Posted - Alberta Bound

After a seemingly interminable delay, I finally received a posting instruction that will send me and my wife to Canadian Forces Base Suffield. It will be a big change, trading the hills of the Annapolis Valley and the shores of the Bay of Fundy for the rolling prairie of SE Alberta. For my wife Kay, a lover of geology and of fossils, it will mean a chance to explore the badlands around Drumheller, visit the Royal Tyrrell Dinosaur Museum, and finally see the Rockie Mountains. For me, it will be a chance to return to an Army environment with the added bonus of getting to know the unique and historic culture of the British Army. BATUS (British Army Training Unit Suffield) is based there, so there is a permanent British presence and regular visitations from British (and other NATO) army units who come to use the sizeable training ranges.

Kay and I will be busy finalizing our home sale, winding down Kay's job at a local garden centre, arranging the move, and taking some leave time. There are also some things we want to see and do in Nova Scotia before we go, to round out this blog's category of Adventures in Atlantic Canada before we start a category called Adventures in Alberta and Adventures with the Brits. Wish us luck.

What Makes a Good General, Part Two - Tom Ricks on George S. Patton

Recently defence blogger Tom Ricks has been documenting some of the more outlandish, outrageous, anti-semitic, misanthropic and generally hateful things said by George S. Patton, the iconic US general of World War Two. Had Patton been in command in Afghanistan today and said any of these things, he would have been relieved of command faster than you can say Stanley McChrystal. But as Ricks points out, he was in a league of his own on the battlefield.

It's interesting to compare and contrast Patton with US General David Petraeus. One was a hard-charging crusty cavalryman, the other is a shrewd and tactful soldier-scholar with a Ph.D. Both probably the right men for their place and time. But as Ricks reminds us, good generals don't have to be likeable.

The Ministry of the Chaplain's Assistant

The US military has a trade that you won't find in the Canadian Forces, that of the Chaplain's Assistant, a non-commissioned member who assists a chaplain in his or her ministry. I came across this profile of one such soldier in today's US DOD news and found it worth posting here as an example of this trade. The CF Chaplaincy Branch is currently considering the creation of an equivalent trade.

Face of Defense: Chaplain Assistant Serves With Passion
By Army Sgt. Jessica Rohr
135th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq, June 25, 2010 – Army Sgt. Keith D. Wright, a native of Brunswick, Ga., is serving here on his fourth deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.


Army Sgt. Keith D. Wright, a chaplain assistant for the 3rd Infantry Division’s Special Troops Battalion, is serving on his fourth deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom at Contingency Operating Base Speicher near Tikrit, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jessica Rohr
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

A chaplain assistant with the 3rd Infantry Division’s Special Troops Battalion, Wright said he joined the Army to get some direction in life after high school.

“One job that came up was metal worker,” he said. “In high school, I did welding for a semester, so I was already familiar with it. I was like, ‘Hey I could do that.’ They built up my confidence and skills.”






Army Sgt. Keith D. Wright, a chaplain assistant for the 3rd Infantry Division’s Special Troops Battalion, is serving on his fourth deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom at Contingency Operating Base Speicher near Tikrit, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jessica Rohr


After he completed his active-duty enlistment, Wright served with the Georgia Army National Guard from 2003 to 2006. While in the Guard, he developed interest in a new specialty.

“During my transition from active duty to a civilian, I had a maturing experience mentally and coming into the faith. I am now a Christian,” Wright said. “When I got activated with the National Guard, I found out about chaplain assistants. … That’s when I decided my desire or passion wasn’t for welding.”

The idea appealed to him in light of the changes in his life, Wright said.

Read the whole story here.