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The Reservists
By Ann Ivy Male, Mississauga Life Newspaper
“G
od keep our land, glorious and free”—a salute to our
Reservists; the men and women who support our
Regular Force in safeguarding our country.
In the world of the modern family, it would appear that our lives
are a constant juggling act. Our electronic calendars are buzzing
reminders of how demanding our lives have become with work
obligations, kids in school, after-school activities, sports and
social events. Now, add in the role of Reservist and life gets even
more intriguing, yet this is just what many of our firefighters,
police officers, businessmen, students and educators have chosen
to do, alongside their daily responsibilities. Reservists, also known
as our “citizen sailors,” have a primary role “to augment, sustain,
and support the Regular Force plus they have made substantial
contributions to Canada’s international and/or domestic operations.”
There is even a sub-component of Reservists called the
Canadian Rangers who protect our remote north.
I recently interviewed two Reservists who are dedicated family
men with careers in the Education system. They both take pride
in their efforts to keep a balanced home-life and career, in addition
to following their Canadian dream by proudly serving our
country.
Petty Officer 1 st Class Roy Adamson is a Health and Physical
Education and Science teacher with The Peel District School
Board. He has been serving our country as a Naval Reservist for
the last 21 years. Roy’s father, who passed away when he was
seven, was in the Navy for a brief time as a cook. When Roy was
sixteen, he was searching for a worthwhile summer job and decided
to join the Canadian Forces Naval Reserve through their Summer
Youth Employment Program.
The first year of basic training was in Kingston, Ont., on board
HMCS CATARAQUI, and upon completion of the program, Roy
accepted a position as Boatswain–taking care of the ship’s husbandry
(painting, cleaning, specializing in small arms, operating
and navigating zodiacs and rigid-hulled inflatable boats, supervising
all deck evolutions, coordinating and performing watch on
deck). The next summer, Roy was stationed in Esquimalt, B.C.,
where he was involved in environmental training drills such as
firefighting, damage control and biological/nuclear warfare training.
Roy was hooked and soon found himself in Halifax, N.S., on
board a WW2 relic, HMCS PORTE ST. JEAN. His duties on that
training mission included learning how to sail, being part of the
ship’s crew and maintaining the ship. “I was a teenager and I
wanted a job that was challenging and different from what most
of my peers were doing,” Roy explains. “Sailing on board a Navy
vessel gave me a huge sense of pride, especially when watching
a sunset at sea with our Canadian flag blowing in the wind.”
6 LINK Vol. 21, No. 3, November 2012
PO 1 Roy Adamson in his classroom.
(Photo by John Cicci.)
I asked Roy to elaborate on how his training with the Navy has
helped him in his daily life. “It was invaluable,” he said. “It taught
me discipline and instilled self-confidence. The whole experience
was life altering; it ignited a sense of adventure and helped me to
develop strong leadership, communication and organizational
skills which I use now as a teacher and with my family commitments.”
Roy happens to be my daughter’s teacher and she speaks favorably
of him, but more importantly, someone else who speaks very
highly of Roy is his wife. The day I interviewed Nancy, who is a
French teacher, she was meticulously organizing her classroom
and prepping for maternity leave. The couple was expecting their
second child that Friday and I asked her how they maintain balance
in their lives.
She tells me that when they first met, she got accustomed to
Roy’s commitments in terms of training and time away and how
as a couple they incorporated it into their relationship.
Nevertheless, while it was manageable when it was just the two of
them, things got more challenging when they decided to start a
family.
“It wasn’t easy at times, but we had to make a compromise and
gauge what was best for our family life, especially when our first
child was born. We decided together that Roy needed to scale
back on some of his Navy commitments so he could spend time
at home. When he was away on training, our extended family was
a huge support. I often feel that it’s more difficult for Roy sometimes
because he is torn between meeting family obligations and