Commonwealth Warriors

Commonwealth Warriors
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Monday 25 April 2016

ANZAC Day Halifax style

NEW

Canadian sailors mark Anzac Day with New Zealand shipmates

Five New Zealand sailors were given promotions on HMCS Montréal

By Steve Berry, CBC News Posted: Apr 25, 2016 1:50 PM AT Last Updated: Apr 25, 2016 2:07 PM AT
Traditional New Zealand meat pie agrees with this sailor. The pie was served as part of Anzac Day ceremonies on HMCS Montréal.
Traditional New Zealand meat pie agrees with this sailor. The pie was served as part of Anzac Day ceremonies on HMCS Montréal. (Steve Berry/CBC)
Canadian hospitality was on full display as members of the Royal Canadian Navy in Halifax held an Anzac Day ceremony for visiting sailors from New Zealand. 
Anzac Day commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders killed in war and also honours returned servicemen and women. It marks the day New Zealand and Australian soldiers landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in World War One.  
Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
Today, on HMCS Montréal, five sailors from New Zealand were given promotions and treated to some traditional Anzac Day foods. 
The sailors have been aboard the Canadian warship for three months as part of an exchange with the Royal New Zealand Navy. 
Cameron Gibson New Zealand sailor gets promoted
Cameron Gibson was one of five sailors who was promoted during the ANZAC Day ceremony on HMCS Montréal. (Steve Berry/CBC)
"They definitely deserved their promotions today. In fact towards the end of the week, I thought only one had their package done. But they all got promoted today; it was pretty special," said Lt.-Cmdr. Nancy Setchell.
After the official ceremony both Canadian and Kiwi sailors dug into ceremonial Anzac Day cookies, made from a traditional New Zealand military recipe. The cookies contain no eggs so they don't spoil on long voyages at sea. 
Canadian sailors lay cross during ANZAC ceremony
Sailors also laid crosses and wreaths to mark Anzac Day. (Steve Berry/CBC)
After the promotions, Mike Noakes of Dartmouth's Humble Pie Kitchen presented a traditional New Zealand-style meat pie to the sailors. Noakes once served in the New Zeland navy. 
"It's good; it tastes very similar. You can tell the guy who made it is from back home," said Able Marine Technician Cameron Gibson through bites of pie.
HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS St John's also took on New Zealand soldiers as part of the exchange. 
Anzac Day ceremonies were held aboard those ships Monday morning as well. 

Monday 11 April 2016

An officer seeks help

I'm sure there are many others in the commonwealth who suffer the same as him.

Longtime soldier says military pushed him out due to his mental illness

Colin Evans admits to excessive drinking, but says it was caused by severe depression

By Erica Johnson, CBC News Posted: Apr 11, 2016 3:00 AM MT Last Updated: Apr 11, 2016 11:27 AM MT
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Pushed out of military for mental illness, says longtime soldier 2:33
The Canadian military has discharged a soldier suffering from severe depression without a medical release, which means he is not eligible for long-term disability support, re-education, retraining or other benefits.
"After all my hard work that I have given to this country, it very much feels like I'm being thrown out as an embarrassment," says Colin Evans, who is originally from Saskatchewan. "It's heartbreaking."
The former captain who served in the Armed Forces for almost 17 years attempted suicide twice and has been diagnosed as having major depressive disorder.
Colin Evans 2
Evans was recently released from his military duties after an administrative review found him 'not advantageously employable.' (CBC)
Last week, the military released him, citing numerous alcohol-related incidents.
Evans says he abused alcohol because he's suffering from mental illness and wants the military to do a better job of recognizing the toll a soldier's job can take on their health.   

