After more than 35 years of loyal and dedicated service to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Military Engineers Branch, CWO Robert Nadeau, MSM, CD, will retire on 01 May 2023. Anecdotes and retirement wishes may be sent to MWO J.E. Fleurant at Eric.Fleurant@forces.gc.ca.

A DWD lunch for CWO Nadeau will be held on 01 April 2023 at 12:30 hours at the restaurant La Cage, 6467 Wilfrid-Hamel Blvd, Québec. Please RSVP to MWO J.E. Fleurant at Eric.Fleurant@forces.gc.ca.

CWO Robert Bob Nadeau joined the Canadian Armed Forces in April 1988 as an Air Defense Gunner (Bird Gunner) and completed his training in Shilo, Manitoba before being posted to 119 Air Defense Battery in Chatham in New Brunswick.

At the beginning of his career in 1989, he was transferred to Lahr in Germany in order to occupy the position of platoon commander. After completing his Combat Leader Course (CLC) in 1990, he was promoted to master corporal. Subsequently, in 1992, he was posted to Chatham, New Brunswick where he completed the Section Commander course and was employed as a Section Commander until 1995. During that year, he accepted a change of trade to become a combat engineer.

After completing his combat engineer training in Chilliwack, British Columbia, he was posted to the 5th Combat Engineer Regiment (5th CER). Between 1995 and 2005, he held several ranks and numerous positions at the regiment. Among these, were, section commander of the reverse osmosis water purification system (2002-2003) and commander of the engineering equipment troop (2003-2005).

Between 1995 and 2005, he took part in several operations such as OP palladium, BosniaHerzegovina from 1996 to 1997. He also participated in OP RECOVERY in 1998, responding to the ice storm in Quebec. He was deployed to Turkey as part of OP TORRENT in 1999 with the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). In 2001 he was deployed to BosniaHerzegovina as a platoon commander on OP PALLADIUM.

From 2005 until 2008, he was posted to the Canadian Armed Forces School of Military Engineering in Gagetown, New Brunswick. He started in the position of survival cell instructor and after his promotion to warrant officer in 2006, he held the positions of survival cell supervisor and demolition cell supervisor successively.

In 2008, he returned to the 5th CER. In 2009, he was deployed to Afghanistan with the Liaison and Operational Mentoring Team for OP ATHENA. In 2010, he took part in OP HESTIA in Haiti. Upon his return from deployment, he held the position of training sergeant major until his promotion to master warrant officer in 2012. He was then appointed to sergeant major of the 55th support squadron and Sergeant Major of the Command and Services Squadron from 2014 to 2015.

From 2015 to 2019, he was posted to the Joint Personnel Support Unit (JPSU) in Quebec, acting as Quebec Regional Sergeant Major.

After spending the last year as Platoon Commander for the Intermediate Leadership Program (ILP) at the CWO Robert Osside Institute in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, he was promoted to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer. Since 2020, he has held the position of regimental sergeant major at the 5th CER.

CWO Bob Nadeau has shared his life with Nathalie Roy for the past 34 years and they are proud parents of Cassandra and Frédérike and grandparents to Abigaëlle and Benjamin.