Mike first donned the Uniform in 1973 with the Primary Reserves in his hometown of St Johns, Newfoundland as a summer student and removed it for the last time in May 2006 as an MWO within CE (officially retired on 25 October 2006). After transferring to the Regular Force with the Engineer Branch as a master electrician employed in the old 614 trade and after thundering in from a few too many pole climbs, he decided it was time to change trade. He accepted an offer to become a PG FTR in the old 613 trade and was employed as a tradesman, shop 2ic shop and finally shop foreman. He reached the millionaires club the old 649 trade and held many positions, Contracts O, Prod O, Plan O and DCC liaison.
Mike enjoyed numerous postings over the years: Chilliwack, Borden, and Winnipeg to name a few. If his memory is correct, he moved eleven times in his career. He attended CFSME, first at Chilliwack and then at Gagetown and received three top student awards.
Mike had multiple tours of Alert, and overseas to Cyprus, Golan, Bosnia to name a few. On leaving the Regular Force, he joined the federal government in October 2006 with the WFE shop in Edmonton and in 2007 moved to contracts cell. He served as both a COI and Contracts officer when asked to fill in as neeed.
Mike has been happily married to Geraldine (Jeri) for over 43 years and together, they have two boys Michael and Andrew. Mike’s last day in service is 20 July 2022. He is deeply appreciative of his family for their support throughout the years. He would also like to express gratitude to all the colleagues with whom he has had the fortune to work over the years and is retiring to Newfoundland with my wife Geraldine to start the next chapter in their life.