Regimental Society Newsletter - Lord Strathcona's Horse

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Commanding OfficerBy Lieutenant-Colonel P.P.J. DemersHappy New Year to all of theRegimental Family!After a well-deserved break (for allof us except C Sqn in Afghanistan),the Regiment is back in the saddle atthe pace we set last fall. B Sqn underMaj Chris Adams and MWO TonyBatty will be ready to deploy soonwith 2PPCLI Battlegroup, afterthe second half of its tank crewscomplete conversion training onthe Leopard 2 in Munster Germany.Those 60% of personnel who werewith the first B Sqn to deploy toAfghanistan in tanks will havespent just under one year in Canadabetween tours. Nevertheless, thetroops are up to the task and I haveno doubt that they will performbrilliantly, this time in Leopard2A6Ms. A change is as good as abreak they say!C Sqn, ledby MajTrevorGosselinand MWOGeoffBamford,is at the tailend of a verysuccessfuldeploymentwith3R22eR Battlegroup. They havetaken delivery of the new tanksstraight into combat operations. Idoubt that project directors wouldnormally recommend that, but CSqn pulled it off and demonstratedthe capabilities of this tank to someunlucky Taliban rocket and mortarcrews shortly after its arrival atits Forward Operating Base. Asthe Colonel of the Regiment hasmentioned, Cpl Nathan Hornburg,Strathconas Newsletterwho joined C Sqn from King’s OwnCalgary Regiment, was killed incombat last fall. After all of the predeploymenttraining and the time hewas on operations with C Sqn, weconsider him one of us. We willhonour this fine soldier in concertwith our brethren in the KOCR.A Sqn is back in the hopper. Thesquadron returned from operationswith 2RCR Battlegroup in Septemberand was reconstituted immediatelyafter its post-deployment leaveso that the new soldiers couldbe trained on the Leopard 1C2in preparation for squadron andbattlegroup exercises. Led by MajIan McDonnell and MWO DaveHall, they will be in Fort BlissTexas with 3RCR Battlegroup andthe remainder of Task Force 3-08throughout February. They willbe in Wainwright at the CanadianManoeuvre Training Centre in Apriland May and will replace B Sqnin Afghanistan at the end of thesummer. A Sqn will be augmentedby a troop(+) from The RCD. Thecycle is predicable after that, as CSqn will be reconstituted after itsreturn with a troop(+) from the 12eRBC, and will prepare to replaceA Sqn. Our tank squadrons haveacquitted themselves well underthe most difficult circumstancesand the Old Guard can rest assuredthat Strathconas are performingto the high standards set by ourpredecessors in every conflict sincethe Regiment’s formation for theBoer War.E Company, led by Capt JimCaruana and MWO Tim Turner,did not receive an operational taskfor their TOW Under ArmourImproved Target Acquisition System(TUA ITAS) Light ArmouredVehicles or their troops. They havePage 2Continued On Page 4RegimentalSergeant-MajorBy Chief Warrant Offi cer D.A. RossThe holidays are over, and a muchneeded break for all was had. Now itis back to business again. 2007 wasnot unlike the previous year, busy,frantic,and alsorewarding.I lookforwardto all thechallengesthat awaitus overthe next 6months in2008.In November, we saw the returnof A Sqn from their leave and therebuilding phase of that squadronfor TF 3-08. They are now fullymanned and are currently makingpreparations to head off to Texas,for some reason they don’t want totrain in Wainwright!B Sqn is well on their way toboarding the aircraft and is lookingforward to their tour, TF 1-08. Theywill be leaving around the end ofFebruary. They have completed mostof their training and preparation andare more than ready and capable ofcompleting their task in Afghanistan.I have no doubts that they willperform just as well as those thathave gone before them and willdo us all proud in true Strathconafashion. My only concern is howwill the squadron get Major Adamsin and out of the turret each day? Iheard him say that once he gets in,he is not getting out…until he runsout of food of course. I must say thebest of luck and a speedy return forContinued On Page 5www.strathconas.ca
