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21970 Captain Jennifer Jones (RMC ‘01) 22092 Captain Marco Rusconi (RMC ‘01)

Snowbirds Due In Kingston – 18 June

Entire 2008 Snowbird Schedule

Click on photo for link

RMC Ready For 2008 Grad; Cadets Went All Out During Home Stretch; RMC A Target At Sandhurst Competition; Team Members & Fan Give Their View; DCdt Proud; Ex Cadet Wants to Bring New Touch to Kandahar; Where Are They Now? RMC Sailing Riding on Waves of Success; Point Frederick Spectacle; Look At Who Is Retiring; Classmate of Debby Piers – Who Am I?; May Is Museum Month; CALENDRIER DES ACTIVITÉS/CMR -CALENDAR OF EVENTS; RRMC Class of ‘68/RMC ‘70 Homecoming; Ottawa Branch Teeing Off – 11 July @ Hylands.

RMC Class of 2008 to graduate – Nearly 230 Officer Cadets of the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) will celebrate their graduation on Wednesday, May 14 and Thursday, May 15. The Class of 2008 invites the public to attend their very last days as undergraduates at Canada’s military university.

Wednesday May 14, 1:00 to 3:30 p.m.  Convocation Ceremonies, Kingston Military Community Sports Centre Field House – The Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, as RMC Chancellor will present graduating students with their Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctorate degrees. Jocelyne Bourgon, Former Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, Vice-Admiral (retired) and ex-Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff Greg Maddison, His Worship Jack Chiang and recently retired RMC professor Roy Pottier will be RMC’s honourary degree recipients this year.

Wednesday May 14, 7:20 to 9:30 p.m.  Sunset Ceremony, RMC Parade Square – The SkyHawks, the Canadian Forces Parachute Team, will open this stunning presentation by jumping onto College grounds (weather permitting). Officer Cadets will demonstrate some of the College’s oldest traditions through the Old 18 Historic Drill Team, the Sandhurst Military Skills Team, taekwondo and fencing teams, the changing of the Colour Party, and dynamic performances featuring RMC’s own Brass and Reed and Pipe and Drum Bands, as well as the Highland Dancers. Fireworks will conclude the event.

Thursday May 15, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.  Graduation and Commissioning Parade, RMC Parade Square – Lieutenant-General Walter Natynczyk, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, along with Environmental and Operational Commanders, will present graduating students with their Officer’s Commissions in the Canadian Forces. RMC Officer Cadets will display their foot drill and sword movements, and fire a ‘Feux de Joie’; a 300-person honour guard performing a rifle salute with accompanying field artillery, all in honour of their graduating friends and fellow cadets. The parade will end at the Memorial Arch through which the graduates will march for the last time as Officer Cadets. The RMC Museum will be open from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Remise des diplômes 2008 au CMR

Quelque 230 élèves officiers du Collège militaire royal (CMR) du Canada célébreront l’obtention de leur diplôme le mercredi 14 mai et le jeudi 15 mai. La promotion 2008 invite le public à assister à leurs dernières journées à l’université militaire du Canada comme étudiants de programmes de premier cycle.

Le mercredi 14 mai, de 13 h à 15 h 30  Cérémonies de remise des diplômes, Centre sportif de la communauté militaire de Kingston, complexe Anderson – L’honorable Peter Gordon MacKay, ministre de la Défense nationale, ministre de l’Agence de promotion économique du Canada atlantique et chancelier du CMR, remettra baccalauréats, maîtrises et doctorats aux finissants. Cette année, les récipiendaires de grades honorifiques du CMR seront Mme Jocelyne Bourgon, ancienne greffière du Conseil privé et secrétaire du Cabinet, le Vice amiral (retraité) Greg Maddison, ancien sous chef d’État major de la Défense, son honneur M. Jack Chiang et le professeur Roy Pottier, récemment retraité du CMR.

