United in Service of Defence and Security since 1920 |
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Dear , Welcome to the December 2021 issue of our monthly e-newsletter - Dispatches. We are excited to continue keeping you informed about RAUSI and related events and news. If you ever find that this e-newsletter is not for you, simply click on the link at the bottom of this newsletter to unsubscribe.
All members are warmly welcomed to contribute newsworthy matters to future monthly issues of Dispatches by e-mailing us at admin@rausi.ca. |
| Look for the next RAUSI Dispatches in your mailbox Wednesday, 5 January 2022. Content submission deadline is Thursday, 23 December 2021. Questions or submission? Write to admin@rausi.ca. |
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RAUSI is excited to present a virtual Lunch and Learn on Friday, 10 December at 12:00 p.m. MST featuring Dr. Geoff Jackson. Dr. Jackson is a professor at Mount Royal University (MRU) in the Humanities Department and teaches courses on Military and Canadian History, as well as Strategic Studies. His talk will focus on his new book The War Diaries of General David Watson, which speaks about military leadership, particularly as it relates to MGen Watson and the challenges he faced during WW1 as Commander of the 4th Canadian Division at Vimy. The Lunch and Learn will be held over Zoom. Register through Zoom >>
Any questions can be directed to programs@rausi.ca. We look forward to "seeing" you there! | |
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Message from the President
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Field of Crosses 2021 This year as in the past 13 years, from the 1st to the 11th of November, 3500 crosses were erected in a park along Memorial Drive, in Calgary, to pay tribute individually to the thousands of Southern Albertans who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our freedom. In addition a separate part of the park was set aside, with 120 unique crosses, for a special memorial to the 120,000 heroes from across Canada who lost their lives fighting for this great country. All day and night people walked through the 5-acre memorial, which is lit 24/7, reading the crosses and being reminded that our freedom was not free.
The location on Memorial Drive is most fitting as the following history explains. After the First World War, a number of groups and individuals in Calgary, came together to plant a tree for each fallen soldier of the Great War. The hope was that a living memorial would bring solace to grieving families who did not have graves to visit. On May 11, 1922, the first tree was planted on Sunnyside Boulevard (now Memorial Drive), between ninth and nine-and-a-half St. N.W by Mayor Adams. Planting continued steadily through until 1928 and a grand total of 3,278 trees were planted. In 1922, the trees were sold for $1 and metal discs (inscribed with the year, the donor's name and a tag number) were attached to stands in front of each tree.
The Field of Crossed represents war dead who originated in Southern Alberta. These 3,500 crosses depict the painful results of the following conflicts: - The Boer War (South African War) / 1899-1902: more than 7,000 Canadians, including 12 nurses, served in the war. Of these, approximately 270 died. The war was significant because it marked the first time Canadian troops distinguished themselves in battle overseas.
- WW1 (First World War) / 1914-1918: Close to 61,000 Canadians were killed during the war, and another 172,000 were wounded. Many more returned home broken in mind and body.
- WW2 (Second World War) / 1939-1945: More than a million Canadians served in the armed forces, representing about 10 percent of the entire population. Around 45,000 lost their lives.
- Korean War / 1950-1953: 516 Canadians died in service.
- United Nations Peacekeeping Missions including: UNEF I / 1956–1967 (Egypt) – established as a result of Nobel Peace Prize winner, Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson’s concept of peace keeping missions. And many others such as Cyprus, a number of African and Middle-East countries, Vietnam, Cambodia, Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Herzegovina, and Haiti. From 1948 to the present, Canada has deployed 125,000 peacekeepers. 130 of these peacekeepers have been killed.
- The Afghanistan War / 2001-2011: One hundred and fifty-eight (158) Canadian Armed Forces members lost their lives in service while participating in our country's military efforts in Afghanistan.
Each morning from November 1 to November 10, at sunrise, a moving flag raising ceremony was held and choirs, military pageantry, buglers, pipers, families of the fallen and honoured guests paid tribute to our war dead. Each evening at sunset a similar service was held and flags were lowered. On November 10th, a special sunset ceremony – the Night of Lights – was held to include the placement of candles at each of the crosses, attendance of the Lt. Governor, and the posting of a Lone Sentry at the cenotaph from sunset to sunrise on 11 November.
On November 11 a touching Remembrance Day service was held, televised and streamed to more than 300,000 viewers. It included George Canyon joining the Cantare Coir to sing the National Anthem and a fly past of RCAF jets.
As COVID-19 has impacted the participation of Remembrance events, especially for students, youth groups and the elderly, Valour Canada has produced short vignettes telling the stories of some of the fallen represented at the Field of Crosses as well as an educational virtual Remembrance Day video to allow those who cannot attend a ceremony to remember and understand.
The key to the success of the Field of Crosses Project is the volunteering of local individuals and groups. 3 CAV - The Canadian Army Veterans Group, along with hundreds of dedicated volunteers assist in this extensive undertaking, cleaning the crosses, installing the bases, erecting and taking down and storing the crosses. The series of events are also supported by the Calgary Police Service, Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services, Alberta Sheriffs, local Navy and Army Reserve Units, the Royal Canadian Legion, as well as many civilian sponsors.
