27 September 2010

Freedom of the City for HMCS DISCOVERY

In recognition of the 100th Anniversary of the Canadian Navy, Freedom of the City will be conferred upon HMCS DISCOVERY.  We have been invited by both the Mayor of New Westminster, Mayor Wayne Wright, and the Commanding Officer of HMCS DISCOVERY, LCdr Elaine Fisher, to join their parade on Sunday, October 3rd.

What a very exciting opportunity for us all.  This honour is rarely given and since the city was built in 1859 only four people and one group has been granted this privilege, the last time was in 1963.

This honour indicates the trust and respect that they City has for HMCS DISCOVERY and the Canadian Navy and gives HMCS DISCOVERY the right to march through the City with flags flying, bayonets fixed and band playing.

RCSCC FRASER Ship’s Company will muster in C1’s with medals, in front of the Armouries on Sunday, October 3rd at 12:30 and will march on at 12:50.
The ceremony should take approximately 1 hour and include an inspection and a march past.

Parents are highly encouraged to stay and witness the ceremony as it takes place in front of City Hall.  It is a rare occurrence and photos would be greatly appreciated.

The Canadian Forces site for the Naval Centennial can be found here.

ORCA PCT and TALL LEAF DEPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

There are Cadet Seamanship Deployments taking place in British Columbia!!
The aim of these deployments is to provide a modern and relevant ship-borne experience for cadets to hone their skills at the corps. Trainees and staff will be split up in five distinct training serials onboard three PCT ORCAs and the Tall ship Maple Leaf, as follows:

 ORCA : from 20 to 26 Feb 11 (not including travel dates);
 ORCA : from 13 to 19 March 11 (not including travel dates);
 Maple Leaf : from 23 to 27 March 11 (not including travel dates).

MEDICAL RESTRICTIONS
Due to the conditions in which this training takes place, individuals with certain medical restrictions will not be allowed to take part in this exercise.
Trainees, staff cadets and officers deployed aboard ORCAs and the tall ship must be free of any ailment, condition (physical or psychological) or injury:
a. which requires them to be within 4 hours from a medical facility;
b. which may require the injection from an epi-pen for allergies in particular for bee or wasp ; and
c. which is incompatible with life aboard a vessel for 5 consecutive days away at sea (cramped quarters, confined spaces, standing watches, irregular meal hours, etc.).
Anyone selected and taking medication must be reminded to bring enough supplies to last for the duration. DND will not provide.

TRAINEES (not including staff cadets)
Eligibility Criteria. In order to be eligible, trainees shall be undergoing minimum of Phase 3 training.


Application
Applications are to arrive at the AdminO’s desk/email NO LATER THAN THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30.  Email the Telegraph for an application!!! 
STAFF (including staff cadets)
Staff cadet and officer positions will be filled based on required qualifications and on number of cadets from RCSUs on the different ships.
Selection Policy - Staff Cadets. When filling staff cadet positions, preference will be given to those cadets who’ve completed at least one summer as a staff cadet at a CSTC.
Qualification. Staff cadets selected for this activity are not entitled to be paid or eligible for the CSTC staff cadet badge.

09 September 2010

Welcome Home

I would like to start by welcoming you all back from the summer.  I look forward to watching you put into action, all the new skills you learned.  We had some great feedback from you over the past year and as a result, we have a great year ahead of us with some new activities and training weekends planned.  Also, I must pass on the compliments I have received.  There were so many impressed visitors from our ACR in June.  You should all be very proud of yourselves and the fantastic showing you made to your friends, family and community.

For those of you who joined us from RCSCC MARINER last spring and have decided to stay, welcome home.  Those of you who returned to your corps, I thank you for all your work and wish you all the best in your cadet career.  I was very impressed with your deportment and it was a pleasure to have you join us for our Annual Ceremonial Review and my Change of Command Ceremony. 

I hope you all take a minute to introduce yourself to our newest staff member and welcome her to FRASER.  SLt Sarra Lyford is a former Air Officer and comes to us with a wealth of experience in the cadet programme. 

