The other day, just before going to bed, our 10-year-old daughter Katrina came into my office.
"Dad, there's something important I have to tell you," she said, a serious tone in her voice.
Settling into my chair, I wonder, is this about conflicts in school? The war in Ukraine?
"What?" I ask.
"Dad, when I'm 12, I want to join air cadets. I want to quit Girl Guides and join air cadets."
She was very serious and determined about this. "Okay," I said. "But I'm not going to make you join cadets. You have to want to be there."
She had heard one of the recruitment ads on the radio, and was familiar with my and my wife's history with cadets. She has seen the picture of her, in an infant carrier, a week old, being carried to cadets with mom and dad both in our snappy blue officer uniforms.
I had been a cadet for six years from 1987 to 1993 with 17 Royal Canadian Air Cadets Squadron Yorkton, graduating as the top cadet and squadron commander with a cadet rank of warrant officer 1st class. Starting in 2001, I became the training officer, and my wife the administration officer, for 43 RCACS the Battlefords. Michelle stayed in that position for six years, and I for seven. Now it looks like we might have another six years; eight if Spencer joins up.
I have to admit there was a little part of me that felt like Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back, except this time Luke (Katrina) is going to join me in ruling the galaxy as father and son (daughter). Bwa ha ha ha haaaa!
When Michelle and I mustered out we were put on what is known as the Supplemental Holding Reserve, which is a paperwork way of bringing people back into the service if they choose to at a later date, or if something like a world war might require it. However, the government found the paperwork wasn't worth the effort, and last spring I got a letter saying that if I didn't re-enroll, I was done by this fall. So it looks like I am done, at least as an officer.
This time around, I think I'll be the parent on the parent committee that knows everything, BECAUSE I AM THE PARENT THAT KNOWS EVERYTHING. Oh, how the officers will just LOVE me.Besides, I'm a little too fat these days to fit in my old uniform.
If you haven't guessed, cadets have been a huge part of my life. It fostered leadership skills I didn't know I had. As a cadet, I took to heart, for life, the sign that hung above the non-commissioned officers lounge: "Lead, follow, or get out of the way."
Last night we attended yet another city registration night. And yet again I left feeling awful, because there is so much to offer, so much for our kids to do, but we either don't have the time or money to do them. With my wife doing shift work, and me working for both the newspaper and my own photography business, things like hockey or roller derby simply haven't happened.
In retrospect, there was so much more I could have done with the cadet program - summer camps, weekend survival exercises, volleyball and curling, range, Duke of Edinburgh's Award, if only I had the time. As a teenager, I was also active in debate, student council, newspaper and youth parliament.
The nice thing about cadets is you get out of it what you put into it. If you get involved in all the activities, you can be busy four or more days a week. Or you can just parade on Tuesdays. Either way, it's not going to bankrupt you, since cadets are free to join and the government supports much of the program costs. Yes, there is some fundraising, but nothing like other organizations.
Katrina often asks about my trip to Newfoundland. I was in Grade 8, and our squadron did an exchange with the Springdale, N.L., squadron. We went there for a week, and they came to Saskatchewan for a week. It was one of the most amazing trips I have gone on in my life, and made my life much richer as a result. I would love to do a similar exchange, this time for our daughter. I would love to see her eyes opened as much as mine were.
This is the time of year when kids join up, so if your kid is interested, take them. It changed my life in more ways than I can count.
I'm looking forward to these upcoming years with one, and possible two, kids in cadets. After being out since 2008, it looks like the family tradition will continue.
- Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached at [email protected].