Le mercredi 14 mai, de 19 h 20 à 21 h 30  Cérémonie du crépuscule, terrain de parade du CMR – L’équipe de parachutistes des Forces canadiennes, les SkyHawks, donnera le coup d’envoi de cette spectaculaire cérémonie en effectuant un saut au dessus du terrain de parade du CMR (si les conditions météorologiques le permettent). Des élèves officiers mettront en valeur certaines des plus vieilles traditions du Collège au cours de présentations données par l’équipe d’exercice à la manière des 18 premiers élèves officiers, l’équipe d’adresse militaire Sandhurst et les équipes de taekwondo et d’escrime. Ces présentations seront suivies du changement de la garde des drapeaux et d’énergiques prestations mettant en vedette l’harmonie, les corps de cornemuses et tambours et les danseurs écossais du CMR. La soirée se terminera par des feux d’artifice.

Le jeudi 15 mai, de 10 h à 11 h 30  Cérémonie de remise des commissions, terrain de parade du CMR – Le Lieutenant-Général Walter Natynczyk, Vice-chef d’état major de la Défense, accompagné des commandants des armées et des opérations, remettra aux finissants leur commission d’officier des Forces canadiennes. Des élèves officiers du CMR exécuteront des démonstrations d’habiletés militaires et des jeux d’épée et tireront une salve d’honneur. Une garde de 300 personnes saluera les finissants et les autres élèves officiers d’une salve accompagnée d’un tir d’artillerie. Le défilé se terminera à l’Arche commémorative, que les finissants franchiront pour la dernière fois en tant qu’élèves officiers. Le Musée du CMR sera ouvert de midi à 17 h.

(Click photos for larger view)

April 10 Student Visit

On 10 Apr 08, the Politics and Economics Department conducted a valuable Field Trip to both the Canadian Government’s Emergency Operations Centre and to the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) in Ottawa. Third and Fourth Year RMC cadets were exposed to a series of high level briefings and question periods designed to enhance their military professionalism and fine tune their political / strategic awareness. Students profited immensely from this unique opportunity to expand their knowledge of some current Canadian initiatives and were presented with fresh perspectives on strategy and warfare through an examination of contemporary conflict at home and abroad. The day-long Field Trip was organized and conducted by Politics faculty.

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Le 10 avril 08 le Département de Science politique et d’économique a organisé une visite au Centre des opérations du gouvernement (GOC) et au Service canadien de renseignement de sécurité(SCRS) à Ottawa. Des élèves-officiers de troisième et quatrième année du CMR ont eu l’opportunité d’assister à une panoplie de séances d’information et de périodes de question de haut niveau, conçues pour parfaire leur professionnalisme militaire et conscientiser leur approche politique / stratégique. Les étudiants ont grandement bénéficié de cette opportunité d’élargir leurs connaissances au sujet d’actuelles initiatives canadiennes. On a de plus partagé avec eux des perspectives nouvelles et pertinentes en ce qui a trait à la stratégie et au conflit armé par le biais d’une analyse de certains conflits actuels, au pays et à l’étranger. La visite d’une journée entière fut organisée et dirigée par des membres de la faculté de science politique.

7th Competition on the Law of Armed Conflict for Military Academies
7ème Compétition de droit des conflits armés pour les académies militaires
March 31, 2008 to April 4, 2008 / 31 mars 2008 au 4 avril 2008
San Remo, Italy/Italie

This competition brings together cadets from across the world, and challenges their knowledge of the law of armed conflict through fictitious war scenarios. Every national team is split up so that the members can be part of fictitious countries, which forces each cadet to blend into the many cultures represented at San Remo. This is the very base of what is called “the Spirit of San Remo”.

Cette compétition rassemble les élèves-officiers de partout à travers le monde, et elle met au défi leurs connaissances du droit des conflits armés, et ce par l’entremise de scénarios fictifs. Toutes les équipes nationales sont divisées pour que leurs membres s’intègrent dans des pays fictifs. Cela incite chaque élève-officier à s’intégrer parmi les autres cultures représentées, ce qui est la base de ce qu’on appelle “l’esprit de San Remo”.

