Maj Allan R. Trenholme, CD a pris sa retraite des Forces armées canadiennes le 2 avril 2015 après plus de 17 années de loyaux et dévoués services au sein des Forces armées canadiennes et de la Branche du Génie militaire canadien (voir bio ci-jointe). Un dîner aura lieu le vendredi 8 mai 2015 à 11h30 au restaurant Aulde Dubliner, 62 rue William, Ottawa (marché Byward). Les personnes intéressées à y assister sont priées de communiquer avec le Maj John Timmermans John.Timmermans@forces.gc.ca. Les messages de félicitations, anecdotes, photos et salutations peuvent également être transmis au Maj Timmermans.

On a dark and stormy October night in 1987, then civilian Allan Trenholme drove his brother’s bald-tire Ford Mustang to the CF Recruiting centre in Toronto. He was happy to finally start the enrollment process and begin his dream of joining the military. Luckily for him, he got into his first car accident instead and managed to evade a short-sighted plan as an Air Navigator. After dusting himself off, he decided that he needed to better apply himself in University, get married too young and purchase a Chevy Cavalier…

Flash forward to July 1995 where Allan finally managed to enrol into the Canadian Armed Forces as an Artillery Reserve Officer in 3 RCA, Saint John, NB. Not only did he make a great decision to join the Reserves but he also opted to go back to university that summer and begin a second degree in mechanical engineering. Having missed out on “the fun side” of academia during his first degree, Maj Trenholme took advantage of the renewed opportunity to enjoy plenty of beer, Militia weekends in the field and the decidedly simpler life of being single again.

Then Lt Trenholme transferred to the Regular Force in Sept 1997, after which he completed his Basic Officer Training Course in the six weeks leading up to the Christmas exam period, completed his last year of university part-time and was posted to the Construction Engineering section at CFB Gagetown. Upon graduation from the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering in March 2000, Maj Trenholme was posted to 2 Combat Engineer Regiment as the Armoured Engineer Troop Commander.

After having commanded Heavy Equipment Troop and employment as 2nd In Command, 25 Support Squadron, Maj Trenholme was posted to CFB Petawawa Base Construction Engineers as the Design Officer and Facilities Manager. With the birth of his first son, Zackary, in Aug 2003, he was posted to 3 Field Engineer Squadron, Ottawa as the Operations Officer, Adjutant and finally Deputy Commanding Officer. After three long years of commuting to Ottawa on the weekends to be with his wife, Marie-Isabelle, they would now have the opportunity to share quantity time as well as quality…

Maj Trenholme was promoted to his present rank in June 2007, after completing his second posting in Ottawa as the Plans Officer in the Operational Support Engineering Group of CANOSCOM. During this time, he spent a month with his jaw wired shut after surgery – much was accomplished at work and even his wife was happy with the tranquility at home. For the next two years Maj Trenholme was posted to CFSU(O) as the Construction Engineering Officer, where he “learned how Ottawa works” among other things. During this time, he was deployed to Afghanistan as the first “Ops & Plans” officer for the Roto 1 Construction Management Organization.

A little over nine months (and I mean a little) after redeploying from Afghanistan, Maj Trenholme’s second son, William, was born. Once diaper duty was under control, he was posted to ADM(IE) as a Project Manager in DCPD for the next three years,followed by a year in Director Land Infrastructure and his last year in the new Real Property Operations Group. During these last few years, Maj Trenholme completed a Masters of Business Administration at the University of Ottawa and truly enjoyed the team work both at school and in his CF jobs. After almost 20 years of “living the dream”, Allan has decided to accept his next posting as a civilian Project Manager within ADM(IE). Although he is retiring from the Canadian Armed Forces, he remains a proud member of the Defence Team and is looking forward to the next chapter in his life working with both familiar faces and meeting new ones.