After more than 34 years of loyal and dedicated service to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Military Engineer Branch, MWO K.R.M. Batchelor, CD, (00238) will retire on 1 April 2025. Anecdotes and well wishes may be sent to WO M.Y. Dunnett at: melissa.dunnett@forces.gc.ca

Born in Middleton, Nova Scotia, (Apr 1965), MWO Batchelor's military journey began long before she joined the CAF. As the daughter of an RCAF Photo-tech, she was no stranger to travel, moving from the vibrant streets of Lahr, Germany, to the quiet corners of St-Hubert and Valcartier, Quebec. After earning a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies (geography) from the University of Waterloo, she charted her own course of service, joining the CAF on 28 Apr 1990—an adventure that would define her life.
Starting with 28 Medical Company (1990) in Ottawa, MWO Batchelor took a new direction when she transferred to Supply Tech (1993) dedicating over seven years to the reserves. In 1998, she saw the way to the regular force, where she completed her Geotech QL3 in 2000 at the Canadian Forces School of Military Mapping (CFSMM). She was then posted to Mapping & Charting Establishment (MCE) in Ottawa, where she worked as a Geomatics Section Team member, completed her JLC, and earned her promotion to MCpl.

Her career path took her to Bosnia (2004) on OP PALLADIUM, where she was promoted to Sgt as a halfway tour gift. On return, she served at Director Joint Capability and Strategic Joint Staff before posting back to the mothership (MCE) as GST commander in 2008. Later that year, MWO Batchelor deployed to Afghanistan (2008) on OP ATHENA, as a newly promoted WO with the ASIC. She completed ILQ (2010) and Geomatics QL6B (2011) shortly after posting to 4 Engineer Support Regiment at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick, as GST WO and Chief Geo.

Her career came full circle with a return to MCE mothership (2014), where she took on roles as Unit Trg WO, Unit Ops WO, and Geo Support Sqn (GSS) Tech WO. She deployed to Kuwait (2018) on OP IMPACT as part of the ASIC and was promoted to MWO as another halfway tour gift. From 2018 to 2025, MWO Batchelor continued at MCE as SSM for the Centre of Excellence
(CoE), GSS, Geographic Information & Services Sqn (GI&S), and the newly formed Geospatial Information & Analysis Sqn (GIA). 

After this remarkable journey, MWO Batchelor will settle in the Ottawa area, where she’ll be close to her daughter, Meaghan. She looks forward to dedicating time to her passions for curling, golf, and travel—allowing her to visit her son, Josh, who proudly carries on the family tradition of service as a naval weapons engineering technician, following the footsteps of three generations across the RCAF, CA, and RCN. Karine plans to continue her career as a public service employee at MCE in procurement.