diff --git a/magnum/templates/heat-kubernetes/fragments/configure-kubernetes-minion.sh b/magnum/templates/heat-kubernetes/fragments/configure-kubernetes-minion.sh
index 35057eaa62..ca0bbc22b3 100644
--- a/magnum/templates/heat-kubernetes/fragments/configure-kubernetes-minion.sh
+++ b/magnum/templates/heat-kubernetes/fragments/configure-kubernetes-minion.sh
@@ -32,5 +32,5 @@ cat >> /etc/environment <<EOF
 KUBERNETES_MASTER=http://$KUBE_MASTER_IP:8080
 EOF
 
-/usr/local/bin/kube-register
+systemctl enable kube-register
 
diff --git a/magnum/templates/heat-kubernetes/fragments/kube-register.yaml b/magnum/templates/heat-kubernetes/fragments/kube-register.yaml
index 876bba5714..d2471dbb96 100644
--- a/magnum/templates/heat-kubernetes/fragments/kube-register.yaml
+++ b/magnum/templates/heat-kubernetes/fragments/kube-register.yaml
@@ -13,19 +13,43 @@ write_files:
         awk '$1 == "inet" {print $2}' | cut -f1 -d/)
 
       # wait for master api
-      until curl -sf "${master_url}/healthz"; do
+      until curl -o /dev/null -sf "${master_url}/healthz"; do
+        echo "waiting for kubernetes master"
         sleep 1
       done
 
-      cpu=$(($(nproc) * 1000))
-      memory=$(awk '/MemTotal: /{print $2 * 1024}' /proc/meminfo)
+      if [ "$1" = "-u" ]; then
+        echo "unregistering minion $myip"
+        kubectl -s ${master_url} delete minion/$myip
+      else
+        echo "registering minion $myip"
+        cpu=$(($(nproc) * 1000))
+        memory=$(awk '/MemTotal: /{print $2 * 1024}' /proc/meminfo)
 
-      cat <<EOF | kubectl create -s ${master_url} -f-
-      apiVersion: v1beta1
-      id: $myip
-      kind: Minion
-      resources:
-        capacity:
-          cpu: $cpu
-          memory: $memory
-      EOF
+        cat <<EOF | kubectl create -s ${master_url} -f-
+        apiVersion: v1beta1
+        id: $myip
+        kind: Minion
+        resources:
+          capacity:
+            cpu: $cpu
+            memory: $memory
+        EOF
+      fi
+  - path: /etc/systemd/system/kube-register.service
+    permissions: "0644"
+    owner: root
+    content: |
+      [Unit]
+      Description=Register/unregister this node with the Kubernetes master
+      Requires=kubelet.service
+      After=kubelet.service
+
+      [Service]
+      Type=oneshot
+      RemainAfterExit=yes
+      ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/kube-register
+      ExecStop=/usr/local/bin/kube-register -u
+
+      [Install]
+      WantedBy=kubelet.service