Season 5: Service and sacrifice across generations

Music [00:00]

Host [00:5]

For over 100 years, millions of Canadians have proudly served our country in uniform. All of us benefit from their incredible service and sacrifice. It is our duty to honour and remember them. They have served in many roles both at home and abroad. From peacekeeping missions around the world, to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan. They have fought for freedom, helped restore peace and security, and responded to emergencies.

They proudly served, and their bravery will never be forgotten.

They are our Faces of Freedom.

Music [00:37]

Host [00:41]

Josh Bowen grew up in a family where global issues were discussed often and helping others was a moral obligation. He joined the Primary Reserves of the Canadian Army in April of 2004, as part of the Governor General’s Foot Guards. After completing a Master’s degree in Disaster and Emergency Management, he went on to serve 13 years in the Canadian Armed Forces. During this time, Bowen was directly involved in four disaster response operations—a cornerstone of his proud military career.

Music [01:12]

Josh Bowen [01:17]

So my first job was ceremonial guard and that was just a really great experience. You know we did the parades and the drill and the ceremonial stuff in the mornings and then got to spend the entire afternoons and you know a few days off doing soldier skills. And so, it was a really good experience in terms of being an introduction to the military and the idea of we have a job to do and we have certain responsibilities and roles that we have to carry out. And then there’s a whole lot of other things in terms of skills and in terms of technical training that needed to be done and we got exposed to all of that throughout.

And then I went to school in Toronto, leaving Ottawa after that, transferred to the Royal Regiment of Canada and spent the remainder of my undergrad and my Masters time working with the Royals in Toronto. First off as an infantry soldier and then in 2005, I was enrolled in the Regular Officer Training Plan and continued at University of Toronto and stayed attached to the Reserve Regiment. It was incredible to get the skills and the training and the summers from the regular force and then come back and get to apply everything throughout the winter and through the academic year with the reserves. And it was because of my primary reserve service that I ultimately did the Master’s program that I did.

Music [02:45]

Josh Bowen [02:50]

I had the opportunity to deploy on four domestic disaster response operations, which is actually becoming pretty normal these days for members of the CAF. It’s kind of this standard experience that a lot of people are getting now, post-Afghanistan. And really, sort of being able to go and serve Canadians at home in their time of need which is a true privilege and an honour.

Music [03:19]

Host [03:24]

Bowen’s first domestic deployment was in May 2011, to respond to the flooding of the Assiniboine River in southern Manitoba. The massive flood fighting efforts involved thousands of volunteers and emergency officials, including 1,800 members of the Canadian military.

The flood displaced more than 7,000 Manitobans and affected three million hectares of farmland, requiring ranchers to move thousands of livestock. For Bowen, it was the encounters with locals—where he witnessed the true nature of Canadians—that really hit home.

Music [03:55]

Josh Bowen [03:59]

Uh, so in 2011, I was with the 1st Battalion PPCLI in Edmonton. We just finished a large series of training exercises over the winter and supporting some work up training for the 3^rd Battalion that was about to go over to Afghanistan. And I was a platoon commander, we got called out to go support domestic operation floods in Manitoba.

Music [04:28]

Josh Bowen [04:32]

We were out dealing with, uh, reinforcing a dyke and a water diversion with sandbags. And a truck came up and some members of the community got out and they said “hello, who’s in charge?” and I was the closest person and I said “hi” at the time, “I’m Lieutenant Bowen, how can I help you?” And they said “we want to thank you for everything that you’re doing for the people of Manitoba and everything that you’re doing to save our community. We brought some food and will continue to bring food every day to support you, to say thank you. We want nothing in return. Our community is fine, but we just want to thank you for everything you’re doing to support us.” And that, that was a moment that you know, not a lot of people got to experience. The food was amazing, haha for the record. But it was Canadians saying thank you for helping other people out. And in disasters, we so often have this myth of you know everybody for themselves and it’s chaos and looting and all of those kinds of things, and that’s just Hollywood. What I’ve witnessed time and again was people coming out and helping each other, saying how can I help? Where can I help?

