Judge Advocate General - CWO
Chief Warrant Officer (Master Gunner)
J.B.N. Trepanier, MMM, CD

Chief Warrant Officer J.B. Normand Trépanier was born in St-Tite in Mauricie and he enlisted to the CF on 12 September 1975. After basic training, he was assigned to Q Battery, 5e Régiment d'Artillerie Légère du Canada at Valcartier, where he was employed as Gunner on a 105mm C1 Howitzer and on a 105mm L5 Italian Howitzer. In June 1976, during the XXI Olympic Games, he worked along with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, protecting the nation’s borders. Again in 1976 he was sent to Australia to take part in Exercise Kangaroo II. On his return he was immediately dispatched to Montreal to replace striking prison guards.

In 1977, after being transferred to X Battery, he joined the 12e Régiment Blindé du Canada in order to take part in one of his first United Nations missions to Cyprus. During that year, he also participated in several battery, regimental, brigade, command and Nato exercises in Europe.

Promoted to the rank of Master Bombardier in 1978, he was made Commander of a Blowpipe Missile Detachment and remained in this position until 1980. He was subsequently appointed Commander of an infantry section before embarking on another mission to Cyprus with the 5e Régiment d'Artillerie Légère du Canada.

He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1981 and served as a Blowpipe Missile Troop Sergeant Major for two years. At the end of that period, he was made Transport Sergeant for V Battery.

In 1984, he was transferred to the Artillery School of the Combat Training Centre in Gagetown, New Brunswick, where he was promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer during his Air Defence Assistant Instructor in Gunnery course. He completed his course in 1985 and was transferred to Europe to the 129 Airfield Air Defence Battery base in Lahr. He served there as Battery Training and Base Operations Warrant Officer. He was also a member of the Canadian Forces group on the NATO Tactical Evaluation Team.

In the summer of 1987 he was promoted to the rank of Master Warrant Officer and became Sergeant-Major of 129 Air Defence Battery, a position he occupied until his departure in 1989. During this period he was a member of the team responsible for setting up a new unit within European Force Command, the 4th Air Defence Regiment (RCA).

Upon leaving Germany, he was transferred to the Artillery School in Gagetown where he would obtain his Master Gunner qualification. He was promoted to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer at the end of the course and was transferred to the Proof and Experimental Test Establishment (PETE) in Nicolet where he would remain until 1993, serving as Test Director for the Director General, Quality Assurance. During Operation Desert Storm, he was involved in National Reserve ammunition firing inspections and tests, in preparation for any major deployment of Canadian Forces during the conflict.

In 1993, Chief Warrant Officer Trépanier was transferred to Chatham, New Brunswick where he held the position of Regimental Sergeant-Major at Chatham’s Air Defence School until the base closed in 1995. He was then transferred to Defence Research Establishment Valcartier (DREV) as Test Director and involved on a number of projects, including the new laser, anti-mine protection for wheeled vehicles, developing new personal protection materials, developing a sniper detection system, NATO testing of winter camouflage. He also worked together with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to the bomb Suit test and Armoured Limousine tests for vehicles carrying VIPs. He worked as Test Coordinator from July 1997 until May 1998.

He was assigned to 5 Area Support Group at Valcartier in May 1998 and became the new formation Chief Warrant Officer. In June 1999, he has been appointed as the first Canadian Contingent Chief Warrant Officer of the Task Force Bosnia-Herzegovina, Operation Palladium Rotation 5 and remains there until March 2000. In June 2001, he joins the Assistant Juge Avocat General Eastern Region to take on new challenge as the first Chief Warrant Officer of that legal office.

In January 2002, Chief Warrant Officer Trépanier was appointed as Formation Chief Warrant Officer of Land Force Doctrine and Training System and on 14 June 2002 he officially took his function. On July 10,2005 he became the 11th Canadian Chief Warrant officers to act as the Multinational Forces and Observers Sergeant Major in El-Gorah, Egypt. In August 2006, he joins the Office of the Judge Advocate General to take on new challenge as the second JAG CWO.

Chief Warrant Officer Trépanier is a keen sportsman and especially enjoys golf, hockey and fishing. He is married and they have two daughters.