Kingston Branch brought up to speed
By: WJO
The Royal Canadian Colleges Club of Canada – Kingston Branch members were the recipients of a highly informative and entertaining talk at their monthly luncheon last Wed (3 Dec) at the Senior Staff Mess.
A good turnout sit through a 45 minutes keynote address including questions & answers by 10966 LGen (ret) Michel Maisonneuve – Academic Director / Royal Military College Saint-Jean – photo left.
The Class of 1976 RMC graduate and former Cadet Wing Commander spoke passionately and informatively of the current status and what it happening at the “other” military college located on the site of Fort Saint-Jean, originally built in 1666, which is now part of the town of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec.
He heaped praise on the current military leadership, headed by the commandant, 17312 Colonel Jennie Carignan and was equally enthusiastic on how impressed he is with the outstanding calibre of the faculty and civilian staffs at his location.
The main portion of his address included:
Historical Overview
More Recent History
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1952 Opening of the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean (two-year preparatory programme)
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1969 Programme expansion in partnership with University of Sherbrooke
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1971 First graduating class (18 students)
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1979 Six women joined the UTPM program at CMR
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1980 First ROTP women admitted
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1985 Receives University Charter
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1995 Closure
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2008 Reopening
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2011 Colours presented by Governor General
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2012 60th anniversary
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2013 Inauguration of Hall of Fame
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2014 Integration of Chief Warrant Officer Osside Profession of Arms Institute
The 35 year retired veteran of the the C.A.F. explained the Province of Quebec CEGEP System and the differences with the rest of Canada. The chart below pretty well outlines the realities:
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The Hall of Fame graduate of the U.S. Armed Forces Staff College provided a very user friendly chart on the current break-down of the Cadet Wing:
The very proud Academic Director did not hesitate to highlight successes of the cadets that have recently attended and are current cadets at RMC Saint-Jean. He spent some time outlining one of the main challenges which is – recruiting candidates from the province of Quebec that have both the interest and the potential to succeed.
The results from a survey given to the 140 cadets who entered this past August were a bit of an eye opener. From the group: 120 males, 20 females; 79 had english as their first language and the remaining 61 were french. 42% called the province of Quebec home, while 31% hailed from Ontario. The remainder were from other regions of Canada. When asked how did they heard about military college – (1) Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre(s); (2) current officer cadets currently in the system and (3) Ex Cadets.
Looking around the room it was obvious that the crowd were as attentive at the end of the highly informative presentation as they were at the beginning. Many Ex cadets were overheard speaking in small groups on how much they appreciated the retired LGen (ret) taking time out from his busy schedule to bring them up-to-date on happenings at RMC Saint-Jean.
The next luncheon for the Kingston Branch will be the regular first Wed of the month – 7 Jan at the SSM. Bar is open around 1130; most members have a light lunch starting approx.1230 and the guest speakers commence shortly after 1300. The guest speaker in January is the Director of Athletics and others and the subject will be the 2015 visit to West Point. All Ex Cadets who will be in the area are welcome to attend.