After more than 20 years of loyal and dedicated service to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Military Engineer Branch, WO A.J.P. Marchand, CD, (00149) retired on 8 August 2025. Anecdotes and well wishes may be sent to MWO L.-M. Neault at: louis-marie.neault@forces.gc.ca.
Warrant Officer Alexandre Marchand was born in the village of Breakeyville, QC. He began his military career in 2005, joining the Régiment de la Chaudière in the Reserve as an infantryman. In 2007, he completed his studies in Fire Prevention at Collège FX-Garneau. Driven by a desire to serve in a different capacity and drawn to the field of fire protection, he requested a trade transfer and was posted to the Canadian Forces Firefighting School in March 2008.
After completing his basic training at CFB Borden, he received his first posting to CFB Comox. During his four years in Comox, he served as a structural firefighter, airport firefighter, and advanced medical first responder. While there, he also became part of the LUSAR (Light Urban Search and Rescue) team.
This training, completed at the Manitoba Emergency Services College, is recognized as one of the most demanding in the country. It allowed him to develop specialized technical skills and gain valuable operational experience that shaped the rest of his career.
In 2015, Alexandre was posted to 3 Wing Bagotville, QC, as a member of the fire station response teams. As both a structural and airport firefighter, he took part in numerous responses and training activities, further enhancing his unit’s operational effectiveness. It was also at Bagotville that he deployed to Canada’s Far North, in Inuvik, NT, as part of Operation Northern Denial. For nearly two months, he served as an airport firefighter in particularly challenging conditions. This deployment proved significant not only professionally, but personally as well, as it was there that he met the love of his life, his partner Tamara. He was subsequently promoted to Master Corporal in April 2015.
In the summer of 2016, he joined 4 Construction Engineering Squadron (4 CES) in Cold Lake, under the command of 2 Wing Bagotville. There, he was responsible for the maintenance of operational deployment equipment and provided instruction on two courses. Specifically, he served as an instructor for the pre-deployment course for RCAF engineers, particularly firefighters, and also taught the ALR (Airfield Light Repair) course. Always motivated to contribute further, he participated in Exercise Maple Flag in Wainwright, Alberta, in 2017, where he served as a fire inspector and trainer, sharing his expertise with several campfire brigades.
In 2019, he was promoted to Sergeant and posted to Joint Task Force East (JTF East) at the 2nd Canadian Division Headquarters in Montreal, as a watch officer. This role exposed him to a completely different environment than that of military firefighting, broadening his understanding of operations management and command. Promoted to Warrant Officer, he continued his service at the Watch Centre until his medical release.
Released for medical reasons, Warrant Officer Marchand now focuses on his physical rehabilitation and his family. He is making the most of this transition by spending quality time with his partner Tamara and their two young children, Olivia Jade (3 years old) and Lucas Miles (2 years old).
Throughout his career, Alexandre has distinguished himself through his professionalism, resilience, and camaraderie. His journey reflects the versatility and dedication of Canadian military firefighters, who serve with honour both on bases and in the most demanding environments.