Guys, I put my release in today, giving me six months until the end of a twelve-year (and one month) career in the Canadian Forces. 1 RNBR, 3 PPCLI, 1 PPCLI, 1 GS Bn and 1 Field Ambulance have all been called Home to me, each unit with its own charm and its own challenges! I have been a soldier and a tradesman, with the latter of the two opening a wide door to the Real World. Nobody joins for the money, and priorities change over the years. I will be a mechanic somewhere, I just don't know where yet.
I'll still build primarily Canadian armour and aircraft, only now I'll have more time to actually finish them!
I feel like I just wrote my own obituary but it's just my way of yelling it from the rooftops!

Who thinks that I should grow a mullet and beard? :-)

EDIT- I just realized that the only rank progression I'll see from now on is at Armorama!

Congrats Mike.

Cheers to your return to civilian life.

A little bit dull but a heck of a lot safer!

Michael

Good Luck Buddy, I did the beard but no mullet, if you gety board of civy life go back to the Mo thats what I did. Good luck finding the time to model.

Mark

Hey Mike,

I did the hair thing after I got out.I said I would grow it for as long as I was in,well it went well past that.Did go back to the short stuff just don't need to cut it every two weeks!

Best of luck in the "real world".Sometimes I wish things out here ran like they did in the army.

Jim

Mike,
Congratulations and thank you.
all the best
Pete

Thanks for the comments! I'll see how far the wife will let me go with the appearance... she did meet me after I was in. Still got six months to go, though.

Mike,
All the best! 12 years is a good time to pull out. Gives you plenty of opportunity for a second career. I wish you good luck in your new life.

Mike,

Best of luck out here in "Civvy land". I got a 3B release in 2001 after 21 years in the Engineers.
A whole new world awaits you out here,yeah I did the hair and beard thing,still have the beard but the hair is usually nice and short and only gets cut every 4 weeks instead of every 2.

Have a good one
Mark

5RGC,4CER,Cold Lake(Range),2CER

Congrats on teh entry into Civvy Life. Hope everything works out for you. Now you can spends some more time with your "plastic platoon" :-) :-)

Good luck and congrats

Mike

Congradulations from a still serving member.

As for rank progression you have finally made it to the dizzy hights or RSM (Retired Service Member). Best of luck and if you miss it just a little remember the Toons are always looking for ex reg force types.

As for the hair go for the beard but the mullet well that is a matter of taste now isn't it?

UBIQUE

Congradulations, Mike. I hope you will enjoy the change. Thanks for the dedicated service to this great country of ours.

Fuzzy

Congrats Mike for your service, just enough time to get that CD to add to your chest too!

Thanks, all. And Graeme, that CD will be due about 26 days before I take the boots off for the last time. As far as the reserves go, Randall, I had a good time with 1 Royal New Brunswick Regiment, B Coy, but I couldn't go back now. Good idea, though.

And I think that the mullet's out- I can't even stand a hat touching my ears.