page
Choir – 25892 NCdt Thompson
Drum Corps – 26363 OCdt Robert
Highland Dance – 26542 OCdt Gilmore
Pipe Corps – 26228 OCdt Attwells

DFO RECOGNITION EVENT

A quiet but dignified gathering took place last week at the Senior Staff Mess. The commandant, DCdt and the Chief of Staff were all on hand to recognize the great work of the Duty Field Officers during the school year. DCdt best summed it up. ” please fwd my sincere thanks to the Duty Field Officers for supporting the Cadet Wing and Training Wing all through the year. Their mentorship of the Cadet Duty Officers and their professionalism in accurately reporting incidents has allowed us to solve many administrative, medical and disciplinary issues, but also maintain excellent situation awareness on what goes on in the quarters when the cat is not around.”

_______________________________

Rounding Up the Final Days to Graduation

By: 26659 Danielle Andela

Summer has finally hit Kingston; the sun is shining and the students of Royal Military College of Canada have already forgotten that Lake Ontario is still far too cold to swim in. In these last weeks everyone is preparing for the next step in their military and academic careers. The first years recently hosted the incoming College militaire royal de St. Jean students who will be joining their squadrons at RMCC Kingston next year. They helped show the cadets around the college, sign up for their next year’s courses and showed them the city nightlife. First year cadets are preparing for their Basic Military Officer Training course which will teach them many of the basic military skills and philosophies that are required of Officers in the Canadian Forces. The second and third years are busy preparing to support the fourth years on Grad Parade and have been spending hours practising their drill and procedures. They are also preparing to attend their next levels of training whether it be their next training phase or second language training.

As for the graduates, they are faced with a new and exciting transition from school life at the Royal Military College of Canada into their careers as junior officers. They fill all manner of positions in graduation parade and are busy packing and filling out paperwork that will ease their transition to their next postings which range from Gagetown, New Brunswick to Esquimalt, British Columbia.

The sunset parade is another event that will take place the day before graduation, May 16th, which showcases the many teams, clubs and unique aspects of RMCC for parents and other guests’ enjoyment. Just by looking out one’s dormitory window, the drill team, band, guard of honour and flag party can be seen practising until dark for this unique ceremony. All over the college there is a sense of relief that graduation is approaching and everyone gets to continue developing their military skills and careers. People are taking time to relax, spend time with their fourth year friends who will soon be departing and say their goodbyes to Kingston.

Congratulations to all the cadets of RMCC, wherever they are going this summer and in the rest of their military careers. Another successful year is completed and the Royal Military College of Canada will eagerly await the return of its cadets, whether it be to continue into their second, third and fourth years or to reminisce on reunion weekend as ex-cadets.

_______________________________

RMCC Emeritus professor Alan Whitehorn participated at the first international poetry conference to be held in Yerevan and Tsaghkadzor, Armenia. The event was part of the 2013 international book festival in Yerevan. As a poet and political scientist, Alan Whitehorn is a frequent speaker at universities and government departments in Armenia. At this session, he was reading poems from his recent bilingual (English and Armenian) book of poetry “Return to Armenia”.

_______________________________

2k Win for RMCC Cadets

Recently 25589 OCdt Rip Pennell, and 25731 NCdt Flavio Stasi attended the The Rochester Institute of Technology IEEE Student Design Contest. This a very prestigious Electrical and Computer Engineering design contest which is open to all Universities in North America. The team performed extremely well among very stiff competition with their project: A Systems Approach for the Development of a Silent Wireless Communicator. They brought home the 2nd Place Award for the competition along with a $2000 prize. We congratulate them on this achievement.

_______________________________

PAG Pizza Night

By: 25892 Meghan Thompson

On Friday, April 26th, PAG hosted its last moral Pizza Night of the year. The Pizza Night served both to mark the end of the exam period and offer a chance for cadets to wind-down before commencement of EPT and parade practices. While many cadets took the week as a leave-weekend, those who stayed behind had the chance to come by the cadet drinking mess and enjoy free pizza and have a few drinks with friends and classmates. With 22 pizzas, the event easily fed the 40 cadets who stopped by the mess that night and allowed a few to take doggie-bags too. NCdt Newman, the OPI of our fall exam Pizza Night as well, was responsible for pulling the whole event together, and so, thanks to him, PAG finished its last morale activity for the wing on a high-note.