Captions for the pictures/Légendes pour les photos

compétition
Participants and organizers for 2008
Participants et organisateurs pour 2008

The Canadian Team/ L’équipe canadienne
(left to right) Front/Avant: IV Poon, IV Brien, IV Perry, III Keess Back/Arrière: Cmdr Phillips, IV Dunning, IV Gendron-Houle, IV Lessard

IV Chantal Brien, 2008 Top Individual Performance
IV Chantal Brien pour la Meilleure performance individuelle de 2008

Remerciement d’équipe
The Canadian team receives the protocol thank you from the competition director, Michel Bourbonnière, former RMC teacher.
L’équipe canadienne reçoit les remerciements protocolaires de la part de Michel Bourbonnière, ancien enseignant du CMR.

Third-year class project

Photo credit OCdt François-Olivier Gauthier

The RMC Class of 2009 worked to beautify city parks in the Kingston area on Saturday, May 3, 2008. The cadets raked leaves and performed general clean-up duties in Lake Ontario Park, City/Breakwater Park and Confederation Park. The City of Kingston was very happy of the results.

Projet de classe des troisièmes années

La promotion de 2009 du CMR a travaillé à embellir des parcs de la ville de Kingston le samedi 3 mai 2008. Les élèves-officiers ont ratissé les feuilles et ont accompli des tâches générales de nettoyage au Lake Ontario Park, au City/Breakwater Park et au Confederation Park. La Ville de Kingston était très contente des résultats.

RMC Sandhurst Team makes Top 5 for fifth consecutive year

By Capt Paule Poulin

When you are the champion three years-in-a-row, other teams will do anything they can to prevent you from winning again, especially those from the school where the competition was born back in 1967.

The Royal Military College’s (RMC) Sandhurst team finished in the Top 5 for the fifth consecutive year at the Sandhurst military skills competition held May 3, 2008 at the United-States Military Academy (USMA) in West Point, New York.

Quand vous êtes le champion pour trois années consécutives, les autres équipes vont faire tout ce qui est en leur possible pour vous empêcher de gagner de nouveau, spécialement celles qui viennent de l’école où la compétition est née en 1967.

L’équipe du Collège militaire royal (CMR) du Canada a terminé parmi les cinq meilleures équipes lors de la compétition d’adresse militaire Sandhurst qui a eu lieu le 3 mai 2008 à l’United States Military Academy (USMA), à West Point, dans l’État de New York.

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What some 2008 RMC Sandhurst participants had to say:

“This year the competition events and the scoring system were radically changed. The changes favoured an institution like the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) and Westpoint, as the focus on military skills is much more prevalent than RMC throughout their program. The RMC team was very well prepared and motivated to win, however based on the scoring gap from both UK teams (almost 200 points), it appears the chances of winning the competition this year were not great. RMAS had two very strong teams with x-NCO experience and training. More to the point, we got beat and we got beat bad by the UK teams, which will definitely be a motivator for next year.

I want to focus everything I say or write from my perspective in a positive light. The team and staff put a great deal of effort into this team and should be congratulated. Mr. Ryan and the team did an exceptional job and finished very respectable 5th place. Many lessons learned were gained from a training and competition perspective, and there is no doubt that the RMC team will be back stronger than ever next year to redeem themselves.

The team and staff should be proud of the results.”

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Capt Jeff Monaghan
Sandhurst team 2IC

“The team worked really hard this year – training twice a day for 6, sometimes 7, days a week – on top of school. The competition was extremely intense, the hardest one I’ve ever seen. I think we did pretty good – evidentially not the best, but ended up with a respectable finish. The boys really did well, I am really proud of the progress we made since the beginning of the year. It was the best leadership opportunity for me as well. With the experience gained, next year will be a hell of a year.”

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24054 Connor Ryan – Team Captain
10 Squadron
IV – Space Science
32U/PLT

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“My thoughts from the 2008 Sandhurst Competition follow. I would be happy to elaborate on my perspective of the team, its training over the past few months, and what we are doing right now to prepare for next years competition.

