A long, long, long, loooong, loooooong, amazing day

The following record is the account of what 524 Sturgeon RCACS did June 12, 2010.

Everyone gathered at our LHQ at 0815 hrs with great anticipation of the day to come. The bus arrived and we got on board careful not to scuff our shining boots. We had been preparing our uniforms for days and didn't want to ruin them. We wanted to look our best for inspection by the... The bus rode on to Redwater. It looked like a ghost town with barricades around the center of town. The bus parked and we all piled out. Another larger charter bus arrived, and out came 1 CMBG Headquarters & Signal Squadron. The the RCMP pipes and drums band practiced across the street. I formed up 524 as 1 Sigs (as they call themselves) collected their rifles and webbing. Redwater still looked empty besides those of us in uniform. We awaited orders from our CO who was seeking more information on our mission.

Finally I see my first civilian. A man from the town office introduces himself to me and I nervously follow after putting my 2IC in command of the squadron. I meet the mayor whom I will be escorting to the car of the reviewing officer when he arrives. I see other cadets of mine being posted to guard duties at the barricades. Some also begin seating guests in front of the town office. I feel immense pride at the way they conduct themselves. The parade square and dais is set in the town office parking lot.

It stating to get hot outside. 524 forms up under FSgt Elmore. I'm am still utterly nervous. A car with little flags on it arrives at the assigned spot. I escort the mayor and his wife up to it. I make a mistake. Crap, I hope no one notices or remembers. I stand at attention. Your Honour I say as I bring my arm up to salute. I get to meet the new Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta! His Honour is here to be the RO for a freedom of the city parade. I get back to my squadron still anxious not to make mistakes. 1 Sigs Squadron does their ceremony with the chief constable bringing the commander to the office. The parade was great! Who cares if the sun was in our eyes the entire time. Four cadets had to fall out during the parade.

I even saw one female turn green. All of them once taken out were eager to get back into flight, they acted like they were missing something important and were sorry their bodies had failed them. We were inspected by His Honour and he spoke to many of the cadets. At the end we followed 1 Sigs for a march around the town hall. Afterward, we took a look at some DND vehicles on display (like the Bison command version) and we emptied many water bottles.

We got back to the LHQ and changed into our civies. We had a bit of a break, ate lunch (pizza), and redid our uniforms. Next, we did some needed practice for our ACR. We had 15 min to get into our uniforms and get ourselves near our positions. Mr. Fred Johnson was our RO for the ACR. Everyone was much more comfortable in the cool arena. I liked the way my voiced echoed through the building when I called commands. Lots of promotions were given out and two medals. We were
congratulated many times on our drill.

We had 45 min to show our static displays to parents and have some snacks before the dinner. My static display was a rifle drill display with three other cadets. At the dinner I had to sit at the head table. I felt lonely up there, kind of ex-communicated. I think I might have preferred sitting with my fellow cadets and having some laughs, than looking good in front of the parents. Well with responsibility comes...

Anyway, there was great food, lots of awards and the level certificates were given out.

To see the list of promotions and awards go to my other blog.