Music [05:56]

Host [06:02]

Bowen went on to support three more domestic operations between 2013 and 2016. In 2013, he provided humanitarian assistance and disaster relief after major flooding in southern Alberta. Two years later, he was sent to northern Saskatchewan to support the firefighting efforts following intense wildfires.

When natural disasters strike without notice, the Canadian Armed Forces is able to provide a great deal of support and expertise very quickly. Bowen’s final major domestic deployment was no exception. In 2016, he was sent to Alberta, when the province asked for military assistance evacuating residents threatened by dangerous wildfires near Fort McMurray.

The CAF deployed 65 service members, five helicopters and one Hercules aircraft. During the operation, they carried over 350 evacuees to safety and flew firefighters and cargo in and out of the affected area.

Music [07:00]

Josh Bowen [07:05]

The morning of May 3, 2016, as far as we knew, everything was under control and by the afternoon there was a mandatory evacuation order for 90,000 people. It was a matter of getting in and supporting and being able to figure out how to coordinate and what assets we could bring from the CAF to be able to support and what was the total extent. So that really became about building relationships and building trust very quickly and as quickly as possible to be able to support and to be able to move forward and truly assist the people that were that had been evacuated from Fort Mac. And then being able to support bringing in firefighters and supporting some of the First Nations that were north of Fort Mac who, because they’re fly-in communities... so we did a whole bunch of airlift to be able to support that, which again was never something that I thought we’d have to do in Canada. But it’s a unique capability that the military brings, and it’s something that you know we’ve learned overseas and have learned here in terms of how to conduct humanitarian relief.

And so it was just an absolute incredible experience to be able to take the things that I’ve learned in the military about how do we move convoys through dangerous areas, how do we provide aerial support and overwatch to make sure that any kind of hazard is not approaching or any threat is not approaching. And we applied some similar principles to be able to make sure that it was safe to get the 15,000 people who evacuated north of the city to drive through it and south while the wildfire was still going on. So flying a helicopter over top of the RCMP moving people through the town just so we could have good situational awareness and eyes on the wildfire meant that the province was able to get everybody safely out of danger and through the community.

Music [09:12]

Host [09:18]

Now released from the military, Josh Bowen looks back on his time in uniform fondly, attributing much of his success—and driving force—to the people he met along the way.

Music [09:27]

Josh Bowen [09:33]

I had a commanding officer once say, “if in everything you do here, you relentlessly pursue excellence, you will meet the minimum standard to be part of this team.” And that was just such an incredible empowering comment and direction and so, in so many ways it’s learning ‘How can I be better, how can I learn from whatever I’ve done and take every opportunity to learn as much as I possibly can?’ I was really lucky in my career to be able to work with some incredible leaders at all levels. And I believe the definition of leader should be: people choose to follow you. And this means that leader isn’t necessarily based on rank or title. I’ve had soldiers who I’ve chosen to follow and they’ve taught me new things throughout my career that I never would have learned if I had been stuck on ‘leadership as a privilege of rank’ mentality. And in many ways, I’d say that I learned more about leading from the teams that I served with than I ever did at any career course. The courses give me the framework for how to plan and conduct operations and execute tactical skills, but leadership is all about people. And I was really lucky to have mentors and guides that were both senior and junior to me to shape who I am and how I lead even after I’ve left the military. So in many ways, being able to give back and to continue to serve and share what so many people have taught me over the years. All these little tidbits and tricks, and thoughts and ideas and share that is really what drives me forward.

Music [11:44]

Host [11:51]

And with that, I’d like to thank you for listening to this episode of the Faces of Freedom podcast.

Never miss an episode by subscribing through your favorite podcasting app. You can also check out episodes from previous seasons covering a wide variety of stories from generations of Canadians. If you have a suggestion for a guest or story, reach us at Canada Remembers on Facebook and Instagram, and at Veterans Affairs Canada on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CanadaRemembers to tell us what you think. If you’re looking to dig even further into the stories of Canadian Veterans, we have a wide selection online at veterans.gc.ca.