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The objective of RMC participating in the Sandhurst Competition is two fold: to improve the leadership and augment the development of those who participate and secondly, to represent the college in a favorable manner on the international scale. On 03 May we as a team produced a result, and at the end of the day whether it was good or bad is not really the main concern. What counts is what is done with those results, and what is drawn from them. The team learned a tremendous amount on competition day and these lessons are already being used in the development of a new training system for the team in the upcoming year. The squad will adapt to the new competition, adjust the Sandhurst program accordingly and return successful from westpoint in 2009.”

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23984 Scott Blakie
CWC/COMA
IV – Mechanical Engineering
41U/AERE

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“Competition this year was very hard. It was pushed to new levels of success and the margin for error is now slim to none. We trained for 4 and a half months, we knew what we were doing but those damn brits knew it better. They arrived more prepared than us. They had a stacked team. But we keep our heads high and we WILL be back next year to challenge the new champion.”

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24743 Samuel Houle
13 Squadron
I – Arts
23U/INF

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“We had a pretty rookie team this year. Only two of our 15 members ran the competition in previous years. So for the rest of us, we didn’t really know what to expect. I was picked to be on the 15 but I was not originally one of the running nine members. When we went down to Westpoint to practice some of the obstacles, 2 of our teamates got injured and I ended up running the competition.

Running the Sandhurst competition was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do but it was worth it. There were times when I was running that I wanted to stop but I didn’t. The support we had from everyone was incredible. I don’t know about the rest of the team, but for me, I loved having the fans there. That bus of 50 RMC cadets was such a morale boost.

There isn’t too much to say about the training we had. We trained 2 (sometimes 3) times a day and we tried to hammer out the basic skills we needed to win the competition.

The mini competitions were very helpful too. The first one we had in Kingston really helped us come together as a team. The second one we had in Petawawa and it really forced us to focus on our skills.

Overall, it was an amazing semester. Good times for sure. The team is really close now.”

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24577 Jeremy Arsenault
2 Squadron
II – Business Administration
41U/AERE

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The view from a fan:

Last weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Westpoint and watch the RMC Sandhurst team as they competed in the annual sandhurst competition. Now to give some readers a background, RMC has been victorious in this competition for the past 3 years so expectations where high. There were a good number of cadets on hand to cheer the team (40-50 I would guess) and spirits were high as the team got underway on the course. Observing from the sidelines it seemed as if the team was flying through the course and was going to do well. Unfortunatley it was not enough to win as they ended up placing 5th on the course.

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The loss was a dissapointment for sure, but there are lessons to be taken away from the experience. The team fought for national pride and all of the cadets who came to cheer rallied around the flag. At the end of the day it made anyone who watched the team proud to say that Canada was represented at the competition. However there is one thing I would like to address. That is the tendency of some cadets to explain away the loss. Some have taken the attitude that because the team lost the loss must be rationalized (format of the course was changed, the brits get more combat training etc). In my opinion it is what it is, a loss. I am damn proud of the team for competing and representing both he college and the nation well, but I think anyone who rationalizes away their loss does the team a disservice. Instead, we as an RMC community should be proud of the team and turn our focus to next year, and another shot at the title.

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24359 Stephen Paish
8 Squadron
III – Military and Strategic Studies
22U/ARTY

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I would like to publicly congratulate our 2008 Sandhurst team for finishing in 5th position among 42 teams last Saturday in West Point, NY. During this prestigious international competition, which regrouped the best OCdts in the world among the best Military Academies among our allies.

Je voudrais publiquement féliciter notre équipe de Sandhurst, édition
2008, pour avoir terminé en 5e position parmi 42 équipes samedi dernier West Point, NY lors de cette prestigieuse compétition internationale qui regroupait les meilleurs élèves-officiers des meilleures académiesmilitaires alliées au monde.

