After more than 10 years of loyal and dedicated service to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Military Engineers, MCpl Mathew Curry will retire on 28 May 2021. Due to the current situation, a Depart with Dignity ceremony will not be planned. Congratulatory messages, anecdotes and best wishes can be sent to MWO T.M. Knight at Trevor.Knight@forces.gc.ca.
MCpl Curry joined the 6th Field Engineer Squadron, North Vancouver, British Columbia, as a Combat Engineer in March 2011. In 2013, Sapper Curry was assigned the role of Troop Storesman and, displaying remarkable tenacity, took it upon himself to email the Minister of National Defence, Peter McKay, to get kit for an officer cadet. Among other things, Sapper Curry received a thank-you email from the MND and was promoted to Corporal later that year.
Cpl Curry transferred to the Regular Force in 2015, and reported to 2 Combat Engineer Regiment. In 23 Field Squadron, he worked as a section member for a short while before being moved into the role of Transportation and Maintenance Representative in the Squadron HQ.
In 2016, Cpl Curry completed the Tactical Intelligence Operator Course and was awarded the 2 CER Intelligence NCO position. In 2017, Cpl Curry was promoted to MCpl in Wainwright during Ex Maple Resolve, and in 2018, MCpl Curry deployed to Adazi, Latvia, on Op Reassurance as the Battle Group Engineer Intelligence NCO.
Upon his return to 2 CER, he was employed in Regimental HQ as the Ops and Trg NCO where he meticulously tracked sub-units outputs. While at 2 CER, MCpl Curry was mistaken for an Int Op, a clerk, and a signaler, but never an Engineer. In March 2019, MCpl Curry was posted to the Joint Targeting Intelligence Centre (JTIC), CJOC HQ, where he worked as a full-motion video (FMV) analyst. In May 2020, MCpl Curry was transferred to the FMV Platoon HQ where he was responsible for coordinating missions on track with international partners.
MCpl Curry will be leaving the JTIC and the CAF at the end of this month. Mat, his wife, Laurelle, and their daughter, Mara, are looking forward to spending time in Parksville, British Columbia, where they will be moving. Mat plans to spend his days wearing sandals and hunting elk.