Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 01/00) - Col. Pierre Leblanc is retiring from the Canadian Forces Northern Area this summer after 33 years of military service.

"He has a couple good years left in him but he's leaving for personal reasons," said public affairs officer Lieut. Mark Gough. "But he and his family will be staying here.

"He's planning on building a house here. The Northern bug hit him pretty hard."

Leblanc will be replaced in an official ceremony July 25 by Col. Kevin McLeod, the current base commander for CFB Petawawa in Ontario.

"He's got a family with three young girls and they'll finish the school term and move up here," Gough said.

Leblanc was raised in Montreal and joined the military at 17. He has served and studied in Cyprus, Germany and England. He also served in Petawawa in 1983 as commander of the Canadian Airborne Regiment. After a variety of other stations he came to the North in 1995.

He was the 13th commander of the Canadian Forces Northern Area.