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Change of Command – Two Ex-Cadets

In a ceremony well-attended by city officials and military
dignitaries at historic Fort Frontenac in downtown Kingston, Ont., on
Friday, May 9, 2008, 12966 Maj.-Gen. Marquis Hainse (CMR ‘80) took over
command of the Land Force Doctrine and Training System (LFTDS) from
13337 Major-General Stuart Beare (CMR RMC ‘83). Maj.-Gen. Beare will
assume the position of Chief of Force Development at National Defence
Headquarters, in Ottawa. Newly appointed commander, Maj.-Gen. Hainse
previously held the position of Chief of Staff of Canada Command in
Ottawa and has recently returned from serving as the Deputy Commander of
NATO’s operations in Kandahar and Southern Afghanistan. No stranger to
the Kingston area, Maj.-Gen. Hainse was Director of Cadets at RMC in the
1990s.

Aritcle first appeared in:
Embassy, May 7th, 2008
NEWS STORY
General Wants to Bring New Touch to Kandahar
14378 Denis Thompson (CMR RMC ‘84)

By Jeff Davis
Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, doesn’t hesitate in explaining that military force won’t end the war in Afghanistan, and his new job is to help support his civilian counterparts’ efforts.Along with military operations to ensure security, he said infrastructure development, humanitarian relief and alternative livelhood programs are all vital.

“The levers that you use to influence the population,” Brig.-Gen. Thompson said in an interview last week, “a small fraction of those are in hands of the military commander. Most of them are in hands of the civilians.

“All those agencies with a horse in the race have an equal say at that table,” he added.

Putting that realization into action will be the general’s job for the next nine months. This week, Brig.-Gen. Thompson arrived in Afghanistan to take command of all Canadian Forces.

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3826 Dr. Donald Coulter (RRMC RMC ‘57); 5832 Daniel O’Neill (RMC ‘63); 6907 Bill Fenrick (RMC ‘66); 8868 Bob Shuter (RMC ‘71); 9805 Dwayne Lucas (RRMC RMC ‘73); 10897 Bob Weisman (CMR RMC ‘76); 13859 Ivor da Cunha (RMC ‘83); 14493 Col Paul Rutherford (RMC ‘85); 16211 Andrew Chester (CMR RMC ‘88); 16950 Mel Crocker (RRMC RMC ‘89); 16999 David Preikshot (RRMC RMC ‘89); 17793 Commander (Bob) Auchterlonie (RMC ‘91); 20714 Steven Boychyn (RMC ‘97); 22453 Captain Kyle Thebault (RMC ‘02) Read the rest of this entry »

RMC Sailing Riding on Waves of Success

On April 26th 2008 the RMCYC Sailing Team defeated the United States Military Academy at West Point and finished 3rd place overall at the Army 2-on-2 Team Race Regatta at West Point, NY. Team members included Skippers Tom Eagle 24926 and Francis Montangese 24554, Crews Allen Lee 24892 and Matt Bowman 24202, and Captain Joey Rotchford 24141. The team finished 3rd place overall in the regatta which was made up of mostly varsity level sailing teams from the North Eastern United States. This comes at the end of a banner year for sailing at the Royal Military College and sets the stage for success in the coming season.

For those who are unaware, sailing has seen a rebirth over the past four years at RMC. The Sailing Team, which is regular competitor on the College Sailing scene in North Eastern North America, is a syndicate of the RMCYC (Royal Military College Yacht Club). The Club has seen a total restructuring over the past year with the main change of having cadets back in its leadership. With this change the club has grown to 30+ members who actively take the waters of Lake Ontario. The club, through various presentations to different bodies, has seen its budget grow significantly over the past year which has allowed some much needed repairs to its current ageing fleet. Further with the new monies the club has been able to purchase a brand new J22 racing keelboat which is due into Kingston at the end of the month. Also the racing syndicate team has now been able to participate in more regattas in different places than ever before.

