Sunset Ceremony

In conjunction with the graduation and commissioning ceremonies, Royal Military College holds a Sunset Ceremony on the Thursday night between the two events.


The crowd fills the stands in the parade square as the sun begins its descent in the western sky.





RMC Sandhurst Military Skills Team demonstrated the rappelling skills, among many others 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, 2007 and 2009.





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.






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 the daily training as first learned over 130 years ago.





Shortly afterward, the Old Eighteen were attacked by the faux enemy.





We lost one of our best.





Ready, aim... fire!





They had their share of casualties too.






Our guys charged in and put an end to this war once and for all.


I'll be back with Part Two on Sunday.

Truth, Duty, Valour

Four years ago this summer we watched our son march through this arch into the grounds of Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario. It was there that he became a cadet about to embark on his academic and military training which would sculpt him into an Officer in the Canadian Forces.


It was a long stretch of time for him - the blink of an eye for his parents as we watched our boy develop leadership skills, kindle team trust and learn how to handle himself in situations that no parent wants to consider. During those four years, our boy became a graduate, an Officer and a man.

Don and I attended his graduation last week. Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada was among the many who attended and addressed the graduating class.

She received an honourary doctorate in Military Science and delivered the convocation address to the graduating officer cadets. She spoke eloquently and beautifully about the many ways our Canadian Forces have made, and continue to make positive changes in the world - in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Haiti. She emphasized the importance of family support and the contribution made to the success of the forces. This was a most appreciated sentiment which resurfaced throughout the convocation and commissioning events.

We were sitting a fair distance from the presentations and it helped that they had large monitors which brought the various speakers into closer focus. That didn't help however with the challenge of trying to get a few photos in the large, dimly-lit room. As Jeffrey stepped up in line to receive his degree, he turned back and looked right at me. I took this photo from across the room.


He and his fellow graduates were in traditional full dress, scarlet uniform. Jeffrey received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Military and Strategic Studies, after which more speeches ensued - spoken in our two official languages.

After the ceremony, Jeffrey changed into his "civies' (civilian clothes for all us non-military types) and we enjoyed dinner at Red Lobster but had to hurry back to RMC to see the Sunset Ceremony. I'll write more about that another time. For now, I'll fast-forward to Friday morning when the class of 2010 received their Commission and officially became Officers in the Canadian Armed Forces.


Defence Minister Peter MacKay addressed the graduates and spoke of the good work our troops are doing in Afghanistan. He acknowledged our most recent loss at the time - an earlier graduate of RMC, Colonel Geoff Parker. Sadly there's been yet another since then.



Chief of Defence Staff General, Walter Natynczyk gave our boys some wise advice. "Speak, act and live the truth. No less is acceptable. Your duty is to do what is right and proper all the time."



Parents and friends were then invited onto the parade square to be with their sons and daughters as they received their military Commission. Major General Walter Semianiw, Chief of Military Personnel presented Jeffrey with his, and he kindly posed with him for a few photos.


The newly commissioned Officers then marched off of the parade square and through the arch - hats and helmets held high atop their swords. This moment, among several others was very emotional, and many a teary eye glistened in the afternoon sun.


Jeffrey is now a Second Lieutenant in the Canadian Armed Forces. He will spend the next several months in Cornwall, Ontario to acquire his training in Air Traffic and Air Weapons Control. I am very relieved that he chose to transfer from his first trade of choice which was Infantry. I'm certain that he knows how fiercely proud we are of him. I am in awe of the man he has become in just twenty-three short years but I still hold close the little boy he was, and always will be to me.

Thank you, my son for giving me the enormous pleasure of being your mother.


Thanks also to Jeffrey's Aunt Trudy and cousin June and of course, Frank for driving out for the events and sharing our pride.

Always Greener

I've decided to continue this colour theme for a little while. Partly because it's easy while I have other things on the go and partly because I have photos which many of you might never have seen before. A few long-time blog pals will likely recognize at least some of these, if not all and I thank you for you patience while I'm in this "double exposure" mode of sorts.

The posts themselves are original, and the photos are from various times and places. The last colour up was blue. Today I combed through my photo archives and came up feeling a little green. Please remember to click on them to enlarge each image.

This is one of those fly-by shootings, taken from the passenger window on our way home from the cottage one day. I just liked the way these fences hugged the gentle green slopes of this pasture.

These folks had an unusual collection of items amid the greenery of their yard. A dolphin-riding baby, a lamp post, a park bench and a grass-filled potty. Rather eclectic.

