After an impressive 35-year career, Mr. Greg McKay, a dedicated member of the Department of National Defence, is retiring on 18 September 2024. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Greg grew up with his brother Jeff and their supportive parents, Kay and Grant. Greg graduated from John Taylor Collegiate in 1984. His knack for tinkering and carpentry led his parents to encourage him to pursue a career in engineering. Greg attended Red River College in Winnipeg and received his Civil Engineering Technology diploma in June 1987.

Greg began his career on 12 July 1989, as a Civil Engineering Technologist with the 1 Construction Engineering Unit (1 CEU) in Winnipeg at the age of 22. In 1995, when 1 CEU relocated to Moncton, New Brunswick, Greg made the move as well. Over the years, his unit underwent several changes, becoming 1 Engineer Support Unit (1 ESU) in 2003 and moving to Kingston, Ontario, in 2013.

Throughout his career, Greg was instrumental in laboratory testing and engineering studies at nearly every National Defence facility across Canada and the arctic. His arctic adventures included Iqaluit, Resolute Bay, Eureka, Cambridge Bay, and Alert six times. Since 1997, he served as the Radiation Safety Officer for 1 ESU, and since 2007, as the General Safety Officer. His dedication extended beyond work; for over 25 years, he has provided high quality breakfast sandwiches, “Greg McMuffins", to boost morale and fuel the unit.

A notable highlight of Greg’s career occurred when deployed members were getting subpar results in concrete projects in Afghanistan. Since the cement was suspect, Greg requested samples of every available brand of cement to conduct laboratory testing at 1 ESU to determine the best quality cement. Over the course of five testing rounds from 2008-2012, he established trend analysis that provided members with the cement brands to specify in concrete projects. The success of deployed concrete projects was significantly improved. Subsequently, Greg learned that his reports were being used in Afghanistan by outside units to enhance the quality of concrete being produced.

Outside work, Greg has a passion for mountain biking, golf, hockey, and downhill skiing. He also works on and occasionally races his 1970 Oldsmobile 442, winning several trophies.

Looking ahead, Greg hopes to enjoy his hobbies, with golf and mountain biking on the agenda, and hockey in the winter, knees permitting. He plans to reside in Kingston with Manon, his wife of 24 years, along with their dog and cat.

Greg's colleagues and friends wish him all the best in his retirement, confident that his future will be as fulfilling and adventurous as his distinguished career.

Depart with Dignity (DwD) ceremony will take place on the 6^th of September 2024 at 0800 at the Camden Braes Golf Club, followed by a BBQ and presentation at 1 Engineer Support Unit. Invite requests and messages can be sent to Lt Alexandre Carson, by email at: Alexandre.Carson@forces.gc.ca