After more than 27 years of loyal and dedicated service to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Military Engineer Branch, LCol R. Gregg, CD, P.Eng (00181) will retire on 4 September 2026.
Departure with Dignity (DWD)
A DWD ceremony will take place on 25 September from 1400 to 1600 at the Fort Frontenac Officer’s Mess in Kingston (ON). Those interested in attending may contact LCol A.E. Klima at: Alastair.Klima@forces.gc.ca. Those wishing to convey their congratulations, best wishes, or anecdotes are also invited to forward them to the same point of contact.
CHIMO!
Lieutenant-Colonel Ryan Gregg launched out of Bobcaygeon, Ontario and joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1999 through the Regular Officer Training Plan and attended the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston. Graduating in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, he began what would become a rewarding 27-year career as a Royal Canadian Engineer Officer.
Following engineer officer training, Ryan started his career with 2 Combat Engineer Regiment (2 CER) in Petawawa. In 2006, he returned to RMC to complete a Master of Applied Science in Civil Engineering before joining 1 Engineer Support Unit (1 ESU) as a Specialist Engineer Team Commander. During this posting, he deployed to Afghanistan with the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team in 2009, contributing to reconstruction and development efforts during Operation ATHENA.
Throughout his career, Ryan served in a variety of command, staff, and engineering leadership positions. His regimental service included appointments as Second-in-Command and Officer Commanding 23 Field Squadron at 2 CER. As a Major, he served at 1st Canadian Division Headquarters as Deputy Joint Engineer and DART Engineer, deploying to the Philippines to lead disaster response operations on Operation RENAISSANCE following Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.
Returning to 1 ESU in 2014, Ryan commanded both 11 and 15 Engineer Squadrons and supported numerous domestic and international operations through infrastructure design and project management. A highlight of this period was serving as Project Director for the Multinational Headquarters Project in Riga, Latvia, where he helped deliver critical NATO infrastructure and supported multiple deployments on Operation REASSURANCE.
In 2020, Ryan completed the Joint Command and Staff Programme, earning a Master of Defence Studies. He subsequently served as Executive Assistant to both the Deputy Commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) and Commander of 1 Canadian Division before returning to 1 ESU as Deputy Commanding Officer. Promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 2023, he went on to serve as Deputy Joint Engineer at CJOC and later as Joint Engineer and designate CO of DART at 1st Canadian Division Headquarters.
Over more than two decades of service, Ryan had the privilege of working alongside so many exceptional military and civilian teammates at home and abroad. He considers the people he served with, the friendships built, and the opportunities to contribute to Canadian Armed Forces operations around the world to be the most rewarding aspects of his career. He is eternally grateful for the mentorship, professionalism and insightful learning instilled upon him by the leaders, colleagues, and friends that have surrounded him along the way.
Ryan retires from the Canadian Armed Forces with the love and support of his wife Kathryn, daughter Ava, and son Aiden. He will continue to call the Kingston area home and will be starting a second career in the private sector; getting back to civil engineering and construction project management. He plans to spend more time with family and friends, travel on his own terms, watch his kid’s sports, and of course get out on the local lakes fishing with whatever time is left over.