Staff Sergeant Dennis "Mike" Gerard McLaughlin was one of only ten Canadians to have been awarded the Military Medal twice during the Second World War.

Born in Edmonton in 1917, Mike joined the Canadian Armed Forces just after the beginning of the Second World War and was assigned to the 10th Field Squadron of the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE). Deployed to Italy in the Fall of 1943, he sustained serious injuries in February 1944 but went on to serve with distinction through the remainder of the War. 

On 18 July 2024, General M.A.J. Carignan became the first Sapper Chief of the Defence Staff since 1964. In that role, she is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the Canadian Armed Forces.

General Carignan joined the CAF in 1986 and attended the Royal Military College of Canada. Graduating in 1990, she was commissioned into the Canadian Military Engineers. Over the course of her career, General Carignan deployed overseas four times, earned multiple university degrees, and held a series of appointments in Canada with increasing responsibility.