The team, as a division of the club, regularly competes against schools like Cornell, Princeton, Queens, and West Point. The league in which the team competes is the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) which has both varsity and club teams competing against each other. While RMC does not finish first in many of the regattas, the team does finish mid-fleet which is remarkable considering the fact that the RMC is a club team with a budget and student base that pales in comparison with some of the Ivy League Varsity teams that partake in the same regattas. Keeping the mind that the team is still a club team and not yet a varsity team and thus the practice time and school support isn’t at and optimal level, the team relies mostly on the remarkable Sailing talent pool RMC has every year. This comes from a number of cadets having significant prior sailing racing experience to the point where there are a number of national championship sailors competing on the RMC team. While this may seem like good timing for the club it seems that every year there are more of these individuals coming to RMC. This only makes sense as Kingston, which has been named the best Freshwater sailing anywhere, would attract quality sailors to its universities.

To quickly highlight some of the accomplishments the team has seen over the past year to members that may not have heard:

-Summer 2007 – Finished 4th place in Military Collegiate World Championships at Tall Ships 2007 Festival in Newport, Rhode Island

-Summer 2007 – Winner of the Sponsors award for best overall Team at the Military Collegiate World Championships at Tall Ships 2007 Festival in Newport, Rhode Island

-Fall 2007 – Participated in 6 ICSA regattas, this included one Post Season Regatta at Saint Mary’s University in Baltimore, MD.

-Winter 2008 – RMC selected by ICSA to participate in 12 College Regattas in 2008, this included the TS Stern Sloop Championships at USNA sailing 44 foot Super Racing Yachts (Navy 44’s).

-Spring 2008 – Participated in 2 ICSA regattas, this included a win against the USMA a week before the annual Sandhurst Competition.

To look at the upcoming summer season the club will be very active as there are a number of club members remaining on the peninsula over this summer. If any ex-cadets out there would like to see what he club is up to or go out sailing with the club boats or with some club members please do not hesitate to contact the club or drop by the waterfront of RMC.

Explosion Of The Frigate

The blowing up of the frigate Mohawk, which was located off Point
Frederick, in the evening [July 2, 1884] proved to be a great
attraction. At 7:30 o’clock every available spot on the wharves and
along the front of the water was taken possession of. The masts of
vessels and the grain elevators were occupied, the market battery
wall and the city hall steps were covered, every inch of them, by
people anxious to get a good view of the star event. Rags, saturated
with oil, having been put in the hold of the barge and on her deck
during the day, were lighted at 7:50 o’clock. This was the signal
that the explosion would presently occur. The flames spread until
they enveloped the boat and rushed up the smoke stack and licked
their way through the rigging. The Mohawk went in the air amid a
cloud of smoke, through which the splintered timbers could be seen.
When the smoke had cleared away all that could be seen of the barge
was a few pieces of wood floating on the surface of the water. Sergt.-
Major Bertles, of the Royal Military College, had charge of the
explosion.

Source

10593 Brigadier-Gen Paul JP McCabe, OMM, CD (RMC ‘75) will be retiring from the Canadian Forces on 2 June 2008 after 36 years of loyal and dedicated service to the Canadian Forces. BGen McCabe graduated from the Royal Military College in May 1975 with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and was commissioned in the Canadian Forces as an aerospace engineering officer. While serving as an aircraft maintenance officer at Canadian Forces Base Shearwater he met and married his wife Sandra (Squires), formerly of Stephenville, Nfld. In May 1978, he was promoted to Captain and returned to RMC to obtain his Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering. On 1 July 2002, BGen McCabe was promoted to his current rank and posted to 1 Canadian Air Division as the A4. In June 2005 BGen McCabe was appointed Director General Aerospace Equipment Program Management. He and his wife Sandra will be building their retirement house in Truro Nova-Scotia, where they will enjoy the Maritime life as well as being close to their family. The retirement ceremony will be held 30 May at the WO’s & Sgt’s Mess. Any congratulatory messages, anecdotes and best wishes should be submitted to Lise Lecours (lecours.mfl@forces.gc.ca) by 15 May 08. Anyone wishing to make a special presentation or say few words during the ceremony may do so by notifying Lise Lecours. Please confirm your intention to attend NLT 15 May.

