User:Mccrimmons/Karen mccrimmon

Karen Anne McCrimmon, LtCol (Retired) OMM, CD1 is currently the Federal Liberal candidate for the riding of Carleton-Mississippi Mills in Ontario Canada.http://ontario.liberal.ca/edas-riding-presidents-candidates

A retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Canadian Forces, Karen McCrimmon served in many missions overseas including Gulf War 1, the Balkans and Afghanistan. She was Commanding Officer of 429 Transport Squadron flying the CC130 Hercules which performed in roles of tactical aviation to humanitarian airlift. Karen currently owns a company which specializes in collaborative solutions, conflict resolution and training. She is married with two adult children. Karen and her husband Rob McCrimmon live in the West Carleton-March area of the City of Ottawa.http://karenmccrimmon.liberal.ca/biography

Biography

Born Karen Anne Martin in Weston, Ontario on 29 August,1957. From 1961 lived in Timmins, Ontario and in 1970 moved to Windsor, Ontario and attended J.F. Brennan High School. She obtained a B.A. at the University of Windsor.

Military Career

In September 1975 Karen joined the Canadian Forces Reserve as an Administration Clerk at the rank of Private and in September 1980 joined the CF Regular Forces where she earned her wings as the first female air navigator in the Canadian Forces in October 1981. In November 1995 Karen received the Order of Military Merit and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in March 1998 and in April 1998 she took over as Commanding Officer of 429 Transport Squadron and as such was the first woman to command a Canadian Forces flying squadron. In July 2000 she was appointed Officer Commanding of the Transport and Rescue Standardization and Evaluation Team. Karen was then posted to Ramstein, Germany in July 2002 to serve as a Senior Staff Officer at the NATO Air Headquarters for 4 years along with a tour in Afghanistan and finally retired in September 2006 from the Canadian Forces.

Civilian Career

After retiring she started a second career and completed a 'Programme On Negotiation' seminar series at Harvard which led to her becoming the owner of a small business specializing in facilitation, collaborative solutions, conflict resolution and training for businesses, public institutions and organizations. She is also a member of WXN, CFUW, FMWC, Royal Canadian Legion, and CWIA.

Personal

She married Rob McCrimmon in September 1985 and have two adult children, Kyle (b.1998) and Brea (b.1990) She is also a Private Pilot and enjoys snowmobiling in the winter and boating during the summer. She also has volunteer experience with The Canadian Cancer Society and community and family support associations.

Awards

• Officer of the Order of Military Merit 1995.
• Gulf and Kuwait Medal with Bar.
• Campaign Star – South West Asia.
• Special Service Medal.
• Canadian Peacekeeping Medal.
• Canadian Forces Decoration (CD) and Bar.