Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel Albert El Tassi proudly wears the uniform and helps make it, too

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By Officer Cadet Natasha Tersigni, 38 Canadian Brigade Group Public Affairs

Winnipeg, Manitoba — For the Royal Winnipeg Rifles' Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel (HLCol) Albert El Tassi, a strong rapport with members is the reason why he continues to work closely with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). HLCol El Tassi's connection with troops is so strongly engrained because of his philanthropic efforts in support of CAF families as well as in his working life as his company makes the CADPAT (Canadian Disruptive Pattern) uniforms that the members wear.

When HLCol El Tassi immigrated to Canada in 1969 from Lebanon, he began working in the shipping room at Peerless Garments in Winnipeg, a clothing manufacturer that has counted the CAF among its list of clients since the early 1950s. After working his way up in Peerless, HLCol El Tassi took over complete management of the company in 1986 and became President and Chief Executive Officer in 2006.

“The relationship between CAF and Peerless was going on before my time; it began 65 years ago. We have done design and development for products for the Canadian Government including the Army, Navy, Air Force, the RCMP, Canadian Border Service Agency and Transport Canada,” explained HLCol El Tassi.

“Not only have we designed and developed the products, we have been able to capture many tenders to produce the products. We continue to do big business with the federal…