more…

19297 Captain Zauher H Abdullah (RMC ‘94) will retire from the Canadian Forces on May 19th, 2008, after 17 plus years of dedicated service. He enrolled in the regular force on 19 May 1990 as an Aerospace Engineer, and has led an eventful career. After completing his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering at the Royal Military College in Kingston and completing his AERE training at CFSATE, Borden, he was posted to the Directorate of Intelligence, Security and Operations Automation (DISOA) at NDHQ. This was followed by a posting to NORAD HQ and Air Force Space Command in Colorado Springs. Upon his return to Canada he was posted to the CF 188 Software Detachment at WSM Det Mirabel. Capt Abdullah then moved to Ottawa where he spent the last years of his career with DGAEPM in Fighters and Trainers as the CF 18 DMS and ILS Technical Authority. Zauher’s most memorable experience in the CF was participating in a technical assistance visit to Kosovo and Bosnia in 1999. Capt Abdullah’s retirement plans include moving to France to pursue a Master of Science degree at the International Space University. Zauher has lead an outstanding career with the Canadian Forces. A luncheon will take place on May 16th at 11:30 hrs, at the RCAF Mess, located at 158 Gloucester Street, Ottawa, ON. (613) 233-4610. RVSP, farewell messages, anecdotes or questions can be sent to Capt Rod Kelly: kelly.rj2@forces.gc.ca ASAP.

Who am I

* I attended University of Toronto 1929-30, followed by studies at
Royal Military College.

* I was accepted as an officer in training in late 1939

* I received my commission as a Lieutenant, Royal Canadian Naval
Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR), in July 1940, an impressive document signed
by the Governor General the Earl of Athlone, and awaited “disposal.

* During the thirteen week basic officer training course in HMCS
Stadacona, Halifax, late 1940, the chief gunner’s mate terrorized the
class, who naturally addressed him as “Sir.” This called forth a bellow:
“Don’t call me ‘Sir’-Chief.”

* My RMC training came to my rescue: I knew that the chief
gunner’s mate was supposed to call us “Sir.” And he did; when one of us
was a bit slow around the gun, he would come up close to the offender’s
ear and ferociously growl into it, “Will you pull the lead out of your
hindquarters ? (pause) ? Sir?”

* I became first lieutenant of HMCS Pictou, one of the new
corvettes built in Canada, manned by Canadians and named after Canadian
cities and towns.

* I took off nearly twenty pounds in my first couple of voyages.
This was partly attributable to the diet and the execrable cooking. Our
cook was a blacksmith in civilian life!

* I was examined for my watchkeeping certificate by my friend and
RMC classmate, 2184 Lt. Desmond (Debby) Piers, (RMC 1930), who was later
promoted to Rear-Admiral.

* Cmdre. Leonard Warren Murray, a distinguished RCN officer who
was shortly after promoted to Rear Admiral, explained the difficulties
in finding suitable commanding officers. At this, on a wild impulse, I
looked him in the eye and said, “Sir, let me take her.” He swung around
in his chair and looked out over the harbour for what seemed like
minutes; then swung back and said, even more gently, but with great
emphasis, “By jove, I will.” Then quickly added: “I’m taking a big
chance on you and you must not let me down.” I could only answer, “Sir,
I will do my best.” We shook hands and I left.

* I published my autobiography entitled “Footfalls in Memory”
privately in 1998 which outlined my wartime service in the RCNVR.
A) 2243 Commander Robert Powell (RMC 1931);
B) 2158 Commander Anthony Griffin (RMC 1930);
C) 2321 Commander Dennis Forster (RMC 1933); or
D) 2195 Commander Henry Ross (RMC 1930)

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May is Museum month, museums are featuring hundreds of exciting exhibits and events during May, including special programs for International Museum Day on May 18. Events and exhibits will take place at museums, art galleries, and heritage sites.

