C Squadron from December until January

By Lt D.A. Hone

                With Christmas holidays fast approaching, it was difficult to remain focused on our main task, which was preparing for our deployment to Bosnia.  The Annual Children’s Christmas party

 was held on Saturday, 07 December, and due to some good work by members of 3^rd Troop, such as WO Campbell, Sgt Delaney, MCpls Rousseaux, Wheaton, and Boland, the day went off without a hitch.  Due to a good detailed time appreciation, Santa was able to arrive just in the Saint Nick of time, in order to give out the presents to all the good boys and girls of the Regiment.  Mr and Mrs Bowden were superb elves, and they did an excellent job of helping Santa with all his gifts. 

                This year it was the Snr NCOs turn to host the At-Home.  Without going into too much detail, lets just say that they did fairly well this year in competition against the Officers of the Regiment.  They proved to be well-rounded athletes when it came to our meeting on the foosball, pool, and shuffleboard tables.  But they could not stand up to the dynamic duo when it came to that game of cards we have all come to know and love.  In euchre, Capt Broomfield, aka cool-hand Luke, and Lt Hone were able to soundly beat WOs Campbell and Goodwin in one of the best come-from-behind victories, this mess has ever seen.

                This year, we tried something a little different with respect to the Men’s Christmas Dinner.  Instead of coming in at 1200 hrs and hastily eating a piece of bread and cranberry jelly then taking off, the affair was more of a sit-down and relax type of atmosphere.  So far the feedback has been pretty good, in that most of the guys had a good time, partly due to the fact that there wasn’t too much time in-between beverages.

               During the Christmas sports day hockey game, where the Cpl/Tprs and the MCpls had the chance to spill any bad blood between them, the Cpls and MCpls were treated to some excellent half/time entertainment, which was put on by a couple of nameless Cpls from SHQ.  The Snr NCO/Officer game was something else.  With the help of WO ‘Goon’ Swainsbury, the Snr NCOs were able to squeak a narrow victory over the Officers of the Regiment.  Broomball would have been much the same story, except for the fact that it wasn’t.  In broomball, it became clear early on, that the Officers were in trouble.  Coupled with the fact that their goalie had no clue what was supposed to be happening, and was learning the rules as we went along, and the fact that the Snr NCOs evidently had played the game before, it wasn’t long before the score got into the double digits.  (At least for the Snr NCOs)

                With all these festivities coming to a close, it was time to head out to see our families and loved ones for the holidays.  Cpl Stoik and a few others took some well-deserved time off in Cuba, but many of us braved the cold of West Edmonton Mall and stayed in the local area.  The holiday times are always a time of reflection, but prior to heading off on another tour to Bosnia, they become more so.  For us, we go to work in another place in the world and tend to forget that life is going on without us back here at home, and that time is passing.  It is not so for our families.  For them, they know that they will miss spending time with us, and they want to make this Christmas an especially good one.  For most of our civilian relatives who never seem to understand exactly why we choose to do this job, the time will go by slowly until we are back home.

                Christmas block leave went from 13 December until 06 January, and was a welcome break from the routine of work, work, and work, but three weeks off soon started feeling like four weeks off, and soon we were itching to get back to work.  C Sqn hosted a briefing for all family members on 15 January 2003.  It was very well attended and an excellent opportunity to brief the family members on Bosnia as we know it and the host of family support services available, our Regiment’s excellent Family Support Cell being just one example.  The Sqn is currently back into its pre-deployment routine and will be heading to Shilo Manitoba for Exercise PALLADIUM RESPONSE, the confirmatory exercise prior to C Sqn deploying to Bosnia as part of OP PALLADIUM ROTO 12.  For anyone who has ever been to Shilo in February, you know what a treat it will be.  Our current routine consists of PT from 0800 – 0900 hrs each morning, followed by either First Aid, Gunnery training, or a myriad other classes which are required in order to be declared fit for operations.

                If the rest of our time on the ground is anything like the last two months were, then we are in for a busy period.  Once we hit the ground in Bosnia, we will be ready.