THUNDER BAY - As a way of strengthening ties with partnering nations under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, several members from the local Canadian Forces regiment travelled to Europe to participate in a joint operation.
In a ceremony on Sunday, five members of the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment were awarded Special Service Medals with Bar NATO for their deployment overseas with NATO as part of Operation Reassurance.
The recipients included Cpl. Gabriel Green, Cpl. Ben Deley, Cpl. Allan Faykes, Cpl. Andrew Biscardi, and Master Cpl. Billy McElroy.
“It’s a great honour to be here and it’s great to be here in front of the civilian population that is here,” said Cpl. Gabriel Green after receiving his medal.
The five members travelled to Poland last August where they were deployed for six months. During their deployment, they participated in exercises with fellow NATO armies throughout Eastern Europe.
“The biggest thing I learned over there is just how different the Canadian army is compared to most other nations,” Green said. “The Romanian army, the Polish army, the Lithuania army, even the German army were very different in terms of the way that they operate, the equipment they use, and some of the tactics they employ.”
But those differences could be beneficial, Green added, saying he brought home a lot of great experiences and ideas after training with the Romanian army.
“It was great to see and experience the way that the Romania’s, for example, employ their armored vehicles,” he said.
Cpl. Andrew Biscardi was also deployed to Eastern Europe and he said the entire experience was very rewarding.
“You get to meet a lot of different cultures and it’s interesting to see what other parts of the world are like,” he said.
As with any military exercise, it’s not going to be a walk through the park, but both Green and Biscardi said they did not face too many challenges.
“Other than the normal military challenges of living in the field and enjoying the weather, it was good,” Biscardi said.
During the ceremony on Sunday, the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment also promoted chief warrant officer Harry Kaucharik to the rank of regimental sergeant major.
“This is the top of the career for a non-commissioned officer,” Kaucharik said. “Thirty-three years of service and I’m very proud to finally become the RSM, to take over the job of caring for the welfare of the men.”
Kaucharik has served three peacekeeping tours, a tour in Afghanistan, and served with NATO. Seeing young members of his regiment receive honours for their own overseas service is a very proud moment for Kaucharik.
“I know what it feels like it,” he said. “They had a special bonus, normally a solider gets his medal in country, and his family doesn’t get to see that. So it’s a special bonus for families to watch their family member get a medal for their service overseas.”
Even though his family couldn’t be at the ceremony because they live in Ottawa, Green said there was no shortage of pride from his family.
“My mom was extremely proud and very happy,” he said. “She wouldn’t get off the phone with me when I told her.”
“You are very proud and you feel like you’ve contributed,” Kaucharik added. “These medals are awarded for service in other countries and helping other people.”
