Naval Centennial Event Includes St. Barbara’s Day, Gun Salute & Cadets Well Fed Going Into the Exams!

RMC Closes Out Naval Centennial in Style

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Photos by: Cynthia Kent

RMC Navy Officers Do it with Class!

By: WJO

The final RMC event of the year celebrating the Naval Centennial was held at the RMC  Senior Staff Mess (SSM) on Friday 03 December.

A large cross section of army, air force, navy personnel were joined by faculty and other staff members in closing out the 100 year celebration of the Canadian Navy. Naval officer cadets from the college helped pack the the SSM.

The Sunset Sailpast by the MV Cordite launched in 1956 – designed and built by the Department of Mechanical Engineering was the centre piece for the formal festivities.

Due to the close proximity in dates with St. Barbara’s Day, a gun salute  honoured  that tradition too.

Following a naval tradition at sea, a “Stokers Open” golf tournament was held. Players improvised their golf clubs for the course which were built inside the mess. Air Force competitors were subject to an automatic 2 stroke penalty/score adjustment on completion of their round.

A long gone navy tradition was instituted for the evening: Rum Tot Issue, Executive Curl Epaulette Issue.

Many of the army and air force officers were noticed leaving early.  The navy officers and naval officer cadets partied hard well into the evening.

Hats off the the RMC navy officers who put the program together.  Very well done!

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Cadets Well Fed Going Into the Exams!

On Sunday, for the final time this calendar year, the ‘cooks’ at 6 Merritt Drive were busy whipping up eggs and ham ( no they weren’t green ! ) for a group of hungry Cadets. During a very relaxing Brunch, the small group had the chance to break away from their exams preps to enjoy some of the “College Mom’s” home cooking.

The Commandant took the occasion to say a special thanks to his outgoing ADC, NCdt Aaron Bradley. The entire ‘Truelove clan’ wished the cadets great success on their exams and all the best for a wonderful holiday season.

Comments from the Cadets…

Today I had the pleasure of attending the “Commandant’s Brunch” hosted by our Commandant and his lovely family. Upon arriving at the house we were greeted by a relaxed Christmas atmosphere. The sight of Christmas decorations and Christmas music reminded us of how close we are to being able to enjoy this wonderful holidays with our own families.

As we entered the house, we were greeted by the Truelove family and asked to relax and make ourselves feel at home. We were pointed in the direction of the juice and coffee and told to go explore the house. The house itself is a magnificent historical building on the campus and worthy of being seen by all cadets who attend RMC. The significant historical pieces throughout the house brings a certain “aw” factor to the tour as you explore the history of the college inside one of the colleges oldest buildings.

After exploring the house, the Commandant officially welcomed the group to his home and presented the Commandant’s Coin to his Aide de Camp OCdt Bradley (photo left) who will be leaving his position soon.

The meal itself was fantastic, it consisted of; hash browns, eggs, ham, sausage, pancakes and fruit. It was a great meal to start off the hectic exam period.

After the brunch, the group had the opportunity to socialize amongst themselves and get to know each other. Everybody had the opportunity to speak to Commodore Truelove and his family and discover a little bit about them.

Overall, the Brunch was a great experience and I recommend everybody at the college to try and attend at least one brunch. It will be worth your wild.

25245 NCdt (III) Chris Veinotte

Earlier this week I was asked by my good friend, OCdt Veinotte, to attend the Commandants Brunch on Sunday, December 5th. Naturally, I accepted, as this was an opportunity to visit the oldest building on RMC’s campus. It was intriguing to see aerial photos of the peninsula from the 1960’s, before Navy Bay fields, Sauvé, and the Kingston Military Community Sports Centre were around, as well as drawings of the Mackenzie building, dated all the way back to1877.

I was also honoured with being welcomed into the home of the Trueloves. With a firm handshake at the door and an invitation for coffee or juice in the kitchen, I was received into the Commandant’s personal life as a friend of the family’s. While we were waiting for the brunch to be prepared, we were free to explore the household, allowing us to gaze upon A/Slt Truelove and his beautiful bride in their wedding day photo’s, or even Cdr Truelove without a beard!

The homemade brunch, complete with fruit and cookies and chocolate for dessert, was fabulous, as we sat by the recently put up Christmas tree to eat it. I was placed next to the college’s Mom, and had a quite pleasant meal discussing home, plans for the holidays, and the exam period which is right around the corner. As we all are starting tomorrow, we all felt that this was a nice last chance to relax before hunkering down for exams.

All in all, the incredibly relaxed and comfortable atmosphere left me shocked when I realized that it was already time to go. As I signed the guest book and shook hands with Commodore Truelove once more, I was welcomed back any time, which I know was said in full earnest.

25377 OCdt (III Year)  James Ward