Continued from Page 1Colonel of the Regimentthe Col Comdt RCAC, presented himwith the casing of a shell fired by BSqn in an operation in Afghanistanin December 06.On the home front those who havenot yet deployed, or who have justreturned, are maintaining a strongStrathcona presence in Edmonton.There are still the same numbersof “housekeeping tasks” but fewersoldiers to do them. Neverthelessthose areas we hold dear, such as theSMT, the Museum, the Kit Shop,the Historic Vehicle Troop, the PipeBand, and, most importantly, theFamily Support Troop, are holdingtheir own, although with reducednumbers in many cases, especiallyour Pipe Band, unfortunately.One group I want to make specialmention of is E Coy. The Coy hasyet to receive an operational taskingbut the members of the Coy haveaccepted myriad individual taskingsand those left behind have continuedto be active Strathconas in everysense of the word. They are a spiritedgroup and contribute to Regimentalespirit and morale in many ways.members of the Association andFriends of the Regiment wheneverpossible, including to three of thefamous (infamous?) ID MacKayLunches in Calgary. In September Iwas also able to take part in the veryexcellent Reunion in Okanagan Fallsthat was organized by Wes and BevWestergard and it was great to meetup with a large number of people Ihad not seen in some time. This givesme a chance to put in a plug for ournewly formed Edmonton Chapter ofthe Association. The Chapter is offto a good start and meeting monthly.I give the organizers full credit forstarting now so they will be in greatshape to work with the Calgarygang and the Regiment in makingReunion 2010 a great success. TheEdmonton Branch will take the leadon this and news on dates and hotels,etc will be coming out soon. (Right,Dave Biener?)I look forward to meeting up withmany more of you sometime,somewhere and soon.PerseveranceColonel of the RegimentNote from theEditing TeamBy Major Trevor CadieuThe Newsletter is an extremelyimportant Regimental Familypublication. It allows the Regimentto stay connected with the extendedStrathcona Family, and it providesa forum for members of the ‘OldGuard’ to share their experiencesand remain in contact with fire teampartners from years gone by. Whilethe Regiment is pleased to assumeresponsibility for the productionof the Newsletter, it remains anAssociation initiative supported bythe Regiment and our RegimentalSociety. We intend to produce theNewsletter twice annually - thenext version will be distributedSummer 2008. Your continuedsupport to this effort is vital andgreatly appreciated. Please forwardto Kathy Stephen any stories youwish to share and contributions tothe Newsletter. Should you wishto make a donation to facilitatethe publication of the Newsletter,please make cheques payable totheLdSH(RC) Regimental Society.Sadly, while I was with B Sqn inWainwright last September welearned of the death of Cpl NathanHornburg in Afghanistan when theARV he was driving came underattack. Cpl Hornburg was a memberof the KOCR serving with C Sqn,one of many Reservists serving withus. We share his loss with the KOCRand, as he was serving with us, weconsider him a Strathcona and he isequally a loss to our Regiment.I have been fortunate enough to havemade seven visits to the Regimentsince assuming my appointment inJun 06 and every visit has been adelight. During all such visits I alsotake the opportunity to meet withPerseverance,Regimental Association Reunion 2010Planning for the 2010 Reunion has begun in earnest under the leadership of Dave Bienerand a planning committee from the Edmonton branch that includes Keven Phinney, JamesStrayer and Paul Peters. The Calgary branch of the Association has also offered to assist withthis important event.The planning committe intends to release more information in the near future on venue,costs and a confirmed sequence of events, however the following schedule is beingconsidered:21 May 2010: Meet and Greet;22 May 2010: Regimental Day to include parade, tour of Harvey Building, vehicleand artifact display, Strathcona Mounted Troop performance, and anAssociation Dinner and Dance;23 May 2010: Church Parade, Association Brunch and departure.Please contact Dave Biener at biener.dm@forces.gc.ca for more information or should youwish to assist with planning efforts.Watch for further updates in the Summer 2008 Newsletter.Strathconas NewsletterPage 3www.strathconas.ca
Page 4 and 5: Continued from Page 2Commanding Off
Page 6 and 7: How many do you remember?This is in
Page 8 and 9: Sadly Imust onceagain passon the ne
Page 10 and 11: The StrathconaMounted TroopBy: Lieu
Page 12 and 13: Museum 2008Warrant Offi cer D.E. Ma
Page 14 and 15: The Genesis of a RegimentSubmitted
Page 16: Last Trumpet CallBINNY, Vic 19 Sept

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