I look forward to my first year of Command at FRASER.  Looking back on my journey through Cadets, I never would have imagined when I joined a small Sea Cadet corps in Edmonton, Alberta so many years ago that I would one day command my own corps.  There are so many great opportunities for you with this program, you never know where they can take you.  Mr. Rainbow has submitted an article on his experience a little farther down the page.  I hope you take advantage of everything offered to you!

 Welcome home FRASER!  Je Suis Prest!

Lt(N) Megan St. Hilaire
Commanding Officer

Fireside Chat

As the summer ends, we look forward to welcoming you and the ship’s company of Fraser back for another training year.  Your involvement in our program demonstrates your commitment to improve your skills in leadership, citizenship and physical fitness.
We are excited to provide opportunities to you to develop these skills and age out of the corps as a well-rounded member of our community.
International exchanges, deployments, on water training and a fantastic training facility are a few of the benefits provided to you at no cost.  In return, we expect that you will attend parades regularly, maintain all uniforms entrusted to you and participate in fundraising activities.
By being an engaged member of the corps, you will receive the maximum return for your efforts.
The beginning of training marks my 11
th year of involvement with the Sea Cadet program.  There is a lot that being active with Fraser has done for me over the years.  I hope that you find the same value in being with us.  I am excited to serve with you as Executive Officer as well as Training officer and look forward to a successful year of instruction.
'Je Suis Prest'
Lt(N) Bryan Watson
Executive Officer

01 September 2010

One Man's Discovery

On Canada’s West Coast, north of Cape Scott on Vancouver Island and south of the Alaskan border lies a vast wilderness; my favourite place in the world.  The distance between these two points is only 400 kilometres, but inside is contained a place of vast natural beauty where one can lose themselves and find themselves.  When I am there, I lose myself inside the waves and among the trees.  I never want to leave.  Each step through the moss and sway of the boat is an adventure.  At the same time, this place acts as a prism; each water drop focuses my mind on what is important in my life.
This place, where terra firma meets the sea and sky, is a land of wonder, myth, timelessness and adventure; a place where the Raven reigns.  This pneumatic, terrestrial and aquatic wilderness is riddled with rocks, islands, glacial river valleys, inlets and fiords.  An Etch A Sketch® of geographic proportions, which if stretched out in a straight coast-line, would measure 16,000 kilometres!  Every single one of those kilometres bristles with gem-like islands; crystalline lakes and tide pools; waterfalls as elegant and delicate as a wedding veil or as powerful as a thundering deluge; and towering, monolithic trees.  Hundreds of these features are yet to be named, some are still uncharted, but all of them are teeming with life.  Sea lions, porpoises, whales, seals, wolves, black bears, Kermode bears, grizzly bears, sea birds, otters, bald eagles, ravens and the life giving salmon all call this place home.  The biological productivity of this emerald and sapphire wilderness is unmatched anywhere on Earth.  It has a biomass of 500 tons per acre; 40 percent greater than the tropical rainforest.
There is a beauty in this landscape that I have yet to see equalled anywhere in the world.  I recall the first time a came here.  It was aboard the Sail Training Vessel Maple Leaf, on a 2 week cadet Tall Ship Deployment.    As a young Petty Officer 2nd Class, my eyes were about as wide as moon snails with the wonder and newness of the experiences.  We learned navigation, traditional sailing, watched wildlife, soaked in hot springs, explored old growth forests, ate fresh seafood and sang sea shanties.  This two week experience with my fellow cadets was like none I had ever had before.  I decided then and there that I wanted to come back.

And here I am, years later, working for a company that pays me to explore this beautiful place.  For eight months of the year I explore this wild BC coastline on a 70’ sailing yacht; everyday experiencing something new.  That is what keeps me coming back.  Some days it rains a lot, on other days I might have to have a serious argument with a piece of boat machinery, but all I have to do is look outside the porthole and I am reminded of why I love my job and being in this place.

I encourage you to use the cadet program to its fullest as I have.  Experience what this program and country has to offer, and who knows?  Maybe you will find a rewarding job and beautiful landscape.  I know I have.    There is an adventure in those trees and between the waves.  The raven is calling you to go find it.

   
Written by B. Rainbow / Photos by D. Rainbow