Cadets & Rangers

I photographed a full moon on the afternoon February 8.  (No, it’s not what you’re thinking).  The time was close to 3pm and dusk had arrived.  Even though the sun returned on February 5, prolonged periods of darkness were to last another month. The days feel equally balanced between day & night in March.  The scale tips in daylight’s favour in April.  Anyway, on this particular day, I was walking home and noticed the moon rising behind the tall rocky hills that surround the community.  I stopped, aimed my camera, and waited for the perfect moment to take a series of pictures.  I wanted the moon to be in the “right spot”.  I took five photographs and reviewed them when I got home.  I got one good photograph but you can’t see the details on the moon’s face.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a DSLR camera with expensive lens.

            

3045’s Marksmanship Team of 2020 completed the Stage II Postal Shoot on February 9.  The Postal Shoot is a mail-in competition where the northern teams shoot target papers sent from Winnipeg and then mail them back to be marked by officials.  Each cadet shoots three target papers.  One target paper has twelve target circles on them: ten for scoring & two for practice.  Cadets are given 15 minutes per target paper.  The best teams advance to Stage III.  It took two hours for the Marksmanship Team to shoot all their targets.  I had the honour of placing all the targets in a sealed envelope and mailing it to Winnipeg.  The team and I hope they will advance to the next stage.

            

The cadet corps received a large gift of toques from one its sponsors: NEAS.  The sealift shipping company had blue toques made with the RCAC logo on one side and their company logo on the other.  The toques were distributed to the cadets and I took a photograph of them on February 12.  I wrote a thank you email to NEAS and attached the picture to the message.

            

On the morning of February 15, I spotted a convoy of skidoos & qamutiks assembling on the ice in front of the Northern Store.  Upon closer inspection, it was the local Canadian Rangers preparing to go out on patrol.  The patrol lasts for several days.  Canadian & Ranger flags were attached to two qamutiks.  The Gas Station must have made quite a bit of money filling all the red plastic gas cans the day before.  I didn’t ask where they were heading.  From what I’ve been told, camping in the middle of February is a challenge because temperatures can sink to very low levels, like in the -50˚C range.  Dress warmly, and bring Coleman stoves that work & enough naphtha to keep them going to warm the tents.  Of course, make sure they’re some air openings to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

            

The cadet corps held its first Parents Night Parade of 2020 on February 19.  (This parade was also the third for the 2019-2020 Training Year).  I managed to recruit Inuujaq School’s vice principal to be the Guest Reviewing Officer (GRO).  Following standard procedure, the cadets & I arrived at the school’s gym an hour early to set up.  I made the preparations less stressful for myself by preparing all the awards the day before.  The cadets were formed up and sized by the Cadet Platoon Commander (CPC).  There were 24 cadets on parade.

            

The parade began at 6:35pm.  I escorted the GRO to the front of the parade square while the cadets stood at attention.  The music for General Salute & O Canada were played.  The CPC escorted the GRO through the ranks, inspecting & speaking to the cadets.  I kept the audience distracted by saying a short welcome speech.  I didn’t have to speak loudly because I borrowed the school’s portable Phonak speaker.  The cadets did a March Past after the inspection.  The GRO & I stood at attention while the cadets marched and gave us an eyes right. 

GRO addressing the cadets.

The GRO was given a chance to address the cadets & audience.  He thanked the corps for giving him the opportunity to be the GRO for the first time and commended the cadets for their dress, drill, and deportment.  He also said the school continues to support the cadet corps, and wishes it to continue for many more years.

Level 2 Marksman Cadet.

Gold Level Fitness Cadets.

I began the Awards Section with marksmanship & physical training (PT) badges.  These are the two most common badges awarded to cadets.  We take marksmanship & PT very seriously up here.  One cadet achieved a Level 2 marksmanship badge.  (Level 4 is the highest).  For PT: One cadet achieved Bronze, one cadet achieved Silver, and two cadets achieved Gold.  (Excellence is the highest level).

Me & the Biathlon Cadets.

The two biathlon cadets were called to the front to receive recognition for their efforts at the recent competition in Canmore, Alberta.  I officially announced their results from the Junior Female Sprint Race, and their advancement to the National Competition in Valcartier, Quebec.  The competition will take place at the beginning of March.  The audience applauded their efforts.

The Marksmanship Team was called up next to be formally introduced.  I also informed everyone that they recently completed the Stage II Postal Shoot and we’re currently waiting for the results.

Senior Cadet selected for Alpine Tour.

I called a senior cadet to come to the front to be recognized for being selected for the upcoming Alpine Tour Expedition in Banff National Park in Alberta.  He is the 4^th cadet from 3045 to be selected for this expedition.  The expedition also occurs in March and is a week long camping trip where cadets hike, snowshoe, ice climb, and receive avalanche training.  I never attended when I was a cadet but I’ve been told that it’s a very exciting & memorable trip.

Cadets promoted to Lance Corporal.

CPC is promoted to the rank of MWO.

Promotions were saved for last.  I originally thought there would be a few promotions, but after reviewing cadet files on the computer database, turns out there would be many.  The GRO assisted me.  The first to be promoted were 8 cadets to the rank of Lance Corporal.  One Lance Corporal was promoted to the rank of Corporal and one Corporal was promoted to the rank of Master Corporal.  The corps’ three sergeants were promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer (WO).  Since the corps now had too many WOs, the CPC, who happened to be a WO, was promoted to the rank of Master Warrant Officer (MWO), the second highest rank a cadet can achieve.  I informed the cadets they had three choices to address her in the future: Master Warrant Officer, Sergeant Major, or Ma’am.

           

Frank.

Frank did the Closing Remarks, thanking all the sponsors, the people who brought snacks, the parents, and the community for supporting the cadet corps.  The Advanced In Review Order (AIRO) and playing of God Save the Queen followed.  The GRO & I marched out of the gym and the newly promoted MWO dismissed the cadets.  The parade was over.

            

The cadets moved to the back of the gym for a group photo, then dismissed to reception.  Separate photographs were taken of the newly promoted WOs & MWO.  Reception lasted for 20 minutes.  The cadets & I cleaned the gym after reception.  I formed up the cadets one last time for a quick debriefing.  I congratulated the cadets for participating and for receiving a badge and/or promotion.  The cadets dismissed for the remainder of the night.  The next Parents Night Parade will be in April, except it’s known as the Annual Ceremonial Review.   

3045's newly promoted WOs.