Cadets Training for the “M” / Elèves officiers en entraînement pour le «M»

PMT article coordinated by: Officer Cadet 27079 (II) Joshua Siu – 7 Squadron – Cadet Wing Internal Information O

• This week during (I Years)  PMT’s Padres hour, the Officer Cadets received a briefing by 14429 Chaplain General John Fletcher on the importance of religion within the Canadian Armed Forces. General Fletcher discussed two important points: the personal benefits of knowing the nature of religion and the role that religion plays within overseas operations.
• The second year Officer Cadets had a briefing with the ALOY (Aboriginal Leadership Opportunity Year) squadron commander, WO Highfield, who spoke about the different opportunities that OCdts have to staff the ALOY program and be part of the special program as staff.
• The third year Officer Cadets of the Royal Military College of Canada attended their weekly Professional Military Training. PMT was split into two portions this week, a DCdt’s hour and a lecture given by the Chaplain General.
• Cette semaine pour la période de formation militaire hebdomadaire, les 4ieme années ont assistés à deux présentations.

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This week during PMT’s Padres hour, the Officer Cadets received a briefing by 14429 Chaplain General John Fletcher on the importance of religion within the Canadian Armed Forces. General Fletcher discussed two important points: the personal benefits of knowing the nature of religion and the role that religion plays within overseas operations.

He stressed that since a majority of the world identifies as being religious, understanding religion and how it effects people’s lifestyles can provide insight into how one should approach communities with strong religious roots. The Cadets learned that most religions have the power to bring people together but at the same time be exclusive and divisive; when the latter occurs it creates barriers for outside forces and can impede operations.

General Fletcher further educated the Officer Cadets on how one can work within religious parameters to ensure that relations overseas and at home remain open and stable. He also touched on topics such as religious freedom, religion as a catalyst for peace and further discussed how religion has previously, and will continue, to effect international relations. Overall, the value of this briefing was immense: being both informative and innovative in perspective, the information provided deep considerations for the first year Officer Cadets who will encounter these challenges throughout their careers.

– OCdt (I) Anna Dillman (27279)

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The second year Officer Cadets had a briefing with the ALOY (Aboriginal Leadership Opportunity Year) squadron commander, WO Highfield, who spoke about the different opportunities that OCdts have to staff the ALOY program and be part of the special program as staff. The current Cadet Flight Leader (CFL), NCdt Yates 26495, talked about the different staff positions that were available for this special program, and also shared with the second years about his experience as the cadet leader for ALOY this year. Lastly, NCdt General E7454, a past member of the ALOY program, shared with the year about her experience in the program and described her unique opportunity to be part of the program.

– OCdt (II) Joshua Siu (27079)

This past Wednesday, March 5th the Class of 2016 sat in on a standard round of PMT briefings. The first briefing was a class senior hour where the class senior, NCdt (26634) III Pathinather asked the class for suggestions and tips going forward for various different aspects of cadet life such as future PMT sessions, class projects and general college life issues. The class senior also provided information regarding the upcoming elections for next year’s class senior and provided suggestions for the third year cadets as they continue forward into fourth year.

The second briefing was a unique one in which Chaplain General John Fletcher discussed the importance of religious tolerance and understanding in the many international operations Canada is involved in. He emphasized the importance of faith within the Canadian Forces and that an officer needs to be able to work with subordinates who are faithful even if he or she is not. He gave the example of the campaign in Afghanistan when Canada expected to consolidate a secular state however the idea was eventually deemed unreasonable as a result of the strong faith beliefs of the nation.

This week was an educational PMT as always and brought the third year cadets even closer to real Canadian Forces issues and considerations.

– OCdt (III) Danielle Andela (26659)

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On Wednesday March 11, the third year Officer Cadets of the Royal Military College of Canada attended their weekly Professional Military Training. PMT was split into two portions this week, a DCdt’s hour and a lecture given by the Chaplain General John Fletcher.

Unfortunately, DCdt’s was unable to be present during the first hour and in his place, the class senior (OCdt Kevin Pathinather) stepped in and opened the floor to questions from his fellow classmates. The class senior addressed the concerns of his fellow classmates such as how is the training wing keeping PMT’s relevant and ensuring that they aren’t repeated. He discussed the upcoming third year class project and what it will entail. He also presented some information on what the unit fund is and what it’s purpose is at the college.

The second portion of PMT was spent being briefed by Chaplain General John Fletcher. Rev. Fletcher discussed the pros and cons of religion, the role of the Padre in the military and what services they can provide, the statistics of religion in society, and the role it plays in communities by supporting one another. He also talked about the importance of understanding religion and the role it plays in an operational theatre. He stressed the importance of understanding this idea as it’s a crucial aspect of fighting wars overseas and ensuring that the religious needs of the people that we are trying to help are met. After enlightening us, the General Padre had an open discussion period with cadets to ensure their opinions and concerns were expressed.

– OCdt (III) J Beaulieu 26555

More third year PMT – 11 March pictures here: http://www.kyletilley.photography/s/ThirdYear_PMT-11Mar.zip

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Cette semaine pour la période de formation militaire hebdomadaire, les 4ieme années ont assistés à deux présentations. La première, donnée par le commandant de l’escadron 2, le Capt Watson, avait pour sujet les RDP et les RAP. Ces deux types de rapport évaluent entre autres la performance et le développement des militaires. En tant qu’officiers dans les FAC, nous aurons à remplir ce type de rapport pour nos subordonnés. Le présentateur nous a donc informé sur les objectifs et les buts du RDP et du RAP, les procédures de rédaction et le nouveau format de ces rapports. Il a également souligné l’importance d’être honnête et sérieux dans l’écriture de ces rapports et dans l’évaluation de nos troupes. Ce fut une présentation instructive pour les élofs qui vont graduer bientôt.

La deuxième présentation donnée par le Lt (v) Medeiros portait sur les affaires courantes du monde. Le présentateur a souligné en début de présentation l’importance pour les officiers de se tenir au courant des événements qui se déroulent à travers le monde. Le sujet choisi pour la présentation était la situation actuelle en Syrie et en Irak avec le mouvement le l’État Islamqiue (ISIS en anglais). Le présentateur nous a informé sur les buts du mouvement ISIS, sur ses territoires contrôlés, sa structure organisationnelle, ses méthodes de recrutement et ses cibles. La présentation a permit aux Élèves-officiers de prendre connaissance d’une affaire courante du monde, en plus de leur fournir un complément d’information sur ISIS et la situation en Syrie et en Irak.

La période de formation militaire de cette semaine fut donc bien instructive pour la classe de 4ieme année qui se prépare à son futur et imminent rôle d’officier dans les FAC.

– Élof (IV) Alexia Croizer (26091)