After more than 33 years of loyal and dedicated service to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Military Engineer Branch, MWO P.E. Gallant, CD, will retire on 5 September 2025. Anecdotes and well wishes may be sent to WO Shannon Woodman: Shannon.Woodman@forces.gc.ca
Before joining the Forces, MWO Gallant lived in Charlottetown, PEI. He enrolled in the CAF on 28 November 1991, as a Radio/Teletype operator and spent three years at I 721 Communications Regiment. Seeking full-time
employment, he transferred to the newly commissioned naval reserve unit, HMCS Queen Charlotte, in January 1995 as a Diesel Mechanic. After completing his training in Esquimalt, he was posted to Halifax, where he served on HMCS Anticosti, HMCS Moresby, HMCS Brandon, and HMCS Goose Bay, achieving the rank of Petty Officer 2nd class. On 31 August 2001, he enrolled in the regular force as a Construction Technician and was later posted to CFB Trenton as a carpenter section member. During his six years there, he undertook several short deployments to CFS Alert over different summers ending with a full tour in 2007.
In 2008, he was promoted to MCpl and posted to 4 ESR Gagetown as the carpenter 2 I/C. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 for a two-month TAV to expand FOB Wilson and to Haiti in 2010 on Op HESTIA as part of DART for earthquake disaster relief. Later in 2010, he deployed on IRU to Clarenville, Nfld, for Op LAMA to assist with disaster relief after Hurricane Igor.
Promoted to Sgt in 2011, he spent the next four years as the Carpenter Section Comnander and Ops/Trg in the construction troop at 4 ESR. After seven years and six Nihilo Sapper exercises with 4 ESR, he was posted to 22 Wing North Bay as a contract inspector with Wing CE. Upon promotion to WO in 2017, he was posted to RP Ops North Bay as the Det SM.In 2021, he was posted to 1 ESU in Kingston as 3 SET WO and deployed on a TAV to Operational Support Hub – Latin America and the Caribbean in Jamaica for camp upgrades and twice on a TAV to Op REASSURANCE in Latvia for Temporary Deployed Munitions Storage Construction. Promoted to MWO in 2022, he moved to the 15 Sqn SM position and in 2024 to his final position as the HQ Sqn SM.
MWO Gallant will retire on 5 September 2025 and move back to PEI with his wife of 27 years Melanie. They have two sons, Alex 23 years old, and Aidan 18 years old.