Published April 2, 2014
Master Warrant Officer Rejean Chiasson was born on 7 July 1954 in Lamèque, New Brunswick, and grew up in nearby Petite-Lamèque. He joined the Canadian Forces on 7 August 1973, in Bathurst, New Brunswick. At the time, his main goal was to travel; the Canadian Forces would give him that opportunity throughout his career with the first stop at Saint-Jean, Québec. After completing his basic training at Saint-Jean, Quebec, he was transferred to Valcartier, Quebec, to take Army training and was then transferred to Edmonton, Alberta, where he underwent basic parachute training. Still with the Canadian Airborne Regiment, he finished his course in time to be deployed to Cyprus in 1974.
The Airborne moved to Petawawa, Ontario, in 1978, and in February 1979 he saw the light and changed occupations, becoming a plumber. He took his Qualification Level 3 course at Chilliwack, British Columbia, and was transferred to Bagotville, Quebec, where he was called upon to perform various tasks for Construction Engineering in the plumbing workshop. After working on plumbing, hydronic heating and steam heating, he spent a year in the oil burner shop, where he acquired and applied all his knowledge of oil boilers. He then returned to the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering in 1981 to complete his Qualification Level 4. In 1983, he was transferred to Moisie, Quebec, as the plumbing and heating shop supervisor, following which he was assigned to Canadian Forces Station Alert, where he worked on the Hurricane project in 1984. He was promoted to the rank of master corporal in 1985, and in 1986 he completed his Qualification Level 6A at Chilliwack. That same year, he was transferred to Chatham, New Brunswick, where he held different positions in Construction Engineering, including supervisor of the PMQ Service Centre and contracts supervisor. He also served on two missions in Cyprus (1988 and 1990).
When he returned from Cyprus in 1990, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant and was transferred to Canadian Forces Base Valcartier the following year. He worked there for two years, in the Old Quebec detachment, as a production officer with 40 civilian and military employees. He deployed to the former Yugoslavia for seven months, and when he returned he was put in charge of maintenance and various projects for the contracts cell in the Canadian Forces Base Valcartier armouries. In 1995, he completed his Qualification Level 6B course at Chilliwack. On his return to Valcartier, around the time when 5 Construction Troop was formed, he was transferred to 5 Combat Engineer Regiment, where he participated in two large-scale projects involving all of the engineer occupations. In 1997, he completed a tour in Haiti as part of the United Nations mission.
In 1998, he was transferred to the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering, where he taught different subjects in the plumbing section. He is very proud of what he has accomplished over the course of his career and was honoured to pass his knowledge on to new personnel entering the plumbing and heating occupation.
He was promoted to the rank of warrant officer in 2000 and employed in the Standards Squadron for plumbing and heating. In 2004, he was promoted to the rank of master warrant officer and obtained the position of B Flight Warrant Officer at the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering, where he currently works.
Master Warrant Officer Réjean Chiasson and his beautiful wife, Marie, will be retiring in Pople Hill Estate, a small community just outside Fredericton, New Brunswick. As requested by Réjean, a small gathering will be held at the Warrant Officers' and Sergeants' Mess (bldg A-9) on 22 August 2008. Anecdotes and messages of congratulations may be sent to the OPI, Master Warrant Officer Wayne Allaby, via e-mail at Allaby.we@forces.gc.ca or via Fax at 506-422-1221 Attention: MWO Allaby.