My favourite man in green - my son Jeffrey in his fatigues. We were visiting him where he attends university at Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario.

One of my favrourite green spots within three minutes from home. Each year this narcissistic branch grows a little closer to the water's edge, gazing lovingly at its own reflection.

A bit of rain can add a bit a sparkle to an otherwise dull surface. After the downpour, these water droplets glistened on a blade of green grass.

A couple of drops were still clinging to the hairy edges of these green seed pods.

Light filtered through a spring green fern, revealed a sun-warmed rock behind it.

The animal kingdom enjoys the comfort and safety of their green environment. This little grasshopper-like insect may have been trying to blend in and hide, but I saw him anyway.

This unusual green insect followed us fishing one summer afternoon. We looked out into the water beside the boat and saw it flailing about. Frank fished it out of the water with this oar and it stayed long enough to dry out before flying off. It was actually the second such insect that day.

One afternoon, up at the cottage, this little green snake popped his head out to warm himself in the sun. He was super quick to disappear again when I got a bit too close with the camera.

I love the wispy net-like wings on this beautiful, green dragonfly. It was one of many which hatched during our June 2008 visit to the cottage. It was still drying off before taking its first flight. Notice the water droplet at the end of the tail.

In the previous post, there was a photo of a blue caterpillar, and in the fuzzy out-of-focus background you could see a green dragonfly. This was that insect. I did a full post about him back in June 2008. It was either injured or malformed and was unable to fly or hunt. In this image, you can see it checking out the mosquito which we brought to it for feeding. There are some neat closeups of this and other dragonflies in the aforementioned and linked post. There are also a couple of videos. One of them appears below.

This is the standoff between the blue caterpillar and the green dragonfly to which I referred in my previous post. The dragonfly was not doing well but when confronted by the caterpillar, it defended itself and its territory quite valiantly.

Back soonish with yet another colour.

Ducimus

Ducimus is Latin for "We Lead." It's also the motto of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps with whom my son, will be an Officer after just one more year of training. Shortly after this post, Jeffrey and I discussed the possibility of writing a guest blog post for me, about how he views Canada's involvement in Afghanistan. He agreed, and that post appears below. The photos, as usual, are mine.

I promised my Mom that I would write a little something about Afghanistan and what it means to be a Canadian soldier. I will not go into the specifics of the mission, but I encourage people to take the time to educate themselves about the mission in which our soldiers are involved. So here is my take on Afghanistan and being a soldier.



In just over a year’s time, I will graduate from the Royal Military College of Canada. When I do, I will have the honour and the privilege of leading some thirty or so of Canada’s finest men and women. Every day, I put on my uniform and proudly wear the Canadian flag on my shoulder because I believe in this country and everything it represents.





People sometimes ask me why Canadians are fighting in Afghanistan and it is a difficult question to answer because there is no single response. As a country, we are in Afghanistan because Canadians, through our elected representatives, have decided that it is in our country’s best interests to be there. As individuals, soldiers have many reasons for wanting to go. Most soldiers, myself included, believe whole-heartedly in the mission and given the chance, would be there without a moment’s hesitation.

Earlier this year I attended a briefing with a couple hundred of my fellow aspiring officers, and the question “Who wants to go to Afghanistan?” was posed. There was not one person whose hand did not immediately shoot into the air. I want to go to Afghanistan because I believe that I can play a part in making it a safer and more developed country. Canada’s combat mission in Afghanistan is set to end in 2011, so I may not get the opportunity to serve there, but I know that there will always be someplace where I will be able to help make a difference.





Living in Canada, it is easy to forget that the world is a very unpleasant place for many people, and that unfortunately, there will always be a need for soldiers like myself. As a country, we have an obligation, not only to protect ourselves and our interests, but to help the rest of the world become a better place. I have great faith in Canadians with our morals and values to choose the right missions for the Canadian military. I know that wherever I am sent, I will be there to do good, and to promote those values.



In Afghanistan, 117 Canadian soldiers have given their lives for their country. I sometimes hear people say that these lives have been ‘wasted’ and, I have to say, this angers me. Each and every one of those men and women died fighting for something that they believed in. Wasted implies that these lives were given carelessly and without thought or purpose. This is not the case.




When I will eventually lead my soldiers in operations, I know that I will be putting them at risk. I think that my biggest fear is that I will have to send one of my soldiers home in a casket. They will know that I am going do everything in my power to make sure that every single one of them comes home alive, but at the end of the day, bullets still fly two ways and that risk can never be eliminated. They know this, but they are still willing to take that risk because they believe in what they are doing. That is what it means to be a Canadian soldier. They take those risks willingly so that others won’t have to.

