Major Rick Toppa joined the Canadian Army Reserve on 4 February 1983 and was a proud member of 3 Field Engineer Regiment in Westmount, QC until September 1996. Serving as an NCM until 1988, Major Toppa received his commission in 1989 and was fortunate enough to be employed in most unit officer command positions leaving as the Officer Commanding 4 Field Squadron. During this time, Major Toppa was also employed on Class B at the Force Mobile Command (Army HQ) in St Hubert, Quebec until 1996 working for the SSO Engrs. In 1996 Major Toppa followed his wife on posting to the NCR area where he joined the J3 Engr Requirements/DLR 7 organization working in Army Engineer equipment.
Working almost 22 years in the Army Engr procurement field was a true calling for Maj Toppa, being fortunate enough to work on a myriad of fleet procurements including Engr Heavy Equipment, HESV, LAV Engr, MTVE, MPEV and most recently the LEO 2 AEV.
Maj Toppa and his wife Sylvie Cloutier are the proud parents of two children, David 19 and Melanie 16. Upon retirement Maj Toppa will remain in the NCR where he will work in the defence industry.