Not many Americans receive Canada’s Meritorious Service Medal, but a former Dartmouth resident can now add it to his resume.

Chief Petty Officer Douglas Beauregard, 46, received the prestigious award last month during a ceremony in Ottawa, Ontario, for his work with the Canadian intelligence community. He was a member of the U.S. Navy while providing assistance to Canada.

After graduating from Dartmouth High School in 1987, Beauregard earned a Bachelor's Degree in business finance from Worcester State University in 1993. As a kid, he loved to head down to Horseneck Beach and Baker’s Beach to surf.

“And that’s one of the reasons I joined the Navy. I thought I could get my master’s paid for and be stationed by the water,” Beauregard said, adding that after leaving Massachusetts, he was stationed in Hawaii for 11 years.

Throughout his career, Beauregard specialized in cryptology and has worked for Naval Intelligence and the National Security Agency. His line of work eventually led him to Canada.

“For the field I’m in, intelligence, they share bodies,” he said. “It’s called a Personnel Exchange Program. It’s typically a two-year stint. I came up on my two years, and the admiral called up and said they wanted to keep me for another two years.”

Though he had initially planned to retire after 20 years, he decided to continue working alongside the Canadian Armed Forces. Beauregard was so successful in his role that his admiral extended his stay.

“It was a fun job. I ended up staying six years all together, which is unheard of,” he said.

From August 2009 to June 2014, he aided the Canadian intelligence community as a member of the Cyber Support Detachment. Though much of his work in intelligence is classified, he received the medal in part for providing not-readily-available data access to two Canadian ships deployed to the Arabian Sea. The medal was in honor of his aid to the Canadian Armed Forces and to the United States Navy.

The medal has two divisions, military and civilian, and is given to the Canadian Armed Forces as well as foreigners. The Meritorious Service Medal recognizes a military deed or activity that brings benefit or honor to the Canadian Armed Forces. Since the decoration was established in 1991, 647 people have been awarded with the honor.

Beauregard said that he never joined the exchange program thinking he would one day be awarded with the Meritorious Service Medal, but was happy that his contributions helped the Canadian Armed Forces.

It wasn’t all business, though. Beauregard said he enjoyed being stationed in Halifax, Nova Scotia because it put him closer to the home of hockey.

“I’m a big Bruins fan,” he said. “My wife works for a nonprofit, and they bring a lot of pro hockey players in for fundraising. It was neat to see people from the Bruins and people that you’d never be able to see in the U.S.”

Beauregard retired from the Navy earlier this month following 23 years of service, and he’s now living in Charleston, South Carolina. He’s currently working on his master’s degree in Homeland Security Cyber Intelligence from Salve Regina University.