Canadian Armed Forces

Martine Roy says she was a “little bit punk” when she joined the Army in the summer of 1983.

“I had really spiky hair, honestly, I didn't know what I was doing,” the Montreal native remembers.

She made daily calls telling her Mom she wanted to come home, that the rules and regulations of military life weren’t for her.

“I was scared. I was saying ‘get me out of here, where am I? They’re crazy,’” she said.

Nevertheless, she persisted—with her basic training and English language training.

His first posting was to central Alberta in the early 1980s, to a communication and radar station (a “Diefenbunker”) in Penhold. His first deployment outside North America came in 1985. while serving with the 1st Canadian Signals Regiment (1CSR) when he deployed to the Golan Heights as part of the UNDOF (United Nations Disengagement Observer Force).

“Flying into Damascus while looking over the cities you’re flying over,” Charlton says “You would see the surface to air missiles that were surrounding the airport.”

Marc-Daniel was born in Montreal in 1984. He studied at Collège Ahuntsic in Montreal and considered working in a prison, but a colleague who was in the process of joining the Canadian Armed Forces inspired him to enlist. Marc-Daniel joined the infantry when he was 24. The war in Afghanistan was raging, and he felt compelled to do his part. He trained in Saint-Jean and at CFB Valcartier.

“The infantry was demanding. I was motivated by the possibility of deploying quickly.”

For the Canadian Airborne Regiment arriving on their first peacekeeping mission, the outlook was encouraging. “The operational theatre was quiet,” recalls then-Platoon Commander Marc Caron. Then, on July 15^th, everything changed.

Luc Lacasse was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, in 1957. He grew up and went to school there and also took part in the Cub Scout and Scout movements. To help pay for some of his education, Luc joined the militia, with the Fusiliers de Sherbrooke, in 1973.

While in university, Luc spoke with an acquaintance who had just joined the military air force as a pilot. He was also interested in this career path and decided to join the regular forces in 1979.

After joining the Canadian Armed Forces in 1989, Kerry Mould completed his basic training in Chilliwack, British Columbia and went on to serve as a construction engineer. He followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, who served in the same role during the Second World War. His grandfather helped build the Alaska Highway and airfields across Canada and Alaska.

Over the next decade, Kerry Mould was posted to engineering sections across the country, including places like Goose Bay, Labrador, and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

While studying Art and Interior Design at Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario, McGlennon began pondering a career within the CAF. Though two of her uncles and a great-aunt had served during the Second World War, the thought had never really crossed her mind before then.

“I didn’t know if I would suit the military, or rather, if it would suit me.”

As a newly minted 17-year-old Canadian Armed Forces Safety Systems Specialist, Kareth Huber says she felt she was exactly where she was supposed to be in her life.

Growing up, she heard stories of her uncles’ and grandfather’s service as her family moved from base-to-base with her military aircraft mechanic father.

“I was proud of being a soldier. I was always destined to be that,” she said.