Final Training Thrust

By MCpl Oliver JE, C Sqn Sigs NCO
4 March 2009

 

Well, as C Sqn is in the final throws of Theatre Mission Specific Training (TMST), one could say that the tempo is rather hectic. The main thrust is in the Squadron Orderly Room (SOR), as Cpl Roberta Malashevsky has been feverishly working to complete Departure Assistance Group (DAG) files. Every inconceivable roadblock has been tossed in her direction, such as; Medicals, scanning HLTA forms, entering leave passes, booking flights, checking flights for people that get to fly alone. Needless to say she has been the cornerstone of the administrative activities. As you can see she displays an unusual grimace with the intense workload, note the sign tied to her monitor. I would dare just about any man to ask the Sqn 2 IC any question about PER/PDR’s, as you can see they have been the pure object of his affection over the pass few weeks.

Completing final training has been intense. MCpl Reg Keirstead and Cpl Steve Rasmussen have been teaching fine young Strathcona’s the finer side of the TLAV. Now the members are trained, ready and even willing to take the “little tracked vehicle” anywhere the excursion shall take them.

 

As the date for deployment draws near so do the PMed Techs with the permethrin. After a quick brief on the safety precautions, C Sqn along with a Tp from 1 CER, got down and dirty with the little green bags. We laid all of the bags out by Tp and waited for the chemicals to soak in. Soon after lunch the Sqn hanger looked like a scene from a turn of the century laundry mat. Due to the overwhelming amount of uniforms and the serious lack of hangers many shirts and pants had to be put on the same hangers. This adversely effected the drying of the uniforms. As most of Squadron Headquarters (SHQ) was away from the unit deeply engaged in vigorous training, the whole Tp’s uniforms had to be hung in the Sqn Sigs cage to allow additional drying time. I’m sure by the time the Tp is finally all in one location they may no longer be damp.