To those who have made the ultimate sacrifice - Rest Easy.

Ducimus

Thank you, Jeffrey for writing this guest post for me. You know how profoundly proud I am of you. Stick around for comments!

The image below was inspired by a series of photos I saw in an elementary school hallway on Saturday. It showed the faces of every child in the school, done in a mosaic-like artwork. When stepping back from it, you could see that the individual faces made up the Canadian flag. This is a far less sophisticated rendition of that idea. The faces you see in are those of our 117 Canadian soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty in Afghanistan. The words are the lyrics to our National Anthem in both English and French. You can see the names of these courageous soldiers here and here. Please click on the image to enlarge it.

Of Red and White

Thanks, once again for the thoughtful comments from you folks. Those on the last post were no exception. Just this one time, I wasn't going to respond to comments individually and I've been finding it hard to adhere to that plan. The always-entertaining MLH of The Surly Writer asked a good question which requires a reply, so I thought I'd make another mini-post about poppies, and seize the opportunity to post this photo of Jeffrey and his RMC squadron, which was taken at yesterday's ceremonies. That's my boy as Guard Commander. Please click on the photo to enlarge it.





MLH's question: "Hilary, is it true that in Canada it is a tradition to wear red poppies for those people who are in the service and white poppies in remembrance for those who lost their lives? I heard this somewhere but I cannot remember if it is an actual fact?"

It's not true. From the last Friday in October, through to Remembrance Day on November 11, Canadians traditionally wear (fake) red poppies on the left lapel, pinned as close to the heart as possible. We wear them to remember those who gave their lives in past and present conflicts.

This practice was inspired by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae's poem In Flanders Field. The poppies, which are offered by the Royal Canadian Legion each year, are available on street corners, in storefronts and at federal buildings such as banks and post offices for a voluntary donation. The funds earned provide assistance to past servicemen and women in financial distress, and for medical-related services.

From what I understand about the white poppies, they are being sold by anti-war activists since 2006 - not handed out in exchange for beneficial donations, and are meant to promote peace. Understandably, it's upsetting to our veterans, as it undermines the symbolism and good work behind the red poppy. I've never seen anybody wearing a white poppy, and just about everyone does wear a red one.

Another touching, fairly new (since 2000) tradition takes place in Ottawa after the ceremonies and wreath-laying has occurred. Veterans and civilians alike remove their poppies after the service, and lay them on top of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It's a very moving gesture and sight.

I'll be back with my own traditional blog posts soon - tradition being less frequent postings, my own photos and individual comment responses. Please check out MLH's blog, and leave her a kind comment. Today is her one-year blogaversary.

After Dark

This is the final post about the Sunset Ceremony at my son Jeffrey's university - Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario. You can scroll down to see the previous posts, or you can find Part One here and Part Two over here.

As the sun began to set, music filled the night air. The RMC Band was originally a Pipe and Drum band when it was founded in 1953. It has grown to include a Brass and Reed Band, a Choir and a small group of Highland Dancers, and is now the largest volunteer band in the Canadian Armed Forces.



They marched in with all of the pomp and circumstance fitting of a military band.



The pipers piped.. the drummers drummed to the beat of our proud history.


Highland Dancers did a fling.



The Honour Guard, with their sixty nine Officer Cadets marched onto the parade square carrying our provincial flags. The graduating Colour Party handed off their duties to the incoming Party.



The darkening night made a clear shot difficult, but you can see how colourful our flags are.



When troops were garrisoned in inns, drummers were sent through the streets to sound the Tattoo (from the Dutch "taptoe" - to close the tap) in order to get the troops to return to their quarters for the night.



The tradition of Feu-de-Joie (Fire of joy) is the sequential firing of rifles to ensure that they were cleared of damp charges, and were in good working condition before the night guard was posted.



A lone piper stands atop the McKenzie Building clock tower and plays a goose bump-forming rendition of "Amazing Grace."



As the ceremony drew to a close, it was time to lower our flag.



The band faced the Canadian flag and played the National Anthem as it was being lowered.

The RMC Band played as they marched out of the parade square, signaling the end of the Sunset Ceremony. It was followed by one of the best fireworks displays I have ever seen - too good for my camera to do it justice.



Back at his dorm, we said good-bye to our boy for what we thought was going to be the full summer. As it turns out, Jeffrey's training has been postponed until mid-June, so he'll be home tomorrow for a couple of weeks. I can't wait!