My 2014/15 experiences!I have been in the Canadian Armed Forces for 16 years. I am a Cook, 861, and proud of it. I have
embraced the trade, the knowledge it’s taught me and the people who have given me endless years of experience. Always trying to achieve to the highest standard, I pushed myself to be ahead of the game. |
Never being comfortable with being looked at as “just a cook”, I took on a lot more than what my job description entailed. 2014-2015 have both been exceptional years for me. I was awarded the Air Reserve Junior Non-Commissioned Member award, as well as the Air Marshal William Avery “Billy” Bishop Victoria Cross Memorial Trophy. The Air Marshall trophy is awarded in recognition of outstanding and meritorious achievement in any field of aviation. I was the first person to win this trophy outside of the aviation trade. Not only was I honoured to win such prestigious awards, I graduated as the Top Student on my Cooks QL6 course.
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During a visit to 22 Wing North Bay, from the Canadian Air Force CWO, I received a coin for my tireless dedication and accomplishments. The Air Force CWO at the time was J.P.G Young, who not only has set an example for all us cooks; but has opened the door for us to achieve anything we set our sights on.
Late April, 2015 I was chosen along with four members of 22 Wing North Bay, to participate at Ex Air Raid in France. Ex Air Raid is a military skills competition for all military members throughout Europe, Canada and the U.S. We trained for 6 months, with endless hours of marching, swimming, air identification, weapon identification, shooting, map navigation and creating team cohesion. |
I certainly walked a little bit taller with a little bit more pride; for I was chosen to represent Canada not only as a soldier, but as a cook.
My moto has always been,” you are who you make you, be a sponge and soak it up! |
The competition began on the 18 of September and ended on late afternoon on the 20. The morning started off with several areas of testing, military history, shooting, and flight/air recognition. Night navigation followed. It began at 2100 hrs and ended at 0730 hrs. We trekked through 36 kms of mountains in the Amberieu, France region. After the nigh navigation, we were bused to a lake where we plunged into the ice cold water for a 3 km kayak ride. We had to memorize signs and buildings along the route. From there we were taken to another serious of testing, but on the physical side. Shooting and push-up’s, while wearing a 15 lb tactical vest. Being tied together wearing blacked out facial gear and having to move through an obstacle course as a team. No verbal communication was allowed. Later that afternoon, we went to a local watering hole, with water that flowed straight form the alps. Several events took place here. We then participated in the end of day events which all entailed shooting military weapons (France). Not only did we have to shoot these weapons, we had to put all them together while wearing blacked out face masks. We ran through obstacle courses, each carrying two 50 lb water jugs. Myself and the other female participant received accolades from the shooting instructor’s saying that we shot better than most of the men. The competition ended after being awake for 46 hours. Although exhausted and irritable, we managed to get through a wonderful Mess Dinner which was a tribute to all the teams recognizing our hard work and dedication.
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