Royal Canadian Legion #285 Calgary
9202 Horton Road S.W. T2V 2X4 Calgary, AB, Canada

INFANTRY TROOPS ARE PROGRESSING IN NORMANDY Definitely one of my favorites pictures taken during the liberation of Cherbourg, Normandy, back in June 1944, ...and the way it looks today. On the western part of Fort du Roule, you can see troops of the 79th Infantry Division as they progress towards the Port of Cherbourg. Capturing the city of Cherbourg was very strategic as it was one of the only deep water ports in Normandy. May we never forget. WATCH OUR LAST VIDEO ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv5zbETe0t8&t=164s FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/ww2veteransmemories/ #infantry #cherbourg #1944 #army #ww2 #ww2buff #historybuff #79thid #normandy #dday #cotentin

Canadian Army Today Magazine explores one company's innovation in respirators that are more accommodating to our soldiers: "Beards and mustaches, neatly trimme...d, of course, are a common sight on Army bases from coast to coast. The 2018 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) general order allowing facial hair and longer hair styles to flourish was a welcomed change. But with growth has come a problem for those who must wear respirators as part of their job." Read the full story here: https://canadianarmytoday.com/iideas-to-solve-bad-beard-br/

Did you see our post about Popeye earlier this week? One of our followers has been in touch to tell us about their Gt Uncle, Walter Crotty, who was also know...n as Popeye. Pictured here at Buckingham Palace in 1944, after he had just received the Distinguished Service Medal 1939-1945 (DSM) - For outstanding leadership and courage under heavy and sustained air attacks during the landing at Sicily to Temporary Acting Petty Officer Walter Crotty PJ37257, one of three awarded for this action. Walter lost two brothers in WWI, one a Jutland and one in Egypt, November 7, 1918. Thank you for your service, Walter and family. See more

A good read from the Department of National Defence on why MV Asterix and possible sister ship are not as capable as the JSS. They have some very good points wh...y its a interim AOR. MV Asterix is doing stellar work until the JSS takes over. November 17, 2020 Ottawa (Ontario) National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces We thank the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) for their work. We will continue to work with the Office of the PBO in all of the important work that it does. The Department of National Defence (DND) has reviewed the PBO report entitled, The Joint Support Ship program and the MV Asterix: a Fiscal Analysis, and notes that there are a number of key factors that were not taken into account as they are outside the scope of the report. The two types of ships compared in the report are very different. As the PBO noted, the assessment did not consider the capabilities of MV Asterix and MV Obelix as commercial vessels converted for military purposes versus those of the built-for-purpose Joint Support Ship, as this was outside the scope of their report. When sending our sailors into dangerous situations, we insist on providing them with the best and safest equipment possible. That is always our first priority. MV Asterix, and the proposed MV Obelix, do not have the same capabilities as the future Joint Support Ships. The Joint Support Ships were designed to be able to deploy into harm’s way, a key element of the military design. Examples of capabilities that were designed into the Joint Support Ships that are not available on MV Asterix include: a mine-avoidance degaussing system, systems to detect and protect against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, a dual redundant propulsion system, damage control capabilities that meet military standards, a cyber-resilient command management system, self-defence capabilities, including a combat management system, naval remote weapon systems and close-in weapon systems, a hangar and flight deck that can support the Cyclone aircraft, and certified, fitted magazines to transport specialized ammunitions, such as torpedoes. These additional features provide a survivability that is critical to ensure the safety of our sailors in high-risk areas, as the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) must have the capability to maintain a persistent presence in high-threat areas if the security of Canadians demands it. No modifications to MV Asterix could provide the survivability offered by a built-for-purpose ship. Purpose-built warships like the Joint Support Ships provide the best available protection for our sailors with a military design that incorporates higher damage control standards and counter-measures against threats from torpedoes, mines, or missiles. It is important to note that the figures included by the PBO do not include the money already spent on MV Asterix, or money that would be needed to be spent in the future. The figures only consider the cost of purchasing two modified, used commercial ships, whereas the cost for the Joint Support Ships includes a number of expenses, such as the salary of project staff since the project’s inception, design costs to incorporate RCN operational requirements, engineering services, government supplied material, and initial spare parts. The proposed life expectancy of MV Asterix of 40 years from the time of its conversion is unlikely to be realized without significant investments. The operational and maintenance costs that would be required to keep MV Asterix operating would not represent value for money. Our choice of the Joint Support Ships was made after years of industry consultation and analysis of possible options, including the conversion of used ships. The Joint Support Ships are the right ship for the Royal Canadian Navy, and will provide the best value for the military, Canada, and the Canadian economy.

Come to the branch tonight by 1830 to have a chance to vote on our new bylaws!

