After more than 22 years of loyal and dedicated service to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Military Engineers Branch, CWO Beniot Laroche, CD, will retire on 17 July 2022. The Depart with Dignity ceremony for CWO Laroche will take place on 19 May 2022 from 10:00 hrs to 13:00 hrs at the 17 Wing Winnipeg Warrant Officer and Sergeants’ Mess. Anecdotes and retirement wishes may be sent to CWO R.J. Foucault at Roger.Foucault@forces.gc.ca.
Born in Jonquiere, Quebec, Chief Warrant Officer Benoit Laroche enrolled in the CAF to be a firefighter at the Recruiting Center in Bathurst, New Brunswick on 17 July 2000. After apprentice training at the Canadian Forces Fire Academy, his first posting was to 3 Wing, Bagotville.
After completing journeyman training in 2003, he traveled west for the first of two postings with the RCN onboard HMCS Regina. In 2005, after gaining experience and traveling the world, he was posted to the Canadian Forces Fleet School Damage Control Division as a Shipboard Firefighting and Helicopter Crash Rescue Instructor.
In 2007, he returned to 3 Wing as a Fire Inspector and then as Platoon Chief after completing supervisor and manager training. During his second fire department posting at 3 Wing, he took part in various operations, namely OP BOXTOP, OP NORTHERN DENIAL, and OP NANOOK.
By 2011, he was back on the West Coast as the Senior Firefighter and Flying Coordinator onboard HMCS Winnipeg. During his second posting to the West Coast, he sailed on all classes of ships, deployed on OP CARIBBE with HMCS Ottawa, and participated in the mid-life refit standardization and maneuvering controllability sea trials onboard HMCS Calgary.
In 2014, he was posted to 12 Wing, Shearwater, as the Deputy Fire Chief and in 2015, he completed three years of graduate studies to earn a Master’s degree in Disaster and Emergency Management at the University of Royal Roads. While in Shearwater, he participated in force protection exercises, Wing-level crash exercises, and emergency nuclear response evaluations in support of MARLANT and the RCN.
In 2017, he was posted to 17 Wing, Winnipeg, as Wing Fire Chief. While at 17 Wing, he deployed to Kuwait on OP IMPACT as Task Force Fire Marshall and held the position of Qualification Standard Manager for the firefighter occupation at 2 Canadian Air Division Headquarters.
In July 2020, he was posted to 1 Canadian Air Division Headquarters in Winnipeg to be the RCAF Deputy Fire Marshal with A4 CE.
CWO Laroche has been happily married to Jasmine for over 14 years and together, they have two boys, Oliver and Nicolas. In his spare time, he enjoys exploring and discovering the world with his boys, volunteering in his community, and cooking good food. He, Jasmine, Oli, and Nic will settle in the Shuswap Lake region of southern British Columbia where he will explore other vocational opportunities, establish roots, and be close to friends and relatives.