The Field of Crosses was the inspiration of Calgary businessman and philanthropist, Murray McCann. Traveling in Georgia, Murray was deeply moved by how the community of Menlo, Georgia, with a population of less than 500, was commemorating their fallen by erecting crosses by the roadside. He realized how fortunate he had been to live his life in freedom because of the thousands of Canadians who had given their lives to make that freedom possible. Upon returning to Calgary he contacted his long time friend, George Bittman who headed up The Calgary Poppy Fund, with the idea of erecting crosses as tribute to the thousands of Southern Albertans who fell defending our freedom. The crosses would stand in military cemetery formation for the 11 days of The Calgary Poppy Fund Campaign as an annual visible reminder of those who gave up their lives. What for 10 years was a private memorial, founded and funded by a private foundation, has now been gifted to the public as a registered charity to assure that 100 years from now we still remember and we never forget.
Maj Kent Griffiths, MMM, CD (Retired)
President
The Royal Alberta United Services Insitute (RAUSI)
president@rausi.ca
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Operationalizing the ArcticRAUSI has noted with interest the recent publications of US Armed Forces, service-specific, Arctic Strategies. Like many Canadian Arctic strategies, these are filled with robust rhetoric but fail to include specific details which would allow the reader to understand how the various strategies could be fully implemented in a cost-effective manner. In a recent publication titled OPERATIONALIZING THE ARCTIC, Dr. Ryan Burke and Dr. Cameron Carlson call for the coordination of the various US Department of Defense Arctic strategies. | |
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2021 RAUSI Bursary Recipients
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Congratulations to Ms. Moysal Sana (University of British Columbia - "With a Push of a Button. Can Cyber Threats Cause Armed Conflict or Nuclear Wars?") and Mr. Chris Verklan (University of Calgary, Centre for Military, Security & Strategic Studies - "Rethinking Grand Strategy for an Era of Climate Change") who have been awarded The Royal Alberta United Services Institute Bursaries for Security and Defence Studies in Applied Technology, Physical and Social Sciences. More information to follow.
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Your continuing financial support of the Institute is very important during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we encourage everyone to renew your membership no later than 31 December 2021. The Membership Dues for 2022 are as follows: - Ordinary Members - $85/year
- Associate (Garrison) Members - $25/year
- Associate (Out-of-Town) Members - $30/year
- Corporate / Group Members – please call for details
Membership Renewals can be completed online, with options to pay by PayPal (credit, debit) or Interac. Please login to the website, and visit the Membership Renewals page under Members. This page is customized for each person indicating 2022 fees for your membership type, and whether they have been paid or are due. Your login username:
If you need a reminder for your password, you can use the recovery option. If you would like to join as a new member, you can join us by visiting Become a Member page. |
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RAUSI has been successfully running a virtual office for over a year – since March 2020 – with directors and consultants working from home or elsewhere and hence replacing the former office operation at Mewata. RAUSI is now well on its way to rebranding itself as a think- tank in global security and defence. Records currently created are digital and filed either locally or on the cloud; older paper files remain at Mewata. RAUSI is intending to split the current single Secretary-Treasurer appointment into two separate appointments: Treasurer, and Secretary-Records Archivist. A new member has kindly agreed to stand for Treasurer for 2022 and will manage financial reporting and compliance, business modelling, and collaborating with the bookkeeper. Hence, RAUSI is now searching for a member or prospective member to stand for the appointment of Secretary-Records Archivist. Responsibility concerns, generally: - managing and organizing RAUSI’s digital files on the cloud, and moving the rare hard copy document into a digital format;
- ensuring the annual compliance filings are completed by the relevant director(s) and then are filed with the provincial (2) and federal (2) authorities;
- diarizing critical dates for administration, such as expiry/renewal of insurance;
- monitoring progressive amendments of by-laws in conjunction with other directors;
- taking minutes of Zoom meetings which, if as planned, will occur quarterly; and
- collaborating with other directors, bookkeeper, Treasurer, webmaster, and social media consultant as necessary.
Readers are encouraged to circulate this note among their friends and social media contacts who may have experience as e.g., a paralegal, librarian, records manager, or archivist, and wish to contribute to a increasingly diversified board of directors in advancing issues in security and defence. Further details of RAUSI are set out on its website under vision, mission and mandate. Should questions arise, please contact Joe Howard, Secretary-Treasurer, at admin@rausi.ca.
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Research Participants Needed
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The Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences research group at McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton are running a study looking at the effects of "minority stress" on current and former members of the Canadian Armed Forces. Minority stress is the excess stress, discrimination, and prejudice that individuals face due to their minority status/stigmatized identity, related to sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, gender, and other social identities. The study lead by Dr. Andrew Nicholson from McMaster University is currently recruiting research participants and are very interested in talking to individuals who are currently serving or those who have served in the Canadian Armed Forces and identify as a sexual minority about their experiences. Individuals who were affected by the LGBT Purge are very welcome and encouraged to participate. The study consists of questionnaires and 2-3 interviews and there is also an optional fMRI portion for interested participants living in the Greater Toronto Area. If you have any queries or require additional information on the study please contact, Sandhya Narikuzhy at narikuzs@mcmaster.ca.
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Building a bridge between uniformed and civilian communities, the Royal Alberta United Service Institute's vision is to be the premier organization in Alberta linking the public with members of the Canadian military and their role within and beyond the border of Canada. |
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Copyright © 2021. The Royal Alberta United Service Institute, All rights reserved.
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