We have contacted numerous ex-cadets from the fifties through to the new millennium and plan to feature them in the coming months to give readers a chance to catch up with names and faces from each of the respective CMCs.
by M0917 Dean Fleet
– 13803 Mike Traynor (RRMC RMC 1982)
After graduation I spent 5 years with the PPCLI in Calgary. It was a great experience and I got to travel the world with some fantastic soldiers. In addition to my normal duties, I also had the opportunity to participate in two Monte Bianco exercises (a joint British, Italian and Canadian mountaineering exercise held in Wales and Italy) and assist the Airborne in their summer Mountain Warfare schools.
After leaving the military I spent a few months brushing up on some academics and started a Money Concepts franchise with another ex cadet (Gary Bush) which we later sold. I joined Bell Canada in major account sales in Ottawa and helped them manage the National Defence account for five years where I then joined startup Sprint Canada to help create their local branch of the major account team. After spending nearly 10 years in telecom I decided it was time to head out on my own once again.
Today I have been involved in mergers and acquisitions in the small medium business sector – that basically means I buy small mom and pop companies, make them bigger and sell them. I am currently looking for opportunities in the Calgary market. On the personal side I got married 20 years ago to Stephanie and we have one son named Matthew who is now 16 years old. Matt is an avid volleyball and basketball player so we spend ALOT of time driving to sporting events. I have taken up fly fishing and digital photography, and still get out to the mountains for back country ski trips and climbing outings.
Mike can be contacted at mike.traynor@shaw.ca
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– 14274 Alan Howard (CMR RMC 1984)
Having graduated from RMC in 1984 (the first class to graduate with both lady and gentleman cadets), with a BEng, Alan has had a thoroughly enjoyable 25 years of commissioned service in the CF. To be sure the Canadian Army is fortunate to have truly outstanding soldiers who can “go off and get the job done,” both internationally and domestically without fail, and he has been committed to leading and supporting these soldiers to the best of his ability. The future of the Canadian Forces is indeed bright and the need for top notch leaders, such as those under development at RMC, has never been more important!
Alan has commanded from the Troop to Combined Joint Task Force level, and has spent almost 20 years either serving on operations or in field units/formations. His command appointments have included being the Commanding Officer of 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (1 RCHA) (1999 – 2001), Commander 2nd Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (2 CMBG) (2004 – 2006), and Commander Land Force Central Area/Joint Task Force Central (2007-2008). He was promoted to his current rank of MGen in June 2009 and recently returned from a one year assignment as the Assistant Commanding General Afghan National Army Development in the Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan. He has also completed a Masters in Defence Studies through RMC, attended the Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College, the Canadian Forces College (CSC, AMSC, and NSSC), and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario.
Alan can be contacted at ajj.howard@hotmail.com
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After graduation, Troy completed his Aerospace Officer Basic Course in Borden, before being posted to 19 Air Maintenance Squadron as an Avionics Support Officer in 1996. Between 1998-2000 he served as a Line Support Officer and Det maint Support Officer at his unit and deployed on short ASW exercises to Iceland and Scotland as well as other major exercises.
Troy then spent the next four years in Ottawa as an Avionics Officer for Directorate Aerospace Equipment Program Management (DAEPM), where he supported day-to-day CP140 Ops on both coasts ensuring operationa tempo was sustained. He was also able to participate in a Nijmegen march during this time. In 2004 Mike was posted out west fro two years as 19 Wing Comox Wing Commander’s EA. His next step was a a CP140 Systems Engineering Officer, which involved him with acquisition, prototype testing, and installation of critical mission specific equipment for Ops, both domestic and deployed.
His first deployment came in July 2008 until January 2009 as a United Nations Military Observer (UNMO) to Op SAFARI in southern Sudan. He was G3 Ops coordinating patrols in their remote, but very large Area of Operations. He personally conducted numerous patrols in small teams by road and helicopter to the outlying areas, which had never been visited before by the Mission in in southern Sudan; these included the mountainous regions near Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya. Sudan is rife with land mines from two major civil wars between the northern forces (Sudan Armed Forces) and the southern tribes, Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). Disease is also ramant throughout the south and suffering from a country constantly in arms. As unarmed UNMOs, they relied on force protection from the Bangladesh, ensuring the UN mandate was being upheld and any violations or blatant breaches were investigated and reported up the chain. He is seeking more opportunities to deploy in order to gain greater operational experience. His AERE Career Mgr has supported this request for his trade to branch out into more Ops focused roles and as a result has posted him to CANSOFCOM, where his is the J1 Ops, Ops Support as it pertains to personnel, to SOFCOMs four high-readiness Units plus HQ.
Troy can be contacted at kelly.pt@forces.gc.ca