Capt J.M.J.C. Cournoyer, MMM, CD, will retire from the Canadian Armed Forces on 16 July 2015, with almost 35 years of loyal and dedicated service to the CAF and the CME Branch (please see attached bio).
A lunch is scheduled for Friday the 12th of June 2015 at 1130hrs at the Kébec Lounge, Officer's Mess, BFC Valcartier. The menu as follows is soup, main course, desert, tea, coffee or juice. If you have any, food restriction, please mention it when you reserve. The cost for the lunch is 10$ payable at the bar. Anyone wishing to attend may contact Capt Carl Gosselin : carl.gosselin@forces.gc.ca NLT 2 June 2015. Congratulatory messages, anecdotes, photos, and farewell wishes can also be forwarded to Capt Carl Gosselin.
Mario enrolled at Sherbrooke on October 26, 1980, as a combat engineer. After basic training, he was posted to CFB Borden in Ontario, where he took a driver course. He started his level 3 training as a combat engineer in August 1981 at CFB Chilliwack, in BC.
In January 1982, he was posted for the first time to 5 CER at CFB Valcartier as a combat engineer with 51 Field Engineer Squadron (51 Sqn). In November 1982, he successfully completed combat diver training at Esquimalt Naval Base in BC. When he came back, he rose through the ranks to become commanding officer of the field section and the unit’s senior diving supervisor. In 1990, he was posted to the School of Military Engineering (CFSME) in Chilliwack, BC, where he worked as senior non-commissioned officer for courses QL3, QL5 and QL6A. He completed his QL6B before being assigned to the standards section from 1992 to 1993. He came back to 5 CER in May 1993 and was deployed on Op CAVALIER Roto 2 in Bosnia from October 1993 to May 1994. He was reconnaissance sergeant for the Eng Sqn. Promoted to warrant officer (WO) in December 1995, he was troop WO and then training sergeant major (TSM) of 5 CER.
In August 1996, he was posted to the CF Leadership and Recruit School (CFLRS) at StJean-sur-Richelieu, where he was recruit platoon second-in-command, officer cadet secondin-command and Standards ASST. In September 2000, he was assigned to the working group on the CF Enhanced Leadership Model (ELM) in Fort St-Jean, QC. He was promoted to the rank of master warrant officer (MWO) in September 2001 and went back to CFLRS to set up Company D (Coy D), the new recruit company. In May 2002, he assumed the position of TSM of CFLRS, where he took over the Standards sections as SM. In August 2003, he was again assigned to 5 CER, where he held the positions of SM of the 51 Sqn, 55 Sqn and 58 Sqn and formed the new 53 Light Field Squadron. From when he was a Pte to when he was a MWO, he took part in many international exchanges, notably with the American Navy Seals and the French, Dutch and Germans on the different engineering exercises and Ex ROGUISH BUOY. He also took part in the Aboriginal crisis in BC and the ice storm crisis.
He was promoted to chief warrant officer (CWO) on June 26, 2006, and posted to Ottawa, Ontario, as J2 in the intelligence cell of engineering operational support at Canadian Operational Support Command. Among other things, he took part in EOD working groups, the evacuation of refugees from the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict and security for the 2010 Olympics. At the same time, in March 2007, he became the first CWO of the engineering group – operational support. His main responsibility was technical training for the engineering service, in preparation for their deployments to Afghanistan. In that role, he made several technical visits to the USA and on Ex TROPICAL HAMMER to Jamaica, among others. In August 2008, he became the 23rd CWO of CFSME in Gagetown, N.B. On June 26, 2009, he received a special commission as captain and was posted to the Training Centre, Quebec Sector, as Officer Commanding of the Army Language Training Centre, where he is still serving.
Mario will retire on July 16, 2015. He plans on staying in the Quebec City area to take care of his buildings and devote most of his precious time to his wife, Claudine, their children, Geneviève, Alexandre and Noémie, and of course their grandson Christophe.