11510 Mr Barry GJ Kennedy (RRMC 1977) is a member of the cast of ‘Out in the Cold’ on the Discovery Channel. He graduated from Royal Roads Military College, Victoria, with a degree in physics and physical oceanography. He was a fighter pilot for the Canadian Air Force till 1983, flying mainly out of Comox, and since then has been working as a writer, actor and standup comic while living in Toronto and Vancouver. His first two novels were Through the Deadfall and The Hindmost, published by Doubleday Canada. His most recent, Rock Varnish, was released in 2005 under the McArthur and Co. imprint.
Discovery Channel – Out in the Cold
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N.B. native takes a chilling trek
Tammy Scott-Wallace
Telegraph-Journal – 5 March 2009
SUSSEX – Most people can understand the sensation of a chill.
But a Belleisle native concluded a mission this week that saw him endure mind-numbingly bitter cold as he led a team of 30 Canadian Rangers through the longest, continuous military snowmobile trek on record.
After 34 days of managing some of the western provinces’ more gruelling winter terrain, 18084 Major Tim Byers (CMR RMC 1992) landed his snowmobile in Churchill, Manitoba, on Sunday.
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Soldier enters friendly battle
Army engineer pursues hoops glory at worlds
OTTAWA SUN , March 8, 2009
By LYNNE BERMEL – CF Sports Hall of Fame Member
23797 Lieut. Adam Asquini (RMC 2007) an army engineer, is getting ready to go to Lithuania this June for the world military basketball championship.
He just has to hope he’ll get there.
The power forward on the Canadian Forces men’s basketball team had to sit out last year’s championship in San Antonio. He was sent to Afghanistan at the last minute as part of a scientific team investigating roadside bombs.
“That’s life in the military. It’s ‘military first’ and that’s what I signed up to do,” says Asquini, 24, who has been playing on the Canadian Forces team since he graduated from Royal Military College two years ago.
His last taste of international play was at an invitational tournament at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium. He was one of Canada’s leading scorers, helping the team to a fifth-place finish in the 12-team tournament.
At the recent Canadian Forces basketball championship at CFB Borden, he averaged 25 points a game, leading his team to an unbeaten record.
He played all 40 minutes in each of the team’s six games — the only player to do so — and was named to the all-star team and selected tournament MVP.
“Adam is a natural leader. He’s a big asset to the team,” says George Mooney, the team’s longtime coach, who currently works as the military sports co-ordinator at National Defence Headquarters.
“He’s always defended by other teams’ top players, which speaks volumes.”
The tournament will be one of 20 competitions in a variety of sports being held around the world by the World Military Sports Council (CISM). CISM was founded in 1948 to encourage armed forces from around the world to meet in sports arenas instead of battlefields under its motto: “Friendship through Sport.”
Considered larger than the Olympic movement in terms of participation, CISM now includes 131 member countries, many of which send their Olympians to the CISM championships.
Asquini says he’ll have to bring his game up another notch in Lithuania.
“A number of other countries in CISM conscript their players,” he says.
“We’ll be up against players who are on their Olympic teams and in their professional leagues, including those with NCAA experience. It’s just not the same for us here in Canada. We’re a relatively small military with a high operational tempo.”
Representing a nation as large as Canada also presents challenges.
“We’re also spread across the country,” he explains.
“We pull guys from Halifax to those stationed in Victoria and bases in between. While some of us have played together before, we won’t have worked together as a team until a week or so before we hop in the plane for Lithuania.”
Not that Asquini really minds.
“I’m not complaining by any stretch,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity to be able to represent Canada at any CISM championship and my chain of command has been really supportive.
“Just to make it to the medal round in Lithuania will be beyond our wildest dreams. It’ll be a huge adrenaline rush. I’ll just have to bring my ‘A’ game.”