Today is my last as a minion of the Department of National Defence. This morning, I will have a sit-down with the colonel, hand in my building pass, and sign out of the CJOC Headquarters orderly room.

I will not get my first pension cheque until I turn 60, so for the next 18 months I will be a dependant person, a status I have not experienced since 1972.

This move has been planned for months, but it still feels wierd.