Soirée pizza par le GAP

Vendredi 26 avril, le GAP a organisé sa dernière soirée Pizza de l’année. La soirée Pizza a permis à la fois de marquer la fin de la période d’examen et d’offrir une chance aux Cadets de relaxer avant le début de l’ « EPT » et des pratiques de parade. Alors que de nombreux cadets avaient pris un congé ce week-end, ceux qui sont restés ont eu la chance de venir au Mess et profiter de pizza gratuite et boire quelques verres avec des amis et camarades de classe. Avec 22 pizzas, l’événement a facilement alimenté les 40 cadets qui se sont arrêtés pour cette soirée et a même permis à quelques-uns de prendre des « doggie-bags ». Aspm Newman, l’ « OPI » de notre soirée Pizza à l’automne également, était responsable de cet évènement, et ainsi, grâce à lui, le GAP a fini avec une dernière activité destinée à remonter le moral des Cadets sur une note très positive.

_______________________________

INDIA EXPEDITION WRAPS-UP

It feels like a very long journey ago that the team set out on our first adventures in Chennai. Many of the things we saw there for the first time would recur throughout our two weeks. The expedition to India brought to life many of the realities that we learned about in our research prior to the trip: it’s one thing to read about what it’s like in India, and another to experience it ourselves.

One of the most apparent realities was underscored in our interactions with the Indian people and the clear disparity of wealth that exists throughout India and the way this leads to a difficult quality of life for the common people. Being heckled by beggars and shopkeepers has allowed us to understand the continuous struggle of families in India and throughout the developing world to make ends meet. The observation of poverty has been one of the most important experiences the team has shared over the course of the expedition.

The contrasts that our team observed is hard to come by back home. We saw luxurious extravagance and desperate poverty, often within fifty metres. Despite this, many on our team found that it is necessary to put aside all assumptions when approaching situations that are new to us. We return to Canada with a much deeper appreciation for the hardships that exist in the world today. By sharing our stories and lessons upon our return, we hope to increase understanding among our peers and improve attitudes towards our own lives.

Expeditions such as this would not be possible without the guidance and support from the club’s supervisors – Capt. Labonté (SC and Christine Powers (Recreation Clubs Manager) – and the supportive funding from the RMC Foundation.

India Expedition Team of 2013!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Advanced Combatives Bootcamp

By Kelly Lupton, PE Manager, RMCC

The Athletic Department has put a great deal of effort into making the fourth year PE program a true enhancement year at RMCC. The Advanced Combatives Course in particular is quickly becoming one of the “go to” courses for those OCdts that are truly at RMCC to be exposed to those kinds of opportunities that “put the “M” back into RMC”.

Specifically, the addition of an optional Advanced Combatives Bootcamp to the Advanced Combatives PE course, falling just after April exam period, is one way this is being achieved. Not all students elected to complete this gruelling three day, twenty hours, of high intensity combatives training experience. Those that did learned many techniques to defend against an unarmed assailant or defend against gun or knife attacks. The bootcamp reviewed the entire IV Year curriculum combatives instruction plus extra techniques added just for the bootcamp participants.

When asked, Combatives Coordinator Joel Ridley stated that the “main goal of the bootcamp is to give further review and practice to ingrain the techniques into muscle memory as well as to give those office cadets that desire to experience a more intense combatives learning experience.”

One OCdt was asked why he elected to participate in the bootcamp. He explained, “I came to a Military College in order to best prepare myself for a job that is surrounded by violence. This course was the best training I’ve received in my four years here with regards to unarmed combat, and I developed a genuine sense of self-confidence from it.” Another participant added that, “I was doing the Advanced combatives course during the winter semester and I really liked it. When I found out there was some kind of intensive training that was going to be given during a weekend with moves we never learned and a guest that did some crazy adventures in Columbia, I thought it would be a good opportunity to experience more of techniques and sweat for a good learning experience”.

The “crazy adventures in Columbia” the OCdt was describing were shared in a two hour briefing by an ex-Cadet, and Infantry Officer, Lt. Frank Ouellette (24765). He travelled to RMCC from Valcartier, where he is currently posted, to share his experiences of training with the Lanceros (Columbian Special Forces). He not only gave these highly motivated graduating OCdts an idea of what kind of experiences are open to them in the CAF if they were so inclined, but he also shared personal and emotional accounts of what you can do and achieve, even the most physically challenging and mentally gruelling experiences, if you stay focused and put your mind to it.

