84 graduate from their military training at Borden
By Bill Rea

The graduates were marched into the hall for the ceremonies.

Dec. 6 was a big day in the lives of 84 Canadians

They graduated from their basic military qualification course at the Naval Reserve Training Division at Canadian Forces Base Borden.

The graduation hall was filled with military officials, along with proud family and friends of the graduates. There were numerous individual celebrations after the ceremonies, with one of the graduates actually getting down on one knee before his girlfriend and popping the question.

Lt.-Cmdr. Bob Gwalchmai, deputy division commander of the naval reserve training division (and resident of Schomberg), said this group had just completed what might be more commonly known as basic training. He added they graduate seven of these classes annually.

The graduates heard a warm address from the reviewing officer, Capt. Hugh Latouneau, who said he had three target audiences.

He addressed the families of the graduates, observing some of them would have had some military experience, but others wouldn't. It was a 14-week course that these people had gone through, and if they said it was easy, that was only because they didn't want their families to worry.

Lt.-Cmdr. Bob Gwalchmai, deputy division commander of the naval reserve training division was chatting with Master Corporal Paul Franklin after the graduation ceremonies.

"Thank you for your support," he told them. "You've got every reason to be proud of the people standing in front of you this morning."

Latouneau also thanked the teaching staff of the training school.

"This didn't happen overnight," he observed, pointing out the staff were obliged to give up evenings and weekends over the course. "I feel your pain. Everybody owes you big time."

He also told the graduates he had been a recruit once, so as a present to them, "I'm going to keep it short."

"You've done good," he told them. "You have every reason to be proud of yourselves."

There were also some inspirational moments, such as meeting Master Corporal Paul Franklin, who had been a medic serving with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan until he encountered a suicide bomber Jan. 15, 2006. The incident cost him both his legs.

He his currently teaching tactical combat medicine at various bases across the country. He also said he talks to graduating classes, recalling that these people would be wondering what's going to happen to them next.

"They don't want to be a wounded soldier," he said. "They want to be a soldier."

Gwalchmai added the Chief of Defence Staff has stated any service person injured in the line of duty "will be encouraged to return to the military for as long as they want. We will find some way to employ him."

"When it goes horribly wrong, you can still rise above it," Gwalchmai observed.

Taking the 14-week course was full-time commitment, Gwalchmai said.

The day for the recruits started at about 5:30 a.m. and went until about 10 p.m. The hours are taken up with training and exercises, and Gwalchmai added there were some all-nighters included.

"We have to put these recruits under as much stress as we can, without causing them any harm," he observed, adding it's important that they learn to count on each other as a team. "The key in the military is teamwork."

He said they tend to go into the program with a civilian mentality, and then about half-way through it, "that military light snaps on."

Once they start to fully appreciate the the team work, they start to thrive on the motivation of their peers.

The graduates were about to enter the regular service of the Forces. Gwalchmai said some were to be soldiers in training, others would be medics, MPs, etc., through trade training. A few of them were considered skilled entrants, such as MPs who already had police training when they came in. They would be looking forward to rapid promotion to corporal, since they already had qualifications.

One of those was Private Ron LaChapelle from Peterborough, who was about an hour away from his corporal promotion before becoming an MP.

Why did he enter the program? "One specific reason," he replied, "to serve my country."

Even though the 21-yearold had training, he still had to go through an interview process through the MP Assessment Centre. He said 18 tried to get in, but only about 10 actually made it.

He also said the training was rigorous. "It's kind of a double-sided sword," he remarked, commenting it was a little hard to adjust to being together all the time with 50 or 60 other people. But in other ways, he said it was easy.

"I knew what I was getting myself into and I wanted to keep my head in the game," he said.

"You have to push yourself constantly, on a daily basis," LaChapelle added. "It was a tough corner. Every day, you had to try your hardest."

There also wasn't a lot of downtime for the recruits. "You have to earn your weekends off," he said.

The recruits were divided into two platoons, and the whole platoon had to earn the time off. So one person messing up could ruin the weekend plans for about 40 other people.

Gwalchmai said not everyone gets through the course. Some decide it's not for them and voluntarily leave. Some of them might be injured and take themselves out, but are able to try again. Others aren't able to meet the fitness requirements, although he said there are programs they can take advantage of to build themselves up. He also said there's the reality that some people just aren't cut out for military life, and they just fail to catch on.

"You could just see in every one of them," he said, referring to the graduates. "They're really pleased to be here."