Wants a 'medical release'

He has filed a grievance with the military, a final attempt to have his mental illness fully recognized and get a medical release.
"The army has to acknowledge that there are people suffering from mental illness out there," he says.
Go Public asked the Canadian Armed Forces for an interview, but a spokesperson declined our request.
We also requested an interview with the head of the Department of National Defence, cabinet minister Harjit Sajjan.
Harjit Sajjan
Go Public requests for an interview with Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan were declined. (CBC)
Evans pleaded his case to Sajjan in a letter two months ago.  
No one from Sajjan's office responded to our emails, so CBC caught up with the minister at a press conference.
"Regrettably it's the first time I heard of this case," said Sajjan. "So I really can't comment on that."
He said the wellness of Canadian troops is a priority, "but there's clearly some work that needs to be done to make sure we address the needs of all our members."
Later, one of Sajjan's aides said he couldn't comment due to privacy reasons.

Troubled past 

Colin Evans Kandahar
Evans, while he was carrying out his captain's duties in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2011. (Colin Evans)
During his time with the military, Evans was involved in numerous drinking incidents, including drinking while driving and assaulting his common-law spouse.
"Drinking was a poor strategy to survive," he says. "I'm not proud of my past."
He says working for the military was extremely stressful, particularly the six months he spent in Afghanistan in 2011.
"It was complete denial of reality," says Evans. "I mean, indirect fire coming in, you just say to yourself, 'No, we're good.  We're OK.'
"You can't show weakness. You gotta be strong all the time."
When he returned from Afghanistan, he says, his depression was worse. He couldn't sleep, he felt "worthless, helpless, hopeless, like life is not worth living."

Diagnosed with mental illness

Dr. Curtis Woods, a psychiatrist with Alberta Health Services, diagnosed Evans as having major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder.
"What Colin has experienced is psychological stress that's been cumulative over time," says Woods.
But Woods says the military doesn't understand mental illness very well.
"It is complex, and it doesn't fall into a black box or a white box."
Curtis Woods
Dr. Curtis Woods says the military needs to recognize the complexities of mental illness in soldiers. (CBC)
Woods wants the military to give his patient a medical release to ensure he doesn't begin drinking again, or possibly harm himself.
"I believe that the medical benefits he's excluded from receiving are actually essential for his further rehabilitation and reintegration," Woods says.
In what's called an administrative review, the military said giving the soldier a medical release would be "problematic, because it would involve disregarding the member's misconduct."
Evans was released under a provision called "not advantageously employable," after it was ruled he was aware of right and wrong during his misconduct.

Calls for compassion, not discipline 

"It's not a matter, 'Oh, he knew he shouldn't drink,'" says Michael Blais, president of Canadian Veterans Advocacy, an organization that lobbies on behalf of military veterans.  
Mike Blais
Michael Blais, of the Canadian Veterans Advocacy, says the federal government must help soldiers with mental illness. (CBC)
"What is required is compassion ... not discipline," Blais says.
"I think that the military often looks for an excuse to release men and women who have sustained mental wounds," says Blais. "This is a common situation for many veterans."
Blais points to a 2014 survey by Statistics Canada that found one in six full-time members of the Canadian Armed Forces had recently experienced mental health or alcohol-related disorders.

Mental health issues prevalent in military

The survey of about 6,700 regular force members and 1,500 reservists suggested that depression was the most common mental health issue experienced.
It also found that one-third of Canada's soldiers worried that seeking help for mental health issues would harm their career.
Blais says that stigma is slowly fading, but the military needs to do more to support soldiers with mental illness.
"Because we broke 'em. They didn't break, we broke them. We put them into an environment where it was traumatic for them, they sustained a mental wound, and as a consequence, we are responsible," he says.

Liberals have promised more support

In the federal government's recent budget, the Liberals promised increased compensation for Canada's most injured veterans — $5.6 billion over six years to cover costs for veterans currently in the system.
'[Soldiers with mental illness] didn't break, we broke them ... we are responsible.'- Michael Blais, president of Canadian Veterans Advocacy
The move was seen as an attempt to improve relations with Canada's military members, who had a strained relationship with the previous Conservative government.
The new money, though, will be allocated to veterans with severe physical disabilities, not for soldiers with mental illness like Evans.
No longer an active member of the military, Evans has returned his uniform and other military belongings, and will soon move from Edmonton back to Saskatoon.  
"I gave a lot to this country," says Evans. "And I didn't ask for very much in return."

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With files from Enza Uda