Thanks for joining!

Until next time.

Music [00:00]

Host [00:05]

For over 100 years, millions of Canadians have proudly served our country in uniform. All of us benefit from their incredible service and sacrifice. It is our duty to honour and remember them. They have served in many roles both at home and abroad. From peacekeeping missions around the world, to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan. They have fought for freedom, helped restore peace and security, and responded to emergencies.

They proudly served, and their bravery will never be forgotten.

They are our Faces of Freedom.

Music [00:37]

Host [00:41]

Simon Mailloux was drawn to the military from a very young age. He was so eager to serve that he tried joining the air cadets at age eleven and was told he had to wait another year. His experience with them confirmed his desire to eventually serve his country. After finishing high school in July 2001, he was accepted to the College Militaire Royal in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, officially joining the Canadian Armed Forces. This would be the beginning of a long career with many challenges and triumphs.

Content warning [01:14]

The following podcast contains accounts and descriptions that some viewers may find troubling. Listener discretion is advised.

Music [01:22]

Simon Mailloux [01:26]

It always had been a dream of mine, of course, to find this space for me to grow. Some people find the military to be some sort of brace that would prevent them from being creative or finding their space to be comfortable. For me, it was the contrary. That kind of formative years were very helpful in getting, finding my footing, finding my imagination, finding how my leadership could grow and you know develop itself. So the army became more of an infostructure, something I could build on as oppose to something that was really restraining me. Being a Quebecer I’ve also been very fascinated by the Royal 22^nd Regiment, the Van Doos. Um, it’s a well known regiment and being from Quebec City, I saw them everywhere and you know, I wanted to be one of them. It was a kind of a childhood dream as well to get there so joining in the infantry was a no brainer. It’s also, you know, you see them deployed around the world, you saw them in the news, you saw them doing all that stuff so it was encouraging and I wanted to be part of that.”

Music [02:34]

Host [02:39]

After the terrorist attacks in the United States by al-Qaeda on 11 September 2001, Canada pledged its full support and contributed forces to the international fight against terrorism.

More than 40,000 Canadians would go on to serve in the Afghanistan theatre of operations--the largest deployment of Canadian military personnel since the Second World War.

Six years into his military career, Simon Mailloux was deployed to Afghanistan for the first time.

Music [03:09]

Simon Mailloux [03:13]

“It’s a change of culture as far away from us as possible. They’re very big believers in Islam but they also have a different culture, different way of life and you’ve got to adapt to that. But not to say that they don’t have a super interesting culture. Super like…Their food is delicious, they have some poetry, they have some music, but it’s very, very different than ours. So for us to comprehend that it takes a while. Also, Kandahar City, which was the first city we saw coming out of the base, is a million people in size. It’s a huge city, it’s sprawling but it doesn’t go up, it just sprawls around. So culturally, a very different country to be in.

Music [3:55]

Simon Mailloux [3:59]

“To this day, I still remember the eyes of the kids, um, and I have a daughter now who is eight, um, but she doesn’t have the same eyes. The kids over there were five, six, seven years old and they looked like they were old. Their face was old and their eyes were old. They’ve seen stuff that they shouldn’t have seen at their age.

So I saw them growing up so fast and their prospects of living were very, very harsh, very difficult. So you can’t, you cannot judge them for the way they behave or the way they are. They live in very different conditions than we are. That being said, clearly the rights of women over there are trampled and are difficult to keep alive and it’s going to be a constant struggle. But yeah, it is difficult to see these things on a daily basis from a Canadian who probably comes from a society that’s one of the richest we can have in terms of human rights. To go to that kind of darker images sometimes it was difficult and we had to talk about it a lot.

Music [5:05]

Simon Mailloux [5:10]

“There were tougher moments, fights, ambushes. But usually our soldiers are so good, we managed just quite well and we had overpower in the air [inaudible] The only way they could hurt us and hit us very badly was through IEDs. And they did that once, I did lose a soldier, one of my drivers, Simon Longtin, a corporal, to an IED event followed by an ambush that we fought off. He unfortunately died during the event.  

