December Parents Night & The Last Day

The second Parents Night Parade of the 2019-2020 Training Year occurred on December 4.  The cadets were pretty active in the two short months following the first Parents Night that I had another batch of badges, promotions, and awards to hand out.  There were also a few announcements that needed to be heard before the end of the year.

            

I spent extra time preparing the awards because I had the feeling that I wouldn’t have time to do it on the night of the parade.  I placed the badges, promotions, and t-shirts (more on that later) in labelled Ziploc bags.  I also typed up the list of recipients so that I wouldn’t forget their names.  The last thing I did was borrow the school’s portable Phonak speaker and place it in the cadet office.  Phonak speakers enable someone to speak into a microphone without having to yell so that everyone can hear them.

            

Twenty-one cadets & I arrived at the school’s gym an hour early to set up.  I was glad I prepared all the awards the day before.  The cadets handled the chairs, tables, flags, and reception area.  I handled the Phonak speaker, my tablet computer, and the awards.  I plugged the speaker into an outlet at the back of the gym and wirelessly connected my microphone.  I spoke a few words and my voice projected across the entire gym.  I would not have to raise my voice.  My tablet computer was needed to play the Canadian anthem and God Save the Queen.  Having all the awards in Ziploc bags made it easier to bring them all down from the cadet office to the Awards Table.  As soon the cadets saw the bags, they immediately began guessing who was getting what.  The printed awards list was safely tucked inside my pants pocket.      

            

Doors opened at 6:15pm and by 6:30pm we had a large audience.  The Guest Reviewing Officer (GRO) was Arctic Bay resident Mishak Allurut.  He was my Inuktitut teacher when I arrived in the community in 2013.  The Cadet Parade Commander (CPC) sized, dressed, and centered the cadets on parade.  When I saw the cadets were ready, I came to attention at the gym entrance.  The parade began.

            

Mishak inspects the cadets on parade.

Mishak inspects the cadets on parade.

I recruited Frank to be the DJ.  He played the General Salute & O Canada while the CPC & I saluted.  He introduced himself and then escorted Mishak through the ranks.  In the meantime, I gave a brief welcome address to the audience.  The Phonak speaker worked perfectly.  Mishak returned to the front and the CPC did a March Past with the cadets.  I then invited the GRO to address the cadets & audience.  He spoke in Inuktitut & English, praising the cadets for their dress, drill, & deportment, and thanked the audience for supporting the local cadet corps.

            

Level 4 Marksman.

Bronze Level Fitness Cadets.

I continued the parade by calling out the cadets who earned marksmanship badges.  This time around: two cadets achieved Level 1; four cadets achieved Level 2; and one cadet achieved Level 4.  Level 4 is the highest level.  Next came physical training and many cadets were called to receive badges.  Six cadets received Bronze, one cadet received Silver, four cadets received Gold, and two cadets received Excellence.          

            

Excellence Fitness Level Cadet.

Fall Biathlon Winners.

The corps held its annual Fall Biathlon Competition at the end of October.  I announced the winners to the cadets a week later but didn’t give out prizes.  Those were reserved for tonight’s parade.  A quick recap: the cadets competed in three separate groups: First-Years, Second-Years, and Seniors.  The groups had to shoot three relays, but the First-Years only had to run twice.  The other groups had to run three times.  Each run was 1km.  The goal of the competition is to complete the relays & runs in the shortest amount of time.

            

The top First-Year cadet completed his relay in 15 minutes & 41 seconds.  The top Second-Year cadet completed his relay in 24 minutes & 56 seconds.  And the top Senior cadet completed his relay in 21 minutes & 53 seconds.  Their prizes were military themed t-shirts from D-Day Wear.  I bought the shirts at the Scottish Festival in Orillia, Ontario over the summer.

            

Level 2 Marksmanship Cadets.

Gold Level Fitness Cadets.

The parade took on more serious, disappointing, but hopeful tones when I made the first announcement.  The officers-in-charge had made the decision to cancel the Biathlon Competition in Whitehorse because of financial reasons.  Cadet biathlon teams from the territories would have assembled in the city to compete for spots on the national team.  (I went to the competition in February).  Instead, corps were instructed to hold competition at home and the scores would be sent to Winnipeg to be judged.  The best cadets would be selected and sent to Alberta to compete for spots on the national team.  So, basically, 3045 would be holding another “Fall Biathlon” but in January.

            

I felt bad about this because the corps had already chosen a team of eight cadets.  Now that meant nothing and they would have to compete against each other and four other cadets.  There was also the possibility that nobody would be selected for Alberta.  The original team had already been guaranteed the trip to Whitehorse.  Unfortunately, these things happen.  I promised the original eight to make it up to them somehow.  I announced the 12 cadets who would be competing in January.  The additional four cadets were selected on attendance, attitude, and ability.

            

Most Improved Cadet from ACR 2019.

Top Female Athlete from ACR 2019.

The corps holds its Annual Ceremonial Review Parade in mid-April.  It’s the year-end parade where many awards are handed out.  The top awards are: Most Improved Cadet; Best Boots & Deportment; Top Female & Male Cadets; and Top Cadet.  The winners have their names placed on trophies and plaques.  Unfortunately, it takes longer for the name tags to arrive from the south.  They finally arrived in time for the December Parents Night Parade.  I called up the five winners from April 2019 to receive their trophies & plaques again, but to add their name plates to them. 

            

Cadet to Lance Corporal.

From Lance Corporals to Corporals.

I promoted six junior cadets.  One cadet advanced to the rank of Lance Corporal.  Four Lance Corporals advanced to the ranks of Corporal.  And one Corporal advanced to the rank of Master Corporal.  They were all smiles when their names were called and when their pictures were being taken.

            

The last announcement I made was about the marksmanship team tryouts in January.  The top 10 cadet shooters would compete for five spots on the team.  The competition is similar to biathlon except there’s no running, and the plinker targets are replaced with regular targets.  I called up the ten chosen cadets to be congratulated for being selected.

            

Frank did the Closing Remarks, thanking everyone involved with the cadet corps in some capacity.  The GRO & I stood at the front while the CPC & cadets did the Advance in Review Order.  We remained standing for the General Salute & God Save The Queen.  The GRO & I then marched out of the gym.  The CPC dismissed the cadets, signalling the end of the parade.  The audience applauded.

            

The corps posed for a group photo.  I dismissed the cadets to the reception.  They reception lasted for 20 minutes.  The cadets then changed out of their uniforms and helped me clean up.  We were out of the gym by 8:30pm.

            

The last day of cadets for 2019 was December 11.  The cadets played games & sports.  The night ended with a candy toss.  I used my leftover Halloween candy but also bought several extra boxes at the Northern Store.  The candy filled two large buckets.  The cadets were instructed to form a large square using blue mattresses.  They removed their shoes and stood around the square.  I handed out large Ziploc bags and then walked up to the mezzanine floor overlooking the gym.  Once everyone was ready, I & another staff member, dumped the candy into the square.  The cadets immediately ran into the middle and collected as much as possible.  No one was injured and the candy quickly disappeared.  The cadets labelled their bags and helped me put away the mattresses.  I wished them all a safe Christmas & Happy New Year.  They were dismissed for the rest of the month.