Chief Warrant Officer Didier Pignatel, MMM, CD
Chief Warrant Officer Didier Pignatel joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1988 as an Air Defence Technician. After completing basic training in Saint-Jean, QC he was posted to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) North Bay, ON for Developmental Period-1 (DP-1) training.
Upon completion of his DP-1 he was posted to 51 Aerospace Control and Warning Operational Training Squadron (AC&W Sqn) at CFB North Bay until 1995 where all his hard work paid off and was posted to Cheyenne Mountain Air Station, Colorado Springs, CO, USA. In 1999, he returned to CFB North Bay, this time in 21 AC&W Sqn and back to shift work until he got promoted to Master Corporal and given the privilege of instructing his peers at 51 AC&W (OT) Sqn. In 2003, he was promoted to Sergeant and posted to Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School, Saint-Jean instructing and molding future Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members.
Promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer in 2007, he was posted to 12 Radar Squadron, 3 Wing Bagotville, QC as the Squadron Warrant Officer. There, he stacked up the kilometers deploying with the TPS-70 mobile radar unit to exciting places such as Camp Lejeune North Carolina, Trident Fury, 2010 Winter Olympics and G8/G20 summits. 2010 came with a promotion to Master Warrant Officer (MWO) and another posting, this time to 17 Wing Winnipeg, MB where he was overseeing training for the entire Aerospace Control Operator (AC Op) trade at 2 Canadian Air Division.
During his extremely challenging and rewarding tour in Winnipeg, he was chosen to attend advance leadership training at the Senior Non-Commissioned Officers Academy in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. He was also awarded the Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation for “Act of Bravery” for getting a family out of their burning house. In 2013, he was posted to 19 Wing Comox as the Air Traffic Control MWO where he enjoys the beautiful view of the mountains from the control tower. In December 2014, he deployed for 6 months to Canadian Forces Station Alert, Nunavut as the Station Warrant Officer where he was responsible for discipline and welfare for all Station’s personnel.
December 2015, he was appointed in the Order of Military Merit. In June 2016 he was promoted to his current rank and posted to Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control and Operations (CFSACO) as Squadron CWO (SCWO). In May 2017 after a very short tour as SCWO at CFSACO, he was posted closer to home as the AC Op and Meteorological Technician Career Manager. In July 2018, he moved up to a RCAF position as the Director Senior Appointments (DSA) Air Environmental CWO Career Manager. In July 2020 he was appointed to the position of the Director General Military Careers (DGMC)/DSA CWO. On the 14 July 2022 he was appointed 22 Wing North Bay Wing CWO.
