7897

 



7897 G.  (Gilles) Langlois

College of Entry: Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean

  

Review 1969

           

                       




LIEUTENANT-COLONEL (Retired) GILLES LANGLOIS, OMM, CD, B. Eng, MAMSc

Born and lived in Arvida, PQ, son of a carpenter at Alcan. No military history in my family until I joined the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME)...

Sep 64- May 69 Student, Collège Militaire Royal de St-Jean, Québec, and the Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario.

May 69- Dec 69  Student, RCEME Subaltern Course, Kingston, Ontario

Dec 69- Jul 71  Admin O/Production O – Maint Company 5e Bataillon des Services du Canada, CFB Valcartier

Jul 71- May 72  Second-in-command, Maint Coy, 5 Bn Svc C

May 72- Jun 74  Battalion Maint O - 3e Bataillon Royal 22e Regiment, CFB Valcartier, Québec. Deployed to Cyprus with R22eR for a six months tour as the UN Nicosia District Economics Officer. Peace

Jul 74- Aug 75  Ancillary Platoon Commander, CF School of Aerospace and Ordnance Engineering, CFB Borden, Ontario, training machinists, metal workers, welders, painters and carpenters. Promoted Major 1 May 75, one of the first of our class.

Aug 75- Dec 77  Base Maint O, CFB Borden, Ontario. Commanded a 150 person maintenance workshop in support of the Base and CF schools at CFB Borden.

Jan 78- Jan 79  Student, Army Technical Staff course, Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, England. Attended a one year course on equipment technology and design, aimed at military equipment procurement.

Jan 79- Sep 81  Life Cycle Material Manager for the Army Wheeled Field Vehicle fleets at NDHQ, Ottawa. Great use of the course I had just completed

Sep 81-Aug 83   Project manager, Light Utility Vehicle (LUV), NDHQ, Ottawa.  Managed a project to purchase 3000 light vehicles to replace the old Jeeps, including engineering and user trials, ILTIS technology transfer from VW Germany to Bombardier and contracting activities for a project worth $110 million. For two years I was on the Love Project! (LUV)

Aug 83- Jul 84  Student, Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, Toronto. 

Jul 84- Jun 86    Senior Staff Officer Maintenance, Headquarters Canadian Forces Europe, Lahr, West Germany. Developed and provided advice on maintenance policies and procedures for Army equipment in the Canadian Forces in Europe. Managed a host of equipment rebuild and overhaul contracts with the German and American forces. Participated in NATO Working Groups on maintenance.

Promoted LCol on 1 May 8

 Jun 86- Aug 89    Base Technical Services Officer, CFB Lahr, West Germany. Led a branch of 1,150 civilian and military personnel engaged in Construction Engineering, Transport, Maintenance and Supply in support of the CF in Europe.  Managed an annual budget of $65 million.  Commanded ground operations during monthly NATO air exercises and evaluations

Aug 89- Jun 90   Life Cycle Material Manager for CF Uniforms, Textile and Clothing, NDHQ, Ottawa.  Managed 30 civilians responsible for the design and trial of uniforms and specialist clothing as well as the purchase of all the CF uniforms. Great job for a mechanical engineer!

Nov 89  Appointed Officer to the Order of Military Merit. Medal awarded to recognize members of the CF who have demonstrated dedication and devotion beyond the call of duty, achieving conspicuous merit and exceptional military service. This was the greatest honor of my military life.

Jun 90- Jun 93   Commanding Officer, 36 (Nfld) Service Battalion, St.John's. First Regular Forces officer to command a Reserve Support Unit. Great posting as my wife is a Newfoundlander.

Jun 93- Aug 94    Section Head, Directorate of Land Engineering Support, NDHQ, Ottawa.  Assisted by a staff of 42 persons, developed maintenance policies and plans for the equipment of the Army including support to the Land Ordnance Maintenance Management Information System, nationwide.

Aug 94- Mar 96    Director of Administration, Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario. Participated in policy making, business planning, College administration and personnel management. Many friends asked if NDHQ had checked my Mil Col file before appointing me to RMC as D Amin O.One major accomplishment was to accommodate and manage a 40% population increase at RMC due to the closure of the other military colleges in 1995.

End of my military service

Aug 96- Oct 96    Interactor, Joint Command and Staff Training Centre, Kingston, Ontario, under contract with Calian Technology Inc. This is the only job in my whole life that I got fired! But Calian needed me elsewhere. 

Nov 96- Oct 98  French Text Editor, Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College, Kingston Ontario.  Working for Calian, edited the French translation of the documentation related to two new Officer Command and Staff courses, ensuring the accuracy of the translation, the consistency of the terminology used and overall presentation, spelling and grammar. I had the military background but had to improve my language skills.

Oct 98- Apr 02    As an AS03 civil servant, French Text Editor with the Army Publishing Office, Kingston. The Staff College needed to have a civil servant on a continuous basis to do similar work as I had done for their courses. 

Mar 00- Apr 02    On a part time basis, I obtained a Master of Applied Military Science, Management from RMC.

Jun 02- Jun15   I ran my small business translating and proofing translation. Main clients were: Royal Military College of Canada, Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College, Army Publishing Office, Queens University and ADGA Group. I translated for RMC ex-cadet Club under its various names at a special rate (free).

Jan 04- Jan 12  Under contract with a joint venture of SNC-Lavalin Defence and Pacific Architect Engineering (SNCPAE) of Kingston, I joined the Canadian Forces Contractors Augmentation Program (CANCAP) working as a planner working on support plans for the deployed forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in Kabul and then in Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Sep 06- Jan 08  Director for CANCAP Pre-deployment Training Course for the SNCPAE employees prior to deploying to Afghanistan.

Feb 08- Apr 08      Jun 08- Aug 08     May 09- Nov 09  

Deployed three times as the CANCAP Project Manager for SNCPAE in Kandahar. With a group of some 250 persons, provided support in logistics, communications and construction engineering. Worked closely with the in-theatre Canadian Support Group (essentially a service battalion). These deployments were like the good old times in the field but without a uniform; however there were plenty of real bullets and missiles. During the 09 deployment, I was awarded the Task Force Commander’s Commendation in recognition of outstanding support to the “Soldier On” program.

Jan 12- Now  Retired! Travel, part of winters in Mexico or Florida, Philately, volunteering for everything from guiding tours in City Hall, being a cook for the Seniors Association Sunday brunches to teaching Pickleball. Yes Pickleball has been my retirement passion since 2013

    Greatest accomplishment in my life: my original wife still putting up with me!

Pickleball

Introduced to Pickleball in Florida in Nov 2013.  Since Jul 2014 I have been the Pickleball facilitator including coordinating and teaching for the Kingston and Region Seniors Association.  We currently have over 200 players involved in our classes.  I have also been a member of the Kingston Pickleball Club since its inception. I worked on the organizing committees for the 2017 Eastern Canada Pickleball Championship, the 2018 Limestone Classic and the 2018 and 2019 Eastern Canada Pickleball Championships. Did the same for 2019 and 2022 Pickleball Canada National Championships in Kingston.

De gauche à droite: Denis et son épouse Teri (Calgary), moi et Mary, David et son épouse Diedre et leurs fils Milo et Luke (Victoria)


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