Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps 34 Chinook
337 Stubb Ross Rd S. Lethbridge, Ab. T1K 7N3 Lethbridge, AB, Canada

#LettersFromSea #tgex2101 I’m currently deployed with HMCS Regina, just living the dream. While I’m here I was asked to write about all my new experiences in a ...small blog-post series, and this is a continuation of that Blog post 4 Soup and unique navy words Navy culture is really, really, different. They do all sorts of unique things, some of them dating back hundreds of years. One tradition that dates back some time is Soup. Now you might be a normal person and think that soup is more of lunch-evening type of thing? ‘No, it’s not,’ sharply replies the navy, It’s a morning thing. Every day, at 10 a.m. the navy serves soup (in fact, I’ve seen it called 10 o’clock soup). At that time, a significant portion of the crew stops what they are doing and just eats soup. I’ve heard it might be to help counter sea sickness but I’m not sure. It seems to just be a thing. Another, thing, about the navy is that it has all sorts of special words for things and navy people love telling you about them as they get a laugh out of them too. Here’s some of the ones I’ve discovered. Bed = Rack Floor = Deck Ceiling = Deck head Wall = Bulk head Door = Hatch Boat = Ship (Explanation: most naval vessels are called ships and you shouldn’t call them boats! For example, a frigate is a ship not a boat but the small inflatable boarding vessels - called RHIBs are boats) Life Preserver = Personal flotation device Kitchen = Galley Bedroom = Mess or cabin Lunch = Dinner Dinner (5pm meal) = Supper Garbage = Gash Toilets and Washrooms = Heads (this one is still awkward for me, I don’t know why) Duff = Dessert No Duff = You say this to mean that something is not a training exercise Port & Starboard If you’re looking in the direction of the front of the ship, port is left and starboard is right (I remember it by saying p.s.). Jack = A type of flag. Boatswain = Pronounced something like Bo-sun’. This is a tradesperson who is sort of a boating jack-of-all-trades. Ping boatswain = Slang for sonar operator. Sin boatswain = Slang for a padre/chaplain. Baby doc = Medical Technician (or Medtech). This is a medical professional who helps the physician assistant on board. Closed up = Ironically, this means ready to start because everyone is in position. Jackspeak This is the term the navy uses for all its navy-specific words. Yes, that is correct, they even have a special word for all their special words. In honor of unique navy traditions, I’ve included a photo of a few junior officers eating soup at around 10 o’clock. -Lt Jeff Klassen

So happy to have the opportunity to say Congrats Sailor 3rd Class Dawson. She was officially sworn into the RCN yesterday. It was a proud moment and extra special because her Dad got to swear her in!

Today is RCMP Appreciation Day. It’s hard to put into words how thankful I am for all the Mounties across our beautiful country that continue to do what they do.... They show up no matter what, and face unspeakable things while hardly hearing the words thank you. So today I hope you hear it more than once. Thank you. Thank you for everything you do for your community and our country. Today and everyday I appreciate you and so grateful for your service. #rcmpappreciationday #thankacop

Opportunity for youth aged 14-17 to participate in the Vimy pilgrimage. Deadline is Feb 15: https://www.facebook.com/1472972879/posts/10220226848329392/

Beautiful tribute, BZ!

My good friend and colleague. She is sharing some of her experiences in the Navy.

https://783afacwingcalgary.ca/media

Here's the link to the local service here in Lethbridge for those of you that are looking.

Virtual Program for 2020 Remembrance Day