Socializing with the Soldiers

Heroes Remember

Socializing with the Soldiers

Transcript

It depends on your rank, I suppose. As a young officer, you’re not that much older than your soldiers. You’re twenty and your soldiers are seventeen and eighteen so you tend to be interested in the same things and that sort of thing as you go up a bit and you don’t have the same interests so there isn’t the same connection. There is a camaraderie but it’s very controlled in a disciplined unit. It’s one thing to go and have a beer with the boys, sort of thing, but it’s always necessary to know when to stop and when not to be there because they may look as though they enjoy your presence, they probably don’t.

Description

Mr. Kelly speaks about the camaraderie between officers and soldiers and the extent to which they chose to socialize.

Michael Kelly

Mr. Michael Kelly was born January 1940 in Sudbury, Ontario. Being active in the Cadet Program as a youngster, Mr. Kelly always held the idea that he would pursue a career in the military. Once of age, Mr. Kelly joined the Officer Candidate Plan School of Infantry at Camp Borden. Graduating as an officer, he accepted deployments overseas including Germany and Cyprus. Upon retirement from the army, Mr. Kelly held rank of major. After military service, he became quite involved in many organizations and worked with UNICEF and World Food Program in East Timor. Mr. Kelly has great pride in his membership with The Black Watch Regiment and is presently the president of the Upper Canada Branch of the Black Watch Association in Ottawa. He now resides in Ottawa with his wife Erica.

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