Rare achievement – 42 years of service

Commander Wes Golden, Commanding Officer of Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) Headquarters, presents Lieutenant Commander Paul Seguna with the third clasp to the Canadian Forces’ Decoration. Photo by Leading Seaman David Gariepy, MARPAC Imaging Services

MARPAC Public Affairs ~

In a rare presentation attended by friends, colleagues and his wife Eva, Lieutenant Commander Paul Seguna received the third clasp to his Canadian Forces Decoration at Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) Headquarters Sept. 12.

The third clasp is unique in that it represents 42 years of continuous service to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

In that time, he has served as a Reserve Radar Plotter from 1975-82 achieving the rank of PO2; Regular Force Maritime Surface Officer (MARS) from 1982-1992 at the rank of Lt(N); Regular Force Public Affairs Officer from 1992-2002 achieving the rank of LCdr; Reserve Public Affairs Officer from 2002-2012 achieving the rank of Cdr, and upon rejoining the Regular Force Public Affairs Branch in 2012 in the reverted rank of LCdr served to compulsorily retirement age 60 this September.

When asked to reflect upon the changes within the CAF over the length of his career LCdr Seguna offered a few insights.

“Looking back over the 42 years of my service there is no doubt the Forces have changed with Canadian society as exampled by the greater diversity in the makeup of our armed services. In many regards the CAF, both organizationally and as individuals within it, have for a variety of reasons found themselves in the forefront of adaptation to changes in Canadian society. Our armed services have always drawn individuals from the wide spectrum of our society and taught them to coexist while achieving a common aim in often difficult circumstances.”

During his career, he served at sea in 13 ships of the Royal Canadian Navy and in one Italian ship visiting Canada during the 75th anniversary of the Canadian Navy.  He served ashore as the MARPAC Flag Lieutenant and CFB Esquimalt Base Information/Public Affairs Officer.

While in this last position, he transferred to the Public Affairs Branch and served in various capacities in Canada including several major domestic operations training Public Affairs Officers, as the senior Project Public Affairs Officer for the Centennial of the RCN, and overseas including supporting operations in Rwanda, Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“As I walked past one of our frigates at a jetty, having recently returned to the ‘Home of the West Coast Fleet’ after many years away, my mind wandered back to the ships of my sea-going days. I felt a sense of the continuity of the naval service in that others have followed those of my generation to serve in frigates today, just as we had taken the watch from our predecessors back then. So, although there has been much change in those intervening years, the foundational values have always been there – such as service above self, respect for what came before as reflected in the traditions of naval life, and most of all pride in the honour to serve Canada in uniform.”

His most recent service in the Regular Force included a posting as the Deputy Director of Army Public Affairs at Canadian Army Headquarters in Ottawa, and four years in a non-Public Affairs Officer position as Military Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff-Plans (a rotating Canadian and Portuguese Commodore position) at NATO’s maritime headquarters in Northwood (London) UK. He was recently posted to MARPAC Headquarters while awaiting release.

“Having had the opportunity to visit the beaches of Dieppe and Normandy, attend at the Vimy centennial commemoration and see the many war cemeteries with the headstones of so many Canadians in ranks for perpetuity, including at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in the UK where members of HMCS Kootenay’s ship’s company killed in the 1969 engine room explosion are interred, leaves me with the sense that we are the beneficiaries and inheritors of a heritage and values that remain constant. Our serving military is a reflection of that heritage and those values, as exampled by my recent experience serving alongside colleagues from NATO.”

LCdr Seguna and wife Eva will retire to Vancouver Island. He will go into retirement with many happy memories of his shipmates and colleagues.

Asked what he will do next he responded somewhat cheekily, “Not come back!”