Why they're committed to their efforts

Heroes Remember

Why they're committed to their efforts

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Transcript

The, the military's not for everybody, and nor should it be. But if you do join the military, rely on your training, and the experience of those that are older and more experienced. And, and listen to them and learn. And you have an opportunity, talk to some other Veterans about, about their experiences and stuff. And they'll learn what it is. It's not, it's not a cut and dry lesson, but you learn by hearing, and then through the training. If you don't join the military, you still should learn about it. And learn by listening to these tapes and that's why I think this is a great idea. You have to try and determine in your own mind, is it, is it valuable that we, that we're there. And if it comes down to the question of, are we doing good? I'll say yes we're always doing good because if we save one life, that's doing good. You have to understand what's, the whole situation, you have to see how we fit into the world and everything else, but how do you prepare yourself, for this kind of stuff and the idea that people you know, may be going over and that. I'm really not sure how you would do it, and it's probably an individual thing, but the best thing is through education and learning, understanding and trying to not, out of the text book understand, and not understand the political reasons that these things happen, but understand the commitments of the people the, all the UN soldiers not just the Canadians, but all the UN soldiers, that get involved in these. The role of our military in, within Canada, what is, what is our purpose and what is, what is really the reason we have one? Learn, learn that and through that, and you'll understand, you'll start to understand why the soldiers do what they do and why they're committed to, to their efforts. And possibly even come up with some ideas of an understanding of why our politicians, at various times or another, don't seem to support or give the support to the, and from that you'll, you'll have an understanding and maybe be in a position to affect some change. Either politically or just socially within the group that you're, you're with and possibly overseas.

Description

Mr. Laxton challenges Canada's youth to understand the role of Canada's military.

David Laxton

Mr. Laxton was born into a military family in New Westminster, British Columbia, in 1955. He enlisted in the army in 1975, knowing that it meant he could provide for his young family. Mr. Laxton's first unit was the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH(RC)) an armoured unit in Calgary. His first UN posting was to Egypt in 1978/79 where he was promoted to MCpl. In 1984 he went to the Mapping and Charting Establishment (MCE) and trained as a topographical surveyor and obtained a specialty in Terrain Analyst. In 1994 Mr. Laxton led the first terrain team to the tactical level when deployed with the Canadian contingent of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Bosnia. He served two tours of duty there, 1994 and 1995. After leaving the service, Mr. Laxton settled in Whitehorse, Yukon, where he is currently employed by the Territorial government as a GIS specialist.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 2:53
Person Interviewed:: David Laxton
War, Conflict or Mission:: Canadian Armed Forces
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: Lord Strathcona's Horse
Rank:: Sergeant
Occupation:: Armoured Crewman Terrain Analyst / Topographical Surveyor

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Why they're committed to their efforts

Heroes Remember