CFB Shilo acting Chief of Staff Major Antoine Desrosier was recently recognized by the United States Armed Forces with a Defense Meritorious Service Medal for distinguished service as Joint Operational Contract Support Officer during a three-year OutCan post.
“The distinctive accomplishments of Major Desrosiers reflect great credit upon himself, the Canadian Armed Forces, and the United States Department of Defense,” the citation accompanying his medal reads.
To receive his award in March, Maj Desrosiers flew back to Fort Belvoir, a major U.S. Army installation in Virginia, 20 minutes south of Washington, D.C., where he had spent previous years supporting “Whole of Government initiatives, including Foreign Military Sales Supply and Demand Sensitivity Analysis and provided extraordinary leadership as a temporary liaison officer to the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
“His exceptional dedication significantly improved planning and decision-making in response to hurricanes Helene and Milton.”
As Officer of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Stock Exchange Operations, Maj Desrosiers led acquisition efforts to support U.S. Marine Corps readiness and resolve U.S. Air Force backorders.
Maj Desrosiers clarified that the Stock Exchange Operations was more of an “eBay for Nato countries,” where countries can buy and sell from each other, rather than the trading of stocks or bonds, as on the New York Stock Exchange.
“It was a great opportunity to work with other NATO countries while I was in the United States,” he said.
He demonstrated excellent leadership by organizing the Common Item Material Management Support Partnership Committee at Fort Belvoir and its process team meeting in Garmisch, Germany, thereby improving its interoperability with the Enterprise Business System.
The Major said, with quiet humility, that he is proud to have received the award; however, he offers praise to his colleagues, as he didn’t achieve this alone.
“I am very proud to receive it, but also I know everything that was accomplished; I accomplished it with a team. There is nothing I did alone.”
So although I received an award, I feel I [attained] it with the help of so many people. It feels a bit weird to receive an award when it really is a team effort,” he said.
