Published September 29, 2022
After more than 39 years of loyal and dedicated service to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Military Engineer Branch, BGen Darlene Quinn, OMM, CD, will retire on 30 November 2022. The Quinns will host a small retirement gathering at their home in Ottawa in the near future. Anecdotes and retirement wishes may be sent to Capt C. Choy at Carson.Choy@forces.gc.ca before 10 October 22.
BGen Quinn joined the CAF in June 1983. She completed her undergraduate education in Civil Engineering at Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, and later received a Master’s degree in Military Studies from RMC. She attended NATO Defense College in Rome as a student in 2015/16 before completing NSP at the CFC in Toronto and returned to Rome to serve as Military Assistant to the Commandant, LieutenantGeneral Whitecross, in 2017. She has proudly held command at all ranks from Captain to Brigadier-General, first as Base Construction Engineering Officer at CFB Chilliwack during its closure, and most recently as Commander, Formation Europe. She was one of the few Construction Engineers who has served as B/WCEO for each of the CA, RCN, and RCAF. She deployed to Pakistan in 1989 to teach mine awareness to Afghan refugees, to the Golan Heights as Engineer Troop Comd for a year, and as the DART Engineer, as part of an interdepartmental team to Indonesia. While she managed the transformation of Construction Engineering services across the CAF, she had the pleasure of visiting almost every base and wing across Canada and then served as the first commander of the Real Property Operations Group. She has served with and for many incredible people and is happy to see CAF’s bright future shining in the eyes of our future leaders. BGen Quinn is retiring after a year as Chief of Staff to the CDS, which has been the very highest point among many highs in her career, and which has been her honour.
BGen Quinn is retiring at the same time as her husband Pete, a consulting engineer and former military Construction Engineer; they plan to travel extensively for as long as health and savings will allow, carrying with them the spirit of their son John, deceased in 2016 at the age of 25.