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CFPSA personnel deployed on ROTO 1 of Operation ATHENA receive their General Service Medal
By Karine Vachon
The adventure began in the fall of 2002 when staff members were invited to the St-Jean Garrison to participate in the CFPSA Deployed Operations Selection and training Course. Their experience, team spirit and enthusiasm for the challenge enabled employees to be part of the CFPSA team deployed on ROTO 1 of OP ATHENA. These very same qualities earned the staff an excellent reputation in the theatre of operations.
Last April 15 and 16, the Land Force Quebec Area (LFQA) held two medal parades to honour its Quebec City and Montreal troops deployed on ROTO 1 of OP ATHENA. The CFPSA employees who accompanied the troops were warmly received at the ceremony to recognize their remarkable contributions, and 32 of them were in attendance, bursting with a pride visible to all. All of the 1,300 members received the General Campaign Star while the civilian personnel received the General Service Medal.
On April 15, a warm sun shone down on the Centre de Congrès de Québec where hundreds of smiling CF members came to collect the rewards for their hard work in a devastated land. Smiles and salutes were the order of the day among the civilians of the CFPSA who were both honoured and moved, as they briefly recalled the six unforgettable months they worked tirelessly to make the stay of deployed members a little less arduous and more pleasant. The ceremony was grandiose. Her Excellency, the Honourable Lise Thibault, the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, General Rick Hillier, Chief of Defence Staff, and Greg Pearson, the Executive Vice-President, Personnel Support Programs, awarded CFPSA staff their General Service Medal.
At the Côte-des-Neiges Armoury in Montreal on a lovely Saturday morning last April 16, about 60 CF members received their medals, including two CFPSA employees. Ms. Switch Rousseau, Morale and Welfare Manager of ROTO 1, awarded them the General Service Medal in the presence of Brigadier-General Gaston Côté, who presided over the ceremony.
"The medal parade was very nice," said Guillaume Trudel, who had been part of previous CFPSA missions. "After four tours of duty, it was nice to have people such as the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec and General Hillier give us our medals…it left us with a warm feeling and our hearts skipped a beat at the same time!"
As Claude Simoneau, CFPSA Retail Manager and member of ROTO 1 in Kabul so aptly summarized, the tribute paid to the group at the medal parade was touching. "This ROTO meant a great deal of effort and sacrifice for us all. It was the achievement of our goal of Serving Those Who Serve."
