Pacific Navy News

Archana Cini, Lookout Newspaper “This is Rescue 315. We have found the airplane — it’s crashed, and three people are injured. I repeat, we have found the airplane.”   - Ed Vishek in the summer of 1981, speaking on the intercom after locating a downed aircraft near Baker Lake, NWT  - Ed Vishek was a young boy watching the Avro CF-105 Arrow streak overhead when he first decided he wanted to fly.   “It was probably the hottest plane in the world at the time,” Ed said. “I wanted to fly that Arrow.” When the program was later cancelled by the Government of Canada, Ed settled on another hope for his adulthood.   “I couldn’t fly the Arrow anymore, so I decided on the next best thing — to fly for the navy.”  Ed Vishek was born in Sudbury, Ont., where his father worked in the mines before the family later settled in St. Catharines, 13 miles from Niagara Falls. His father, a veteran himself, had first immigrated to Canada at 19 after leaving a small country later absorbed into Yugoslavia.   “The way my dad tells it, we got here, we were given a package of cigarettes, a package of tobacco, a package of papers, and then got told, ‘Go.’ That was it.”  What followed was a string of odd jobs across the country, cutting wood in Quebec, mining coal in Alberta, and working a fishing boat off the coast.  Ed was an active sea cadet through childhood. During this time, he remembers sailing aboard His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Haida, a Second World War destroyer, and being shown the notches carved into the ship’s railing for each enemy ship it had sunk. Ed went on to graduate from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Wings Course in 1962, moving onto flying the Grumman S-2 Tracker (CS2F Tracker) out of Shearwater, NS....

Archana Cini, Lookout Newspaper CFB Esquimalt hosted the first of three Indigenous drum-making workshops this summer, bringing Defence Team members and their families together. Participants learned about Indigenous teachings and made traditional hand drums using elk hide, wood and sinew under the guidance of the Aunty Collective. Base leadership emphasized the importance of cultural learning, meaningful relationships and ongoing engagement in reconciliation. - On Aug 13, the Wardoom Lower Lounge filled with the gentle sound of stories being exchanged and sinew being threaded and pulled tight. The morning represented the first of three Indigenous drum-making workshops this summer hosted by the Defence Indigenous Advisory Group (DIAG) and facilitated by the Aunty Collective, an Indigenous women-led cultural practice hub.   This first session was designed as a family workshop, inviting civilian and uniformed Defence Team members to attend with a child, parent, sibling, partner, or another person they consider family. Through the course of the morning, each pair built a traditional hand drum together. Facilitated by Sarah Rhude, known as Rhudey, artist and co-founder of the Aunty Collective, the workshop opened the way Indigenous gatherings often begin: in a circle, with no head or foot, where all are equal. Participants passed an eagle feather around, through each other’s hands, introducing themselves and where they or their ancestors are from. Aunty Collective facilitators then sang the “Strong Women Song” together.   “We sing this song to each other. It is so that we keep each other strong,” said Rhudey. Participants were invited to hold someone in mind through the singing, whether a family member, stranger, or simply themselves.  [caption id="attachment_360142" align="alignright" width="450"] A workshop facilitator from the Aunty Collective demonstrates how to thread sinew during the Aug 13 workshop. Photo: A/SLt Mike Samuels, RCN[/caption] The group then moved into the drum making, learning to stretch damp elk hide over a hollow, round wood base. A long strip of sinew was then used to weave the...

Padre Alistair Turkington Welcome to the September instalment of From the Chaplain’s Desk, a series that showcases reflections from chaplains serving at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt. Each piece offers personal perspectives from those who work closely with members of the Defence Team in times of challenge, transition, and everyday life.   – If you’ve ever seen a polar bear in a documentary or a photograph, it’s easy to be impressed. It has long been on my bucket list to see one of these majestic animals in the wild. During my deployment in the Arctic aboard His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Max Bernays, this wish came true.  My first impression was of its sheer size. Standing tall against a backdrop of snow and ice, the polar bear is perfectly at home in one of the most isolated and unforgiving environments on Earth. But beyond its strength and size, the polar bear offered an important lesson that applies to all of us, every day: resiliency.  Life in the Arctic is anything but easy. Temperatures plunge well below freezing; fierce storms can appear without warning; food is difficult to find. Despite this, polar bears continue to survive and thrive. They travel incredible distances across sea ice in search of seals, sometimes waiting patiently for hours, or even days, for an opportunity to hunt. Though success is never guaranteed, the polar bear always continues to move forward.  There is something deeply relatable about the persistence of a polar bear. We all face moments when life doesn’t go according to plan, whether it is the loss of a job, a family challenge, health concerns, the daily pressures of life, or something else entirely. Like the polar bear, we often find ourselves navigating uncertain terrain, maybe on our own.  What makes the polar bear remarkable is not that it attempts to avoid hardship, but that it adapts to it. Built...

Archana Cini, Lookout Newspaper Military Family Appreciation Day, held every Sept 18, recognizes the families and loved ones who support Canadian Armed Forces members throughout their service. Established in 2019 following a unanimous House of Commons motion, the day recognizes spouses, partners, parents, children, siblings and chosen family alike. - Every Sept 18, Canadians mark Military Family Appreciation Day to recognize the families who stand alongside their loved ones in uniform.   Behind nearly every member in the history of the Canadian Armed Forces is a family who have made that service possible. These people have supported our military members in pursuing service; packed and unpacked for a posting; maintained a household through a deployment; and so much more. Though uniforms, expectations, and demands continue to change for those who serve, the steady support of family has never changed.   [caption id="attachment_360134" align="alignleft" width="300"] An RCN sailor reunites with a loved one during the HMCS Glace Bay homecoming at CFB Halifax in Oct 2024. Photo: Cpl Morgan LeBlanc, Formation Imaging[/caption] Military Family Appreciation Day was established in 2019 following an unanimously passed motion introduced by the House of Commons. Family, as the day recognizes it, takes many forms: spouses and partners; parents; children; siblings; and close friends who’ve taken on the role of chosen family.  For military families, the ordinary parts of civilian life, childcare, a doctor’s appointment, buying a home, often come with extra layers of difficulty that most Canadians never have to think about. Deployments, frequent moves, and long stretches of separation can be part of the rhythm of life for a military family.  To every Canadian military family, past, present, and future, thank you.