SLEEVE VALVE Anonymous SVA In keeping with the irreverent respect and light-hearted portrayal of the rebuild of Bristol Hercules engines who can forget our ...first pilgrimage to GEAR HEAD Heaven we can clearly state that the most important engine in RCAF bomber combat history is the Bristol Hercules and this engine is arguably the #2 most important engine in RAF Bomber Command combat history. We give you now the opportunity to follow us on our new Sleeve Valve adventures in the non sleepy little town of Nanton, Alberta, home of the national memorial Bomber Command Museum of Canada. Remember this is THE engine with the SLEEVE VALVES, as its twisting and turning heart, above all others that powered the RCAF to Allied Victory in WW2. It is totally unique in WW2. Welcome to SLEEVE VALVE Anonymous (SVA). SVA #1 With #1 Hercules resurrected, and #2 Hercules engine waiting in the wings - pretty as a new penny inside and out as a rebuilt zero- time ( 0-running hours) Hercules, we must move ever forward, while no one is looking ‘cept you, on Hercules engine #3 for our Halifax bomber restoration. See the 1st photo - the happy day about 3 years ago when we slid our 3 best Hercules engines together for a family photo. (we have 4 more Bristol Hercules engines in storage to cobble together #4 Hercules for the Halifax later). Little did we know that we would have to, in the coming months, do open-heart surgery on #1, get lulled to sleep by the beautiful innards of #2, and NOW, thanking John the previous owner for leaving this rebuilt #3 Hercules in a dark really-moist Brit corner of his shop, we will have to do cancer MUCHO-rust surgery that only you, my precious SVA readers, will be able to appreciate. As pretty as #2 Hercules was, #3 Herc when initially explored last year was scary to look at inside. Rust everywhere and the engine was seized! Having graduated from the Bristol school of hard-knocks and Hercules anatomy evaluation on #1 engine, I was not so scared of #3 engine’s cancer treatment . But I should have been! However, because I know so many swear words oriented around Bristol engineer’s parentage and human private anatomy which could be applied earnestly to sleeve valve engines, I started several weeks ago (Covid be damned) on said patient #3, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. See 2nd photo of Hercules #3 awaiting treatments for what ails her. So after weeks of work earlier this year I got the gubbins and plumbing off of this engine #3, then took the heads off the top of the cylinders ( over of them were rusted solidly on to the top of the sleeves and required literally hundreds of pounds of pull with my handy dandy head-puller. Not to be confused with the Hercules hair-puller syndrome which is a chronic condition, that is part of the daily life of SVA members. Lo and behold, sniffing for rust and looking for the MAIN point of the seizure of #3 Hercules, I zeroed in on #12 cylinder, that was, from top-to-bottom inside the sleeve, rusted completely with the #12 piston in there tighter than a cow’s bum in fly season (vernacular description used frequently in the colonies and most often in Alberta cow capital of Canada). Remember, all 14 cylinders of a Hercules engine can be rebuilt to running condition but you MUST be able to rotate the engine by hand and, one cylinder at a time, remove and replace all parts of each cylinder. The SLEEVE VALVE is the Aorta of all this. No rotation of engine - No get to these 14 Aortas - no get running! Then you have the luxury of using this engine as a giant paperweight for misc. museum papers whipped up by Chinook winds. I don’t like to talk about these scary times of rampant rust and remorse, but as Werner Von Braun said The toughest part of going to the Moon, was finding THE WILL to go to the Moon! So too, to go to the House of Hercules! See the final VIDEO of my gentle but abusive approach to #3 engine, the tough love of SVA. I will close now on the my SVA #1 report of those worrisome days just past, when we walked into a can of worms rust worms! However, it they do not kill you, they will make you strong. Stay tuned for SLEEVE VALVE Anonymous #2. Pressing on regardless . Cheers, K

Sergeant Masumi Mitsui, a Japanese Canadian immigrant, sacrificed and risked his life to defend our country and its values. He left his family behind in British... Columbia to fight in the First World War. He hoped, like other racialized minorities, that #military service would help him earn the civil liberties enjoyed by other Canadians. In war, he was promoted to sergeant and earned the Military Medal for his bravery, leadership, and dedication to other soldiers. When he came back home to Canada, he helped Japanese Canadians earn the right to vote in BC in 1931. It would be a bittersweet victory. As the Second World War approached, prejudice and hysteria led to Japanese Canadian citizens being sent to internment camps and reclassified as enemy aliens. When he arrived at the camp with his family, he cast aside his medals and demanded to know What good are these? Sergeant Mitsui’s remarkable achievements eventually came to light. In August 1985, he was the guest of honour in a ceremony to relight the lantern at the Japanese Canadian War Memorial in Stanley Park, which had been extinguished in 1942. Masumi Mitsui died in 1987, a few months before his 100th birthday Stories such as Sergeant Masumi Mitsui’s show us that Canada’s military has a diverse history and that the struggles of disenfranchised communities in the #CAF have directly contributed to expanding notions of citizenship and democracy in this country Be a part of our #history: https://Forces.ca #ForcesJobs #ThrowbackThursday #Canada #TBT

103 YEARS AGO TODAY: Battle of Cambrai, 20 November 1917. Opening day of the Battle of Cambrai.

HMCS TORONTO's Air Detachment completed the first flight with the CH148 Cyclone above the Arctic Circle. This is a great milestone for the CH148 Fleet. The Air ...Det would like to thank the entire ship’s company for assisting them in reaching this milestone Le détachement aérien du NCSM TORONTO a effectué le premier vol avec le CH148 Cyclone au-dessus du cercle arctique. Il s’agit d’une étape importante pour la flotte de CH148. Le détachement aérien tient à remercier tout l’équipage du navire de l’avoir aidé à franchir cette étape.

Meet our next Canada-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 team! They have bubbled together while at Canadian Forces Base Halifax - Base des Forces canadiennes de... Halifax for two weeks during pre-deployment training prior to starting their mission in January 2021 in Bahrain. Here they are outside Juno Tower on 12 November. Canada’s involvement in CTF 150 is part of #OpARTEMIS, the Canadian Armed Forces ongoing contribution to counter-terrorism and maritime security operations in the Middle Eastern and East African waters. Mona Ghiz Combined Maritime Forces Maritime Forces Atlantic - Forces Maritimes de l'Atlantique Maritime Forces Pacific / Forces maritimes du Pacifique Canadian Armed Forces Canadian Armed Forces Operations