A Great Day To Be A Dragoon It has been my absolute privilege to serve with both of these Fine Dragoons as well as many other familiar faces throughout this video. To me, they are not only just former co-workers and friends in a place I used to work, but, they are all part of the Regimental Family as Brothers and Sisters. Some of you may wonder what the difference is and I hope to make you understand In an earlier post, I mentioned about the incoming Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) CWO Shawn Mercer and from the start I didn’t know what to make of him in our Tank Troop. But, due to his outgoing and Tactically Savvy persona that he had shown, that quickly faded and I knew then he would be where he is today. I also have memories of Outgoing RSM CWO Bill Richards as Warrant Officer Richards and our Tank Squadron’s Logistically Savvy Squadron Quartermaster. If you needed it, chances are that he would make it appear out of nowhere. But what he did just recently made this Old Air Force Corporal Truly feel like he had just come home!!! Last November, while I was attending a two week course held at Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering, (CFSATE) in CFB Borden Ontario, I thought it would be a good idea to attend the Regiments celebration of the Battle of Leliefontein. After receiving final details from a good friend and a Squadron Sergeant Major in the Regiment, Gerry Olsen, I was in luck to find a ride and a place to stay while I was there. Another former Dragoon, Garth Thomas, was also attending a course in CFB Borden and he was going back home to Petawawa Ontario, where the Dragoons are based, for the weekend. When we left Borden, I was excited as this would be the first time I have been to the Regiment in over 8 years. The day of the parade, I had arrived in my RCAF Blue Uniform and was instantly greeted by a few old friends, then a few more, then a few more, all the time making me feel like a long lost Brother while introducing me to others who came in after me. They all did this, even if I was now an Air Force Mechanic, and didn’t have the combat experience that they had in those 8 years I had been away. It was a great feeling. During the parade, I spectated with a great friend, John Harju and his wife Linda as well as a few others. Others came around as well who I hadn’t seen in such a long time to at least say “Hello” including the Previous Commanding Officer of the Regiment who I knew as a Captain in our previous Regiment (the 8th Canadian Hussars) and a Major before I left Dragoons in 2004 in Petawawa. After the conclusion of the Parade I was invited by Chris Keith to see new additions to the Regimental Headquarters. With the new additions I also met up with the Patron of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, Mr. David Batten. He was a Photo Journalist with MacLeans Magazine who during my tour to Bosnia, I was his Security Escort in the streets of Sarajevo. As we were reminiscing about Sarajevo, it was here that CWO Bill Richards gave me the best feeling in the world and one that I will never forget. As CWO Richards and the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Atherton, were hurriedly moving through the hall to get ready for the Reception after the Parade, he went by me and in MID STEP…stopped, and faced me. “Heyyyyyyyyyyy…How ya doing???”…he said with his outreached hand to shake mine and the biggest smile on his face. “Are you going to the Reception??” I said I was and he said “good!!!” CWO Bill Richards then pointed me out to LCol Atherton who I not remembered to have had the pleasure of meeting before, and said Proudly “Sir this is Corporal Norden. No matter where they are in the world or for how long…THEY WILL ALWAYS COME BACK HOME!!!!!” Those words gave me the best feeling in the world and made me feel like I still belonged. That my friends, is the difference between Co-workers and Friends at a job and Brothers and Sisters in a Regimental Family!!! That Sense of Belonging was further exemplified by others that I had not seen in years during the Parade Reception and Party later on that night. It truly made it…”A Great Day To Be A Dragoon”!!!!!!
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:46:34 +0000
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