Remembrance Day

My Air Cadets performed an overnight vigil at the Cenotaph this year. They've been doing it for 12 years apparently. A third of them were new cadets who had only just been taught to march so watching them perform the evolutions to get the guards switched was amusing, but they were very earnest and took it seriously.

Here is the vigil guard at night:

Then in the morning we put on a team of all senior cadets who knew their rifle drill:

Of course they had to hustle back to the Legion hall to get some breakfast before the parade formed up at 10.

I couldn't see because I was out front, but my staff told me that they all looked sharp with minimal squirming and their marching was good too.

My Remembrance reading this year was "Unflinching, the Making of a Canadian Sniper" by Jody Mitic. An interesting memoir by a young man who lost both legs to a mine in Afghanistan. Most of the book is his early years and training, culminating in his deployment to Afghanistan. The details of how scout-sniper teams were used was quite informative. His recounting of his struggle with depression and addiction to pain killers was open and honest. His conclusion that he wouldn't change anything, because he met his wife due to his injuries, was humbling.