The Royal Military College Museum, housed in the 1846 Fort Frederick Martello Tower, features displays relating to the military history of the site, which was a naval dockyard and garrison between 1789 and 1870. The site also tells the story of the Royal Military College and its graduates from 1876 to the present. The curator, 8057 James Ross Mackenzie (RMC 1970) says the museum is open from Late June to Labour Day, daily 10am-5pm. The admission is free. mackenzie_r@rmc.ca More

Le Musée du Collège militaire royal du Canada, logé dans la tour Martello Fort Frederick (1846), présente des expositions ayant trait à l’histoire militaire de l’emplacement qui servit d’arsenal et de garnison entre 1789 et 1870. Il relate également l’histoire du Collège militaire royal et de ses diplômés depuis 1876 jusqu’à nos jours. Les heures d’ouverture sont de 10 h à 17 h tous les jours, de la dernière fin de semaine de juin à la fête du Travail. le conservateur 8057 James Ross Mackenzie (RMC 1970) dit les heures d’ouverture sont de 10 h à 17 h tous les jours, de la dernière fin de semaine de juin à la fête du Travail.

(Click on photo for larger view)

The Fort St-Jean museum, housed in the former protestant chapel, offers the possibility to admire many artefacts witnessing the military presence in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. The museum narrates the history of this patrimonial site occupied since 1666 by different garrisons, a shipyard and a military college. Subjects maps, models, videos and historical objects will bring you back in time to discover an important location in the Canadian military history. The Fort Saint-Jean Museum will be opened Wednesday to Sunday, from 10h00 to 17h00, from May 24th until September 1st, and is situated on Campus Saint-Jean, 15 Jacques-Cartier North. For more information please contact 450-358-6500, extension 5769. http://www.cmrstjean.com/musee/

Le Musée du Fort Saint-Jean, logé dans l’ancienne chapelle protestante, offre la possibilité d’admirer de nombreux artefacts témoignant de la présence militaire à Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Le musée raconte ainsi l’histoire de ce site patrimonial qui a été occupé depuis 1666 par diverses garnisons en plus d’avoir été un chantier naval et un collège militaire. Cartes thématiques, maquettes, vidéos et objets historiques vous feront faire un voyage dans le temps pour découvrir un lieu important de l’histoire militaire canadienne. Le Musée du Fort Saint-Jean sera ouvert du mercredi au dimanche, de 10 h à 17 h, du 24 mai au 1 er septembre, et est situé sur le site du Campus Saint-Jean, au 15 Jacques-Cartier Nord. Pour information, contactez le 450-358-6500, poste 5769. http://www.cmrstjean.com/musee/

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(Photo credit Maurice Robinson)

The Hatley Castle Museum houses artifacts and exhibits that tell the story of the site from the days when the property was a Coastal Salish Indian burial site to the present time when it is home to the campus of Royal Roads University. The museum has many original artifacts from the days when Laura and James Dunsmuir lived an elegant life here on this estate. For 55 years the site was also an military officer’s training school and the museum highlights that era in a room named for one of the college’s most supportive commandants, 2444 RAdm (Ret’d) John A Charles (RMC 1935). The displays also relate the development and history of one of Canada’s most innovative universities as Royal Road University evolves to meet the needs of learners in the global economy. Hatley Park Museum is open every afternoon from 10:15 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. It is located in the basement of Hatley Park Castle, the administrative centre for Royal Roads University, 2005 Sooke Road, in Colwood on Vancouver Island. http://www.hatleycastle.com/
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Quotes:

“I remember coming here [Royal Roads Military College]. We came into the parade square and we all lined up, and it was the first time that I got the feeling that I was in this with a bunch of other people that were in the same boat as me. So, there was some reassurance that we were all doing this together.”

10340 Rick Wing (RRMC RMC ‘74)

“Wakey wakey was 6:30 in the morning. You had 20 minutes to get your bed perfectly made, get properly dressed, get cleaned up, and fall in. And then you went to breakfast. And then you went down to the locker room and you got properly brushed because we wore navy blue uniforms, and everything had to be totally free of this rather strange substance called ‘froust’ – that was anything that was detectible by the naked eye on your navy blue outfit which was not supposed to be there.”

4459 Commodore (Ret`d) Edward RA Murray (RRMC RMC ‘59)

What do you remember about attending Royal Roads? Read the rest of this entry »