Maj Jesse J. Reynders, CD prendra sa retraite des Forces armées canadiennes le 9 mars 2016 après plus de 25 années de loyaux et dévoués services au sein des Forces armées canadiennes et de la Branche du Génie militaire canadien (voir bio ci-jointe). Cet été, Jesse, sa conjointe et leurs deux fils, déménagerons dans la région de Niagara afin de se rapprocher de leurs familles et de débuter sa formation de réadaptation professionnelle avant sa libération. Avant de quitter Ottawa, un dîner de départ aura lieu le vendredi 22 juin 2015 à 11h30 au Mess des officiers de l'Armée à Ottawa (coût $20). Les personnes intéressées à y assister sont priées de communiquer avec le Capt Wessel Pieter.Wessel@forces.gc.ca. Les messages de félicitations, anecdotes, photos et salutations peuvent également être transmis au Capt Wessel.

Major Jesse Reynders will be medically releasing on 9 Mar 2016 having served 25+ years in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Major Reynders enrolled in the Reserve Force in 1990 as a private in the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry while completing high school. When he graduated from high school in June of the following year, he transferred into the Regular Force under the Regular Officer Training Plan. Major Reynders graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and proceeded to complete his phase training as an Engineer officer.

Upon completion of his training, he was posted to 4 Engineer Support Regiment (4 ESR) and subsequently commanded at the troop level. During his time at 4ESR, he deployed on Op ASSISTANCE following the Manitoba flood in 1997 and Op PARASOL which involved the establishment and operation of a Kosovar Refugee camp in 1999. He was then posted to the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering (CFSME) as the commander of the Management and Bridging Troop. In addition to providing leadership to the instructors within his troop, he also instructed on all officer phase training and senior non-commissioned officer courses in subjects within the domains of management, planning, and bridging. Following his tenure at CFSME, he was posted to CFB Kingston in 2002 where he served in the Base Construction Engineering section as the Works Officer where he was responsible for managing the corrective and preventative maintenance programs of the base.

In 2003, Major Reynders was posted to 2 Combat Engineer Regiment (2 CER) as the second-in-command (2IC) of 24 Field Squadron. He deployed with the squadron to Kabul, Afghanistan on Operation ATHENA Roto 0. Upon his return to Canada in 2004, he completed the Army Operations Course in Kingston. In February of 2005, he returned to Afghanistan for another six-month deployment, this time as the Canadian planner within the Kabul Multi-National Brigade Headquarters G5 section. On redeployment, he was posted to 4 ESR where, over a three-year period, he was sequentially employed as the Regimental Operations Officer, Regimental Adjutant, and Officer Commanding 41 Engineer Squadron.

In 2008, Maj Reynders was posted to the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) Headquarters in Ottawa where he was employed as the Command Engineer and was responsible for managing and implementing the Command’s infrastructure plan. Following this, Maj Reynders was posted into the J5 Plans Section of the Canadian Operational Support Command (CANOSCOM) Headquarters. In 2010, he returned to RMC to complete the Land Force Technical Staff Program (LFTSP) in which he performed with distinction finishing first in his class.

Following the LFTSP, he was posted to the Directorate of Land Requirements in Ottawa to put his newly-acquired knowledge to good use. Here, he was employed as a Project Director and as the DLR 9 Engineer Requirements Section 2IC. In 2013, he migrated from project delivery to in-service support with his move from DLR to DGLEPM where, in his current position, he is responsible for all combat engineer and EOD equipment with the exception of vehicles.
Maj Reynders, his wife Jennifer, and their two sons, Liam and Ethan, will be relocating to the Niagara Region this summer in order to be closer to their extended families and commence the next chapter in their new life. Maj Reynders will be undertaking vocational rehabilitation training commencing in September until his release next March.