Music [05:41]

 Host [05:46]

While he faced many obstacles and challenges in Afghanistan, nothing could prepare him for what would happen next.

Music [05:52]

Simon Mailloux [05:57]

I was in another operation, a night operation, and that’s when my vehicle hit an IED, uhh, where um most of the people in the back were either heavily injured or died during the event. So following that, I lost two soldiers, my signaler Michel Lévesque, and my medic, Nicolas Beauchamp and our Afghan interpreter and other soldiers that were quite heavily injured. Um, which resulted in our evacuation and also two amputations for some of us.”

So the evacuation process, the line for us was from the FOB forwards where there was a doctor there to patch us up quickly. Blackhawk helicopter evacuation back to Kandahar Air Field where there is a Role 3 which is basically a field hospital there, um. They kept us alive there, they put veins to try to save my leg. The other soldiers that were with me as well got pretty much, you know. We stayed there for about four to five days ready to be evacuated through back to Landstuhl in Germany which is a US hospital that was built during the Cold War to absorb all of the casualties that were to be expected fighting the Soviets. So it’s a giant hospital, near an airport. So it’s quite well prepared for what was to come which was all the wounded for Afghanistan and Iraq.

That’s where they had to do the amputation. Um, so on my left leg, through the knee and to be honest it only occurred to me by bits and pieces. I woke up and my memory was kind of in puzzle pieces. I had to put things back together. I had no idea where I was when I woke up.

Music [07:51]

Host [07:57]

He returned to Canada to begin a difficult rehabilitation and adjust to life with a prosthesis. But as far as he was concerned, his business in Afghanistan was unfinished.

Music [08:07]

Simon Mailloux [08:12]

The mission wasn’t over, so the guys were still there and they were still fighting. There were Van Doos on the field doing the job and Canadians in danger over there so the mission wasn’t over. Part of it was I wanted to kind of show it that kind of prove to myself that I was able to do it and there was no better proof. No better fitness test than going back in the box and fighting it out. Nobody can argue after that that you can’t do the job right?”

If you look at IEDs, they’re not weapons of destruction so much as weapons of fear, right. What they’re trying to do there, yes they cause casualties and some material losses and things like that, don’t get me wrong. But the main weapon it instills on our troops is fear. They don’t want to go out, they don’t want to step there, they don’t know where it is. It’s like a minefield. You know you’re in one, where do you walk, you don’t know. You don’t move, you stay there. That’s what they’re trying to do with an IED. Um, so coming back from it, even though you can wound us, you know, give us a bit of time and we’ll pack up again and we’ll get back in the box. Yes, it is defeating what they were trying to do to us. Not only physically, but also mentally—you don’t break a Canadian soldier that way.”

For me, it was a victory just to get back, land that foot, that first prosthetic foot on Kandahar Air Field in November of ’09 which is exactly 24 months later, it was a victory for me.”

Music [09:44]

Host [9:48]

Mailloux continues to proudly serve today.

As he thinks about the future for his daughter, he has a simple message for all Canadians…

Simon Mailloux [9:56]

All we ask for is not glory and medals, what we ask for is just know that when our soldier make the sacrifice, you know, just remember us. You know, je me souviens is the motto of my regiment. You know, the memory you carry of us, that’s all it is for us”

Music [10:18]

Host [10:27]

And with that, I’d like to thank you for listening to this episode of the Faces of Freedom podcast.

Never miss an episode by subscribing through your favorite podcasting app. You can also check out episodes from previous seasons covering a wide variety of stories from generations of Canadians. If you have a suggestion for a guest or story, reach us at Canada Remembers on Facebook and Instagram, and at Veterans Affairs Canada on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CanadaRemembers to tell us what you think. If you’re looking to dig even further into the stories of Canadian Veterans, we have a wide selection online at veterans.gc.ca.

Thanks for joining!

Until next time.