Good Luck "Course 42"

I would like to dedicate this post to all the guys who I attended the PRE-LIM with for their upcoming QL-5A Course. Guys GOOD LUCK and have fun in your journey. I would of loved to be there with you guys but my turn will have to wait next year as you all know. As for me the reason why I am not on this years course is because of all the delay in my medical and due to my current English profile. To be loaded on the SAR TEch course your English profile has to be C/B/B which is divided as follows: first letter "Reading", second letter "Writing", Third letter "Speaking" . Higher the letter the better, "A" --->Basic "B" --->Intermediate and "C" --->Advance. I currently have an English profile of B/C/C which means little bit of work has to be put into the Reading part of things in order to obtain my "C" level. So enough said about that, I am currently employed at the Language Training School in Esquimalt B.C. to obtain my level before the next years course in August 09. I don't have to tell you that there is nothing exciting there, my days consist of reading books all day long. Once the book is completed, I have to write an essay about it. I had a hard time doing that in French when I was in school so imagine in English now, No really it is not that bad! I have read 3 books already and really enjoyed them. I am also working on my Medical Package that has to be complete before starting the QL-5A course next year which is a lot of information but also very interesting. I also don't have to tell you that I am at the Gym twice a day Morning and afternoon. This is in order to keep my level of physical fitness up to the SAR Tech standards which I love doing. NO PAIN----NO GAIN. So again Course 42 GOOD LUCK, be safe and enjoy. "SO OTHERS MAY LIVE"-------"RESCUE"

New Rank, New Uniform..

This week was "THE PASS OVER" week, where I went from being a Petty Officer Second Class in the Canadian NAVY to a Corporal Air Force in one day. I have to say that I had mixed feelings about this one. So I got called in by my Commanding Officer in his office, I knew exactly what it was for, to take away the little power I had on my shoulder and kick me out of the Chief's and Petty Officer's mess as quick as possible which is the mess you want to be in when it comes to the NAVY. Looking at them putting my Corporals on my shoulder was very exciting because I knew it was one step closer to my dream of becoming a SAR Tech. The following day, I was still very proud and excited about putting on my new uniform and being a Cpl for the second time around in my career. In the NAVY, ranks are very important and respected so as I was walking on the base proudly to the clothing store to get some of my new DAU's I quickly realized that been a Cpl, you dont get the same level of respect compare to a PO2. Therefore, I will tell you one thing, I have no problem with it at all because I know myself better then anyone else and I will never forget what I achieved in the NAVY or where I am coming from, which I am very proud of. On that note I would rather be a Cpl SAR Tech anyday and can not wait for the long road to unfold in front of me.

Where it all Started

After been in the NAVY for 12 years I finally got a shore posting to Ottawa (CFEWC). As everyone knows we have it easy on ships, nice warm bed every night, 3 hot meals a day and ohhhhh ya dont forget all the years of partying in ports. Don't ask me why but some people actually put some weight on after all those years, trust me I was one of them. For me taking a posting on land for several years was the perfect opportunity to reevaluate my career and finally spend sometime with my family. Joining the military at such a young age, the NAVY gave me a lot of opportunities and experiences to better myself as both a person and military member. Achieving the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class at a very quick rate, made me realized all the deferent challenges in a supervisory role, which I approached very seriously. There is one important challenge that was missing in my career. After always been very active and involved in sports all my life, I finally came to the conclusion of challenging myself physically and mentally. So why not be active, stay fit, enjoy the outdoor, Sky dive, Scuba dive and perform your medical knowledge in order to save peoples life. There is only one trade that comes to mind, Search and Rescue Technician. With the support of all my chain of command in Ottawa I then applied for the job. I knew then it was time for me to start training hard. After a few months of CROSS FIT training to kick it in high gear and get myself ready for the SAR Tech PT test. Once the PT test, interviews and medical exams completed my file was then sent to Ottawa in order to select all candidates for the Pre-Selection Camp held in Jarvis Lake, Alberta for 3 weeks (see video). In the mid term I was then posted back to a sea going unit in Victoria, B.C. (HMCS Algonquin) where only 2 sailors, from the same coast and ship received there invitation to attempt the SAR Tech Pre-Selection Training. No need to tell you how it was like, can you say HELL ya really. After getting there Carl and myself didnt know what to expect. Let me tell you that lots of talking was involved in order to relieve some of the stress or try too anyway. I have to say that I have never met a group of elite guys that were so professional with such a high mental and physical strength. On completion of the Pre-Selection, I then took some leave and spend sometime with my family back in Ottawa. Now the waiting game for the VOT OFFER. I can assure you that Carl and myself were checking the message drafting file daily. Carl received his offer in April, one month went by and nothing for me yet. I have to tell you I was going crazy, in the same time very happy for my friend. So after one full month later I received a phone call at home from my friend Carl saying "Guess what......your offer came in today." Well it was the best day of my life and it could not have been more greatly appreciated then hearing the news from Carl after everything that we had been through during the prelim. So now with the aircrew and dive medical completed, here we are still on the ship waiting for a posting message so we can finally move and start our SAR Tech QL-5A Course in August.