Last week (05-09 Sep, 2016) I was in Halifax to cover the Defence, Security and Aerospace Exhibition Atlantic 2016 (a.k.a. DEFSEC) which is a trade show of manufacturers trying to sell equipment to the government. In this case, most vendors were involved in ship building, systems for ships (weapons and other systems), or aircraft and…
Thursday night saw the Ottawa Redblacks take on the BC Lions at TD Place in Ottawa but before the game started, time was taken to say thanks to the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces as it was Canadian Forces Appreciation Night at TD Place. The flag party marched out with the Central…
On Sunday, 21st August, 2016, Hylands Golf and Country Club played host to the final round of the National Capital Open to Support Our Troops golf tournament, part of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada. It started early (0715 am) because of rain and the hopes of having an early finish to beat the possibility of…
Today marked the 99th Anniversary of the Battle for Hill 70, an important World War 1 battle that claimed over 9100 Canadian casualties and over 20,000 Germans from the 15th to the 25th of August, 1917. It was a battle every bit as important to Canada’s nationhood as Vimy Ridge. So why has no one…
This year, on August 7th, current and past serving peacekeepers gathered at the Reconciliation Monument in Ottawa to remember peacekeepers who have lost their lives, those who served, and those still serving. The Remembrance Ceremony takes place at the Monument on the Sunday (this year the 7th) closest to National Peacekeepers Day which is August…
Although the day was overcast, it looked like the rain would hold off until the Change of Command ceremony for the new Commander of the Canadian Army on Parliament Hill was done. However, looks are deceiving and just as the ceremony started, the rain started to fall. Mostly it was spitting and moved up to…
On Friday, 8 July, 2016, the HMCS Kingston, MM700, lead ship of the Kingston class of Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDV), settled into Crawford Wharf in Kingston, Ontario, for a 3 day visit as part of the Great Lakes Deployment. This exercise, which has two ships visiting several ports along the Great Lakes and the…
On Friday, the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Battle of the Somme, and more specifically the Battle of Beumont-Hamel, was marked with a ceremony at the Canadian War Museum. It was a beautiful day and attendance is estimated to be around the 600 person mark. The Master of Ceremonies, Herb Davis of the…
On Sunday, a ceremony was held at the Monument to the Canadian Fallen, in Ottawa, to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the signing of the Korean Armistice. The ceremony was held under a bright hot sky with guests shielded by the shade of nearby trees. The reception following the ceremony was held at the Chateau…
The day started out badly. Torrential rain and high winds showed no sign of abatement right up until noontime. But the Lord loves the military and the rain let up in time for the National Military Ride, a motorcycle procession that ends at the National Military Cemetery (Beechwood Cemetery) where the riders participated in a…