Sunset Ceremony at RMC

This is the second part of our visit with Jeffrey in Kingston last week. To catch up on the first part, please read the previous blog post.

Before the ceremony began, our Skyhawks did a couple of flybys, dropping streamers in order to determine wind direction and whether or not it would be safe to demonstrate their signature Canadian flag parachute jumps. Shortly afterward, they decided to cancel the jump due to the increasingly inclement weather. It was disappointing but, unlike last year when they canceled the full evening's events, the rest of the show still went on.



Once 7:30 rolled around, the rain clouds joined in. First with a spit, then a spatter and finally with a steady downpour. We watched as umbrellas in front of us dripped onto our laps, which were gratefully covered with a ground sheet. One of the good things about having a son in the military, is that he's always prepared.



RMC is the only Canadian university which has Tai Kwon Do as an official varsity sport. The evening started out with a demonstration of their skills.




Though the mats had been turned upside down until the demonstration was about to begin, they quickly became wet, causing this fellow to miss his footing on his first attempt to jump over his teammates and break the board. This second jump proved successful.




Old Eighteen refers to the first 18 cadets who entered RMC in 1876. Tradition dictates that first year cadets are required to memorize their names. The Old Eighteen Historic Drill Team demonstrated their daily training from over 130 years ago.



The Naval Gun Run was first used toward the end of the 19th century and into the 20th as a means to supply the army with artillery support. The guns were removed from their fixed mountings on naval ships and transferred to shore, where naval crews fought alongside the army troops.




Shortly after the drill demonstrations, Old Eighteen had some help from some faux American soldiers to reenact a battle from the War of 1812. Ready, aim...




Fire!




There were many casualties on both sides.




And the dead bodies littered the parade square where they fell.




After the historic battle reenactments, the RMC Sandhurst Military Skills Team demonstrated the skills they've learned and used in competition against military academies in other countries such as Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK and West Point in the US. They are the proud World Champions for 2005, 2006 and 2007.

The Sandhurst team arrived on campus in a helicopter, which hovered over the field behind us. They then rappelled out of the helicopter and headed into the parade square for their demo. Don captured this film on his video camera.




The team showcased the various skills required to compete in combat.




These soldiers demonstrated the teamwork required to climb up and over a twelve-foot wall.

At some point in the evening, the rain began to let up. After another few minutes, it stopped completely, and umbrellas that had partially obscured our view were put away. I was already finding the photography challenging since the subjects were at a distance and it was overcast, but even more so now that it was getting darker, which shows in the grainy appearance of the pictures. This was a sunset ceremony after all. Not that we had actually seen the sun, but at least now we were no longer being rained upon.

I have a few more photos from the rest of the ceremony that day in Kingston which I'll save for next time. Stay tuned for part three which I'll post in a few days.