There were many highlights at the bootcamp. One OCdt shared that “the very first day was an hour of fitness training where people were crawling on the floor, exhausted by the intensity of what we were directed to do, especially me, all this while seeing our teachers looking at us suffering with a smile on their faces. Some trainees did not come back the day after… Big mistake”. That fitness training was there to establish a certain mind set for what was to come. For another participant, the highlights came as the weekend went on. In his case, his favourite parts of the bootcamp were the “pressure attacks” (see link). In his words, pressure attack are “ where more than 3 people are attacking you for 5 minutes without any pauses in order to test what we have learned during that weekend, under the pressure of a life threatening situation with the hearth rate to the top and fighting under a high level of stress.”

For Joel Ridley, “the main highlight for me was the dedication and mental toughness of the group of twelve OCdts that ended up completing the boot camp. We began with a list of 24 that signed up for the boot camp initially, 16 showed up the first day, 14 on the second day and 12 that completed the course.” As such he wants to add in this article his appreciation for these Cadets efforts and making the first ever bootcamp such a positive experience for all. The Department looks forward to building on this momentum and continuing to provide these great experiences for OCdts at RMCC through the military skills and combatives programs.

The list of cadets that completed the course where:

Tim Davick (Ingram); Éric Deshaies-Martin; Nuriel Alshek; ; Eric Hawn; Tom Neilson; Joey Z. Martin; Powis, R.C.M; Henry Luk; Tristan Lapointe; Max Peetsma; Cody Hansen; and Ryan Bearss.

One more video which is referred to in the article and give an excellent idea of what the course taught.

http://youtu.be/c7A-KrmQ358

___________________________________

10137 Gord Loney, Class of ’74 is an engineering graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada. Since his retirement from active duty 18 years ago, he has specialized in the field of perimeter protection for military, government, industrial, transportation and other critical infrastructure facilities. A long time member of ASIS and the National Defense Industrial Association, he has lectured numerous professional audiences on outdoor security and has written on the subject. He currently resides in Ottawa where he is employed as the Vice President of Product Sales for Senstar Corporation, a leading supplier of outdoor security solutions worldwide.

___________________________________

11575 Grant Turnbull graduated as a civil engineer from Royal Military College of Canada – Class of ‘77 after growing up in a small rural farm community in Manitoba. He served in the Canadian Armed Forces from 1973 to 1981 completing construction and civil projects as a Military Engineer all across Canada and in the Canadian High Arctic.

In 1983 he joined Dominion Construction as a Project Manager in Regina, Saskatchewan. As Dominion did many design build projects in Saskatchewan, Grant’s responsibilities were split between that of structural design engineer, design team manager and construction project manager. In 1990 he was transferred by Dominion to head office in Vancouver where he managed such projects as General Motors Place (now Rogers Arena) and the Pacific Press Kennedy Heights Printing Plant where the Vancouver Sun and Province newspapers are produced to this day. While at Dominion, Grant’s career progressed to the level of Vice President of Construction.

In 1998, Grant promoted himself to President by forming his own company, Turnbull Construction Services Ltd. (TCSL), with the goal of acting strictly on the Owner’s behalf as Project Manager and Owner’s Representative on major projects. Today the firm consists of 6 people, including Grant’s wife Michelle and four Project Managers. TCSL typically manages 6 to 8 major projects at any one time through all stages from inception, through programming, planning, design, construction and Owner move in. Website www.turnbullconstructionservices.com.

In 2007 Grant achieved an MBA degree in Project Management from Athabasca University. He has three adult children and five grandchildren under the age of seven. The grandkids are very good at distracting Grant from the project woes whenever the need arises!”

___________________________________

10838 Colonel (retired) Marc Grondin, CD, Class of ’76

Au service du MDN depuis 43 ans, colonel à la retraite et employé de RDDC depuis neuf ans comme ingénieur, Marc Grondin s’est mérité la Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II pour son leadership dans la création et la gestion du programme Support aux opérations, notamment, les nombreux programmes d’acquisition des véhicules de combat, la protection des aéronefs, les programmes d’acquisition des Forces spéciales et les projets spéciaux qui ont permis d’optimiser l’apport de la S & T auprès des FC à un sommet inégalé.

___________________________________

11356 J. A. Paul J. Downie, Class of ’78, was recently honoured with a Canadian Blood Services framed certificate for “One Hundred Donations”, in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Paul started giving blood as first year cadet at RMC Kingston, in 1973 because he felt it was important. Presently, he is now a 102 bagger, after forty years.

After RMC Paul had not donated again until 1987, for lack of opportunity, having been in the petroleum industry in the field and offshore.

