Mj Kevin G. Mercer, CD

    Maj Kevin Mercer joined the Canadian Armed Forces on 18 Nov 76 as a skilled applicant in the Construction Engineering Technician (Draftsman/Surveyor) trade. On completion of Basic Recruit Training at CFB Cornwallis for where he received the Commandant’s Shield for the Top Recruit, he proceeded to CFSME at CFB Chilliwack for TQ 3 training. His first posting was to 3 Field Squadron (later 1 CER) for a year and then on to the CFB Chilliwack CE section until 1980. Maj Mercer was married in 1980 to his beautiful wife Julie and they were immediately posted to CFS Gypsumville. Upon his return to Gypsumville from QL6A training in July 1981 he was posted to CFB Borden as the 2iC of the drafting cell. While there he was accepted into the UTPM (UTPNCM) program in Civil Engineering first at CMR St Jean and RMC Kingston in Jul 1983. Interspersed throughout the academics was the annual MILE Phase training each summer including a top student placing on Phase II.

    After graduation from RMC in 1988 and completion of phase training he was assigned to CFB Comox as the Engineering Officer, Planning Officer and Requirements Officer. Following this initial tour he paid his penance at Air Command Headquarters from 1992- 1997; first as the staff officer for 5 Wing, Goose Bay and 9 Wing, Gander for 3 years and then as staff officer for equipment procuring equipment for the newly formed AEFs. From Winnipeg he was posted to 22 Wing North Bay as the WCEO in 1997 maintaining operations in the NORAD Underground Complex. In 2000, he was posted to 192 Airfield Engineering Flight (now 192 CEF), Abbotsford in 2000 where he twice deployed the flight on the Deployment for Training (DFT) Program to Gulfport, Mississippi and Dallas, Texas and deployed to Bosnia as the Contract Manager for the Contract Services Contract for ATCO FRONTEC. Upon return from Bosnia he was promoted to Maj and in APS 2003 was posted to 19 Wing Comox as the WCEO. In 2007 he was posted to CFB Esquimalt as the Executive Officer and then as the Operations Officer. Maj Mercer retires from the CF effective 12 April 2009.

    Kevin has accepted a position with the Comox Valley School District as the Manager of Facilities Services. After nearly two years on imposed restriction, he is looking forward to catching up with Julie, watching the last two of his five kids grow up, and plenty of puttering about on his farm in Merville.