My VAC Account
My VAC AccountGrowing up on a dairy farm in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Sergeant (retired) Joan Buchanan learned the importance of hard work. “If you don’t get up and do your work, the cows don’t get fed.”
Buchanan emigrated to Toronto at the age of 17. Sixteen years later, she joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), where the work ethic she says she gained on the farm has served her well.
On a hot August afternoon, former Military Medic Sergeant (Retired) Jessica Miller arranges bouquets in an air conditioned building on her rural Nova Scotia flower and vegetable farm. The air is fresh and fragrant as she cuts the stems, explaining how she had grown and arranged the flowers for a swanky Annapolis Valley wedding the night before.
Few people can say they have achieved their childhood dream, but Corporal (Retired) Jean-Sébastien Bergeron is one of them. When Bergeron was five years old, he watched Commando and wanted to be like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character, John Matrix. Achieving your dreams isn’t easy, especially when the career you love is no longer an option for you, because of your body.
Jean-François joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1996 and completed his artillery course in Shilo, Manitoba, before being posted to Valcartier.
In 2002, he deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina for seven months as part of the Canadian Armed Forces operation in the country. In 2004, he deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan, for six months followed by a second, nine-month tour to Kandahar two years later.
After playing 63 ramp ceremonies in Afghanistan, Master Corporal James Gendron was ready to hang his bagpipes up for good.
His heart just couldn’t take the solemn melodies of ‘”Amazing Grace” or “Flowers of the Forest,” the Scottish lament for lost loved ones.
“At the end of my tour, I was pretty much done playing bagpipes,” he said.
In the 1970s, one of the best ways to become a pilot was to take the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) training called “Aero-TP”. This program allowed new recruits to take university courses and become an officer. This was the path Jacques Laplante took after enrolling in 1973.
Young, physically fit and in his first year of university, Hugh Egener seemed like a natural fit for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). He originally intended to join the RCMP to help pay for his education. After receiving a firm “no” from them, he walked past the CAF recruitment office. Recruiters were so convincing that he enlisted.
When 17-year old Harold Strul joined the Army Reserves in Montreal, he says he had no idea of the adventures he would take or the second family he would meet. He was still underage in 1987, so his parents had to give permission for him to join.
After 34 years of service, both in the Reserves and Regular Army, Harold is training for the Invictus Games and enjoying being part of a military family again.
Master Warrant Officer (Retd) Guylaine Lamoureux joined the navy in 1997 when she was 26 years old. A dental technician by trade, Guylaine—Gee for short—saw military service as an opportunity to use her training in new ways. The next 21 years were in turns inspiring, challenging, rewarding and heartbreaking.
The journey to life after service is rarely straightforward and often includes pitfalls, but when you are offered a hand or two so you can climb out of the hole, you can find your footing again.
When Sergeant (Retired) Guillaume Durand medically released from the army in 2021, he felt that everything had been taken from him, including his purpose and identity. Struggling with chronic pain and PTSD, Durand turned to alcohol and drugs to cope. He was even homeless for a time, feeling so alone.