He feels it is still important to give blood.

___________________________________

Retiring naval officer picks Barrie to hoist his flag – “When it came time to think about flags, the big option is the Peace Tower in Parliament, but there’s such a backlog there that you’d be years waiting for it and I didn’t want that,”- 12190 Ross Lambert – Class of’79    article

___________________________________

Women in Leadership: Reflections from Wise Women – G55 Valerie Spencer Keyes graduated from the War Studies program with a Master of Arts (History) Class of ’80 Article

___________________________________

Helping homeless veterans

12529 Mark Eldridge – Class of ’81 – Full article

___________________________________

13122 Bill Kelly – Class of ’81 joined CFN consultants in May 2013. He brings to the consultancy extensive experience in leadership, management, strategic planning, and materiel acquisition and support gained through various positions held within the Canadian Forces and Department of National Defence. His focus in CFN is on aerospace projects.

Bill served as an Aerospace Engineer in the Canadian Forces for over 31 years. He has served operationally as an Engineering Officer on tactical fighter squadrons in Canada and overseas.

He also commanded 10 Field Technical Training Squadron in Cold Lake Alberta from 1996 to 1997, 15 Service Support Branch in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan from 1998 to 1999 and the Canadian Forces Joint Imagery Centre in Ottawa from 2002 to 2005.  More

___________________________________ 

13738 Chris Hadfield, Class of ’82  hands over command of ISS

Article

How Chris Hadfield turned earthlings on to space  Article

___________________________________

New base commander takes over May 30 – CFB Kingston’s new base commander brings 30 years of military experience to his new posting. 16206 Col. F.J. Chagnon, Class of ’88 article

___________________________________

17383 Lucy Cerantola recently returned from the Canadian Naturals (body building competition)in Winnipeg MB – competing this time in Women’s Physique division. The RMC Class of ’90 graduate wanted to try out this new division and finished in 2nd place in the Physique Tall Category.

Lucy is currently looking into potential competitions outside of Canada as a top 5 finisher she qualifies to compete internationally.

Her next goal short term is to Run the Spartan Obstacle Course race – 5km with 15 or so obstacles in Oro, ON on June 22nd. She will be running it with a great group of parents and teachers from Ecole Elementaire de Sainte-Marie, Oakville!

 ___________________________________

18365 Glenn Lanteigne – Class of ’92 joined the South West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) as chief information officer in 2010. As CIO, Glenn provides direct leadership and accountability for the creation and implementation of a shared LHIN wide eHealth strategic plan that will ensure an integrated, aligned, and community-responsive health care system. He is responsible for electronic and information sharing initiatives to promote, maintain and improve health care delivery throughout the LHIN.

Glenn brings over 18 years of leadership, management, and consulting experience across the entire healthcare continuum. Most recently, Glenn was the director, healthcare at TELUS Healthcare Solutions providing overall strategic leadership for a full range of business and electronic health initiatives in regional care, acute care, community care, primary care, home care and consumer care. Glenn is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada where he holds an honours degree in economics and politics. In addition, Glenn holds an MBA from the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa and a Six Sigma Black Belt certification.

  ___________________________________

18395 Mike Potter obtained his B.Eng. in Engineering Physics (electrical) from the Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Class of ‘92. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, in 2001. From 1992 to 1997 he served as an officer in the Canadian Navy as a Combat Systems Engineer. After completing his service and attaining the rank of Lieutentant(Navy), he completed his doctoral work in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. His research interests include computational electromagnetics and the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method, as well as applications of computational methods for acoustic and seismic modeling.

Mike is currently an Associate Professor – Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of  Calgary.

 ___________________________________

21364 Jeremy Hansen, Class of  ’99 – The former Ingersoll resident and IDCI graduate shared his dream along with Canada’s achievements and goals in space exploration with students at elementary schools in Ingersoll and Embro on Tuesday, May 7.  article

 ___________________________________

RMC Class of 2004 gives lasting gift to campaign

The RMC Class of 2004 has voted to contribute $4,000 to this year’s Kingston Whig-Standard Campaign designated to the Matthew Dawe Memorial Fund. 22596 Matthew Dawe, a member of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Regiment (PPCLI) and a member of the class of 2004 was killed tragically while leading an operation near Kandahar, Afghanistan, on July 4, 2007. He attended LaSalle Secondary School and later graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada as the Cadet Wing Commander in 2004. He played many sports but volleyball was his favourite and he was named league all-star while playing at RMC. Article