Navy recruits graduate from West Coast BMQ

Graduates of Basic Military Qualification R0236E present arms during their Graduation Ceremony at the Nixon Gym in Work Point on Oct. 23. Photo by S1 Sisi Xu, MARPAC Imaging Services

Peter Mallett
Staff Writer
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The isolation bubble is broken and the West Coast’s first set of De-centralized Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) recruits are on their way to trades training.

On Friday Oct. 23, 34 Sailor Third Class recruits graduated after completing 10 weeks of training inside a restricted access cohort to keep them healthy and safe while training in the current COVID-19 environment.

Recruits were presented their graduation certificates by Cdr Annick Fortin, Naval Fleet School (Pacific) Commandant, in a physically distanced graduation ceremony at Work Point’s Nixon Building.

“I am very proud of all of the candidates and the staff.  All those involved in this qualification process did an excellent job,” said Cdr Fortin. “There were lots of sacrifices made along the way by the staff to make this a success.”

Since family and friends were not permitted to attend, the event was streamed live on Facebook. 

BMQs are normally run through the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec. De-centralized BMQs were developed and conducted on the East and West Coasts under the leadership of Commander Naval Personnel and Training Group in order to fulfill personnel requirements of the Fleet, while also easing the pressure on the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School as training resumed once the initial shutdown in response to the pandemic was eased. The Leadership and Recruit School normally trains Army and Air Force personnel in addition to members of the Navy.

De-centralized BMQs are an innovative measure designed to deliver Regular Force BMQ serials for the navy in a safe, carefully planned, deliberate manner abiding by directed protective health measures.

The Royal Canadian Navy’s newest sailors will soon start more specialized training in a variety of naval trades.

“I now have a great opportunity to move forward in my training.  Successfully completing basic training was a big first hurdle to overcome,” said S3(R) Zackary Diletti, who is from Smithville, Ont.

The 28-year-old said the one thing he missed the most during training was his sheppard-collie mix puppy Caboose.

S3(R) Arianna Shields-Gaetz of Grand Prairie, Alta., said pulling together as a team with the other recruits was key to the learning process and their graduation.

“I am extremely proud of this accomplishment and to be able to wear the Canadian [military] uniform. My goal now is to keep pushing forward.”

She celebrated her 22 birthday during BMQ, and missed spending the day with her father. Instead, she led the recruits in 22 squats for each year of her life. 

Cdr Fortin noted that several stakeholders from across the Formation need to be thanked for their support in making the BMQ successful here at CFB Esquimalt. They include Personnel Support Programs, Base Administration, Base Logistics, Base Operations Range Control, Base Foods, Base Information Services, Base Accommodations, TEME, Real Property Operations, Health Services, CANEX, and the Personnel Coordination Centre.

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