From Navy to Army Service

I transferred with the army and wearing combats and do their own stuff and that was different. I loved it, I mean to me it was, I'd use that as a, hey we're going on exercises as going camping. That's the way I looked at it. But a bit more. While in Valcartier I was deployed to Egypt with the United Nations for six months in 1975. That was kind of, that was hard because I had a two-year-old daughter, my oldest one was two years old then and leaving a baby home, it was, it was hard. It was hard to, you know, to be away and about three weeks after I left I got a letter from my wife saying that she was pregnant for my second one and that was harder.

Mr. Desmeules speaks about his decision to join the army and participate in a tour to Egypt.

Mike Desmeules

Mr. Desmeules was born in 1950 in Jean Pierre, Quebec. With little work in his hometown community, Mr. Desmeules decided to join the armed forces, considering it as an opportunity to travel. At 18 years of age Mr. Desmeules initially joined the Navy taking up the service occupation of administrative clerk. With this occupation being very generic to all branches of service, Mr. Desmeules later joined with the army and in 1975 accepted an opportunity to travel to Egypt with the Signal Regiment. In 1995, Mr. Desmeules accepted a posting to Rwanda, again in the administrative field of occupation. Upon return to Canada, Mr. Desmeules made the switch back to navy service and retired when 30 years of service was achieved. Mr. Desmeules and his family took up residence in Prince Edward Island, Canada.