11 Days of Remembrance: The Almost Unnoticed

When I was a cadet, I used to participate in the annual effective speaking competitions. My first year, I placed second out of all the Hamilton Air Wing (HAW) cadets. The following year, I did one better, placing first in HAW, and then landing third at the Provincial level. You may be wondering what any this has to do with today's post. The answer to that is simple, as I'm going to take you back to 2005, and share with you the speech that made me one of the top cadet speakers in Ontario...


Close your eyes and picture this. Picture a leader, a motivator, a caretaker. Had they not played such major roles in the past, the present may have been significantly different, and not necessarily for the better. They take charge, command, and they wear their uniforms with great pride while representing Canada. They are also the proud owners of many firsts. Picture all of this being done not by the men in our military, but by the females of the Canadian Forces.

Good afternoon fellow cadets, officers, judges and parents. Throughout history, females have taken on some major roles in the Canadian military, from as early as 1885 during the Northwest Rebellion to the present day.

When looking behind ourselves and into the past, we mainly see females taking on medical responsibilities, working in hospitals at home and overseas. Either that, or working in munitions factories. One may see these as being their main, or even only places in the military. But then the year 1914 comes around, and with it, the First World War. The men go off to fight while the women of Canada stay behind. Though many of the women work as nurses, and in the factories, there were still those who wanted to do more. These women came together. They dressed themselves in military style uniforms, and they began to train. They were trained on how to use small arms, they learned drill and first aid, and they were taught how to maintenance vehicles. They felt it necessary to be prepared, just on the chance that they were needed to be home guards. When the Second World War came around, about 5000 nurses from Canada gave their services to the medical corps in the Army, Air Force and Navy. In the third year of the war, Canada enrolled more than 45 000 women in the military, and not to be nurses, or any of their other traditional roles either. Some of these roles included mechanics, parachute riggers, and heavy mobile equipment operators and drivers. Responsibilities typical of men now opened to the women of Canada.

In the past, present, and likely the future, there are many females in the Canadian Forces who are the proud owners of a first, whether it’s being a pilot, a skydiver, or being promoted to a very dignified and well-deserved rank. In the year 1974, Major Wendy Clay was no longer just a doctor. She qualified for her wings six years before this was open to all females. The year is 1982, a year of great accomplishment and gratitude for Second Lieutenant Inge Plug and Lieutenant Karen McCrimmon. For Second Lieutenant Plug, the satisfaction of being the first female helicopter pilot in the Canadian Forces. As for Lieutenant McCrimmon, a title of “the first female air navigator in the Canadian Forces”. In 1989, CF-18 Hornets were no longer flown by men... and men only. In that year, the Hornet is introduced to its first female pilot, Major Dee Brasseur. In 2001, a similar situation appears with the Canadian Snowbirds when Captain Maryse Carmichael was given a pilot seat. In the year 1978, Corporal Gail Toupin took to the skies, but not as a pilot. She became the first female member of the SkyHawks, the famous Canadian skydiving demonstration team that we all know and have come to admire.

These newly acquired roles do not remain only in the sky. Sheila Hellstrom became the first woman to be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and in 1994, a rank of Major General was given to none other than Wendy Clay.

All of these women have worked long and hard in the Canadian Forces to achieve these goals, ranks and positions. Today, about 11% of the regular force is contrived of women, and approximately 19% of the Canadian Reserve strength is female.

Canada is a world leader when it comes to the number of women in its military, and also with the roles in which they are able to partake.

Now open your eyes... and never forget. Never forget these courageous women who, through devotion, dedication and destiny, broke the path, so that we may now MARCH upon it.

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't include one other amazing woman. Once upon a time, she was 779 Squadron's Padre. Her name is Kristine Swire, and she is one of the most incredible women I have ever met! When you picture a person of the cloth, I highly doubt that bright red hair, stilettos, and freshly baked cookies to die for come to mind. She left our squadron when she was promoted (is that the proper term?) to Canon for a church down the escarpment. Whether or not she's still there is beyond me, but that doesn't make her any less awesome.

This is an article from The Hamilton Spectator, dated November 3, 2006. As you'll read, I'm certain you'll find that I'm not the only one who finds Canon Swire to be one kick-ass lady!

Padre has faith in Rileys Soldiers' new pastor grateful for freedom

By Sharon Boase
The Hamilton Spectator(Nov 3, 2006) She's a red-headed, rouged, high-heeled minister of the Word who's about as unorthodox as you can be in a collar, except when it comes to paying homage to our men and women in uniform.
That's where the Rev. Canon Kristine Swire -- "your flamboyance" to her private circle -- is a throwback to tradition and times gone by. To a time when serving one's country was tantamount to serving God. It's an intriguing contradiction that made Swire go out of her way to become padre to the men and women of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (RHLI). It's not as if she doesn't have enough on her plate as pastor at Church of the Ascension near Corktown. And she's taking it on just as the Canadian military's role in Afghanistan has become about as popular as a spinach salad. Yet here is Swire, as passionate a defender of social justice as any political lefty, stepping up to minister to the spiritual needs of those who volunteer for the dirty work of armed conflict.
While she marshals resources to feed the poor and reach out to the downtrodden, she never forgets the five uncles who served in the military and "bought" her freedom in a way she's never had to.
"I don't think anyone is under any illusion that I would be an asset on the battlefield," quips Swire, enlisting her trademark sense of the absurd. "And I'm not aware that they make stiletto heels in camouflage."
The fact of the matter, she says, suddenly serious, is that the RHLI's commanding officer is in Africa and eight of its soldiers are working out of Kandahar. The way she sees it, the military is there for us. Swire wants to remind the military that God is there for them. She feels the support of a padre is something they are due.
The RHLI has been without a padre for almost a decade. Captain Robert Marini, second in command of administrative company, says that's because their last padre "wasn't very pro-military." It's hard being a reservist, he adds. For many RHLI members, friends and family just can't understand why they put themselves in harm's way on top of a day job or full-time studies.
Swire's joining the RHLI is very welcome. "To have someone in our ranks who wears a uniform that you can talk to that 'gets it' is nice to have."

I only just discovered this a few minutes ago, but she's also been given her Captain's stripes.

I told you she was awesome.

We always remember our men, but sometimes, we forget about our women too. So to all the ladies of our military, past, present, and future, thank you for all that you've done.

Cannon/ Captain Swire, if you're reading this, thanks for always being incredible. Thank you for your years spent as 779's Padre, and for spoiling us with your simply divine baked goods. Just don't forget to bake some of your famous cookies for all your men and women. :)


For more, refer to the other posts in my 11 Days of Remembrance series.