After more than 24 years of loyal and dedicated service to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Military Engineers, WO Tony Morinville, CD, will retire on 19 April 2021. Anecdotes, congratulatory messages, and pictures can be sent to Capt J.L.T. Patkai at Jace.Patkai@forces.gc.ca.

WARRANT OFFICER MORINVILLE ENROLLED ON 18 MAY 1996 IN MONTREAL, QC, AS A RESERVE FORCE INFANTEER WITH THE ROYAL MONTREAL REGIMENT. DURING THIS TIME, HE COMPLETED HIS BASIC INFANTRY COURSE, MACHINE GUNNER, DRIVER WHEELED, WINTER WARFARE, AND HE ALSO TOOK PART IN THE 1998 ICE STORM, OP ABACUS (Y2K), AND VARIOUS CLASS B CONTRACTS

IN 2000, HE TRANSFERRED OCCUPATIONS TO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SUPPORT CLERK WITH RMR. HE HELD THE POSITIONS OF BOR 2/IC AND THE FINANCE CLERK. AFTER COMPLETING HIS RMS QL3 AND QL5 COURSES, HE JOINED THE REGULAR FORCE AS AN RMS CLERK ON 18 NOVEMBER 2002. HE WAS POSTED TO 8 WING TRENTON WITH 8WTISS AS AN OR CLERK AND WITHIN SIX MONTHS OF ARRIVAL, COMPLETED HIS RMS DEPLOYED OPS COURSE IN CFB BORDEN. HE WAS THEN SENT OVERSEAS ON OP APOLLO/OP ATHENA FOR A SIXMONTH ROTATION IN CAMP MIRAGE AS A CPL AND OCCUPIED THE ROLES OF OR CLERK AND THE CENTRAL REGISTRY CLERK. CHEAP GOLD AND AN HLTA TO ITALY LED TO THE ENGAGEMENT TO HIS SPOUSE IN VENICE.

AFTER THE BIRTH OF HIS FIRST DAUGHTER IN 2006, TONY TRANSFERRED AGAIN TO GEOMATICS TECHNICIAN. HE WAS POSTED TO THE MAPPING AND CHARTING ESTABLISHMENT’S SCHOOL OF MILITARY MAPPING IN OTTAWA FOR TWO YEARS OF TRADE TRAINING. ONCE COMPLETED, HE JOINED 2 TROOP/GEOMATICS SUPPORT SQUADRON AS A GEODETIC SURVEY TECHNICIAN. HE BECAME A SME FOR AERIAL IMAGERY EQUIPMENT AND CONDUCTED MANY FLIGHTS AND LONG HOURS IN SUPPORT OF PERFECTING THE CAPABILITY. IN 2009, HE DEPLOYED TO AFGHANISTAN AS A MCPL AND COLLECTED MUCH-NEEDED AERIAL IMAGERY OF RC SOUTH FOR EVENTUAL DISTRIBUTION TO OUR TROOPS. IN 2011, TONY DEPLOYED AGAIN TO AFGHANISTAN AS A SGT AS THE CANADIAN TEAM LEAD FOR A JOINT AIRFIELD SURVEY MISSION WITH BRITISH SURVEYORS. FOUR AIRFIELDS IN WESTERN AND NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN WERE COLLECTED TO PROVIDE UPDATED DATA FOR OUR ALLIES.

IN 2012, TONY WAS POSTED TO THE CANADIAN FORCES SCHOOL OF MILITARY ENGINEERING AS THE GEOMATICS SME IN SUPPORT OF CFSME AND OTHER TRAINING ESTABLISHMENTS IN GAGETOWN. TONY PROVIDED MAPS, DATA, ADVICE, AND GEO TRAINING SUCH AS MAP AND COMPASS, DAGR, AND DIFFERENTIAL LEVELLING, AND WAS ALSO SUPPORT STAFF FOR THE ROADS TRG CELL. WHILE AT CFSME, HE WAS PART OF THE STAND-UP OF THE RESERVE GEOMATICS TRADE AND PARTICIPATED IN THE WRITING OF THE QS, TP, LESSON PLANS, AND ORGANIZING THE ACQUISITION OF THE CLASSROOM ESSENTIALS AND EQUIPMENT. HE WAS POSTED IN 2015, BEFORE THE FIRST CLASS STARTED.

IN 2015, TONY WAS BACK IN OTTAWA AT MCE. HE DEPLOYED TO OP CALUMET IN EGYPT AS A SGT IN THE SPRING OF 2016. HE PERFORMED THE DUTIES OF THE FORCE GEO AND PROVIDED ALL THE GEOGRAPHIC DATA NEEDED BY ALL RANKS AND NATIONALITIES. THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE TOUR WAS PARTICIPATING IN THE OPERATION TO EXTRACT CAF MEMBERS FROM FOB NORTH DUE TO THE ESCALATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST MFO PERSONNEL. HE PROVIDED VALUABLE ADVICE AND DATA TO THE FORCE COMMANDER TO GET OUR MEMBERS OUT OF HARM’S WAY.

WO MORINVILLE WAS PROMOTED TO HIS CURRENT RANK IN AUGUST 2017. STILL IN THE SURVEY TROOP, HE ASSUMED THE ROLE OF TROOP WO AND OF ACTING TROOP COMMANDER UNTIL HIS POSTING TO CF INTCOM IRM & CM IN MAY 2019.

THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT OF HIS ENTIRE CAREER, WHICH WAS VERY FULFILLING: THREE TRADES, FOUR DEPLOYMENTS, COUNTLESS TD, TRAVELLED THE WORLD, MADE MANY FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES, MAYBE STOLE AN OFFICE OR TWO, AND COMPLETED HIS ILP DAYS BEFORE RETIREMENT. TONY WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WITH WHOM HE CROSSED PATHS. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT ON HIS CAREER AND HE HOPES THE FEELING IS RECIPROCAL. TONLY HAS ACCEPTED A NEW POST WITHIN THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND WILL SPEND TIME FINISHING HIS MASTER’S DEGREE, CAMPING WITH HIS THREE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS, AND MAYBE ONE DAY, ACTUALLY ACTING ON THE ENGAGEMENT TO HIS SPOUSE ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO. OSTENDAMUS VIAM AND CHIMO!