With 100 people in attendance, the Chestermere Cadets ushered in a new era with the change of command ceremony Oct. 24 at Camp Chestermere.
After finishing his three-year-term, Capt. Allan Schaber handed over command of 3125 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, Calgary Highlanders Chestermere to Capt. Ada Fong.
“It was quite an interesting adventure,” said Schaber.
Outgoing commander, Capt. Schaber has a long history with the Canadian Forces. Prior to commanding the cadets, he was a member of the Air Force.
Schaber worked in the pre-flight program.
“I would help and train pilots and air force personnel before they actually even got into a plane,” said Schaber.
He left the forces as a Second Lieutenant.
“I was quite happy as a Second Lieutenant,” he said.
He has been involved with the Chestermere corps since 2007, taking command in 2013.
Although Schaber and his family live in North East Calgary, Schaber’s son joined the Chestermere cadets. Schaber decided to volunteer with the corps when his son joined.
Instead of spending his evening driving back and forth from Chestermere, he decided to stay and volunteer.
“It is more sensible for me just to stay,” he said.
Eventually Schaber’s son suggested he get back into uniform.
“I finally ended up going back in and getting into uniform,” said Schaber who signed on again with the Forces in 2009.
“Three years ago I was promoted to captain and took over as the commanding officer of the 3125 Chestermere Army Cadets,” he said.
Commanding the cadets has been a great experience but two memories stand out to Schaber.
The first was when his corps hosted a group of cadets from Repulse Bay in Canada’s arctic as part of the Inter Cadet Exchange (ICE) program.
Repulse Bay is so remote that the exchange cadets had never seen an escalator.
“When they first arrived in Winnipeg…they had quite the joy of riding up and down the escalator,” said Schaber.
Once the cadets arrived in Chestermere one of activities they went on was a trip to the Royal Tyrell Museum. On the drive back to Chestermere they stopped to take pictures of cattle, something else that is unknown in the arctic.
“They were fascinated with cattle and wanted to take pictures of cattle,” he said.
He does regret that due to budget cuts within the Canadian Forces, his cadets never had the opportunity to go somewhere as part of the ICE program.
The other memory that stands out to him was the last field exercise he took the corps on.
The cadets bused up to Canadian Forces Base Edmonton where the cadets spent a three-day weekend hosted by the PPCLI.
While there the cadets were treated to the basic pre-parachuting training.
“They were strapped into these parachute harnesses that were suspended from the ceiling,” said Schaber.
The cadets practiced the different types of maneuvers need to control one’s descent by parachute.
Schaber participated and helped to demonstrate the techniques.
“The cadets were quite interested to see whether or not I could do it,” he said.
“I’m happy to say I was still able to demonstrate it for them,” said Schaber with a laugh.
He said that the cadets really enjoyed that weekend.
“The kids had a great time,” he said.
As he leaves the role of commanding officer, Schaber said that he has no regrets. Although he would like to see the Chestermere Cadet Corps grow to include more local youth.
Currently the corps has 41 cadets.
Growing the cadet program in Chestermere and area to include more local youth is one of Capt. Fong’s goals as she takes over command of the corps.
“We can grow another 10, 20 with the space we have,” she said.
The Chestermere cadet corps is currently based out of Camp Chestermere. Fong said this location has enough space for the corps needs now and in the future.
Fong also wants to get the cadets more involved in the community.
The cadets program is not a recruiting branch of the Canadian Forces. The goal of the program is to developed the core skills need to be a solid Canadian Citizen regardless of the cadet’s eventual career.
“Cadets is a federally sponsored youth development program,” said Schaber.
“Part of the mandate of the [cadet] program is citizenship,” said Fong.
“So putting the cadets into the community…brings them out of the norm of everyday adolescence,” she said.
This also will let the cadets give back to the community.
To this end, the cadets will be participating in the city’s Remembrance Day Ceremony on Nov. 11.
Although the role of Cadet Commander is new for her, Fong has been with the Chestermere Cadets since their inception in 2004.
“It’s the first and only corps that I’ve been with,” she said.
Some of the memories from working with the cadets that stand out to Fong include Schaber’s favourites of the exchange cadets and the exercise at CFB Edmonton.
Another memory that stands out to her was when the cadets participated in training regular forces member for the mission in Afghanistan at CFB Suffield near Medicine Hat.
“The cadets played a role in … playing villagers,” said Fong.
Looking to the future, Fong said she’s seen the ups and downs of the corps but thinks that the Chestermere Cadets are in a good place, both in terms of where they are based and the direction they are going.
The most ambitious goal Fong has for her command rotation will be to mark the 15th anniversary of the corps which coincides with the last year of her command term.
She doesn’t have the details in place yet but Fong would like to take the cadet corps on a trip either somewhere in Canada or overseas.
Some ideas for locations could include Ottawa for the Remembrance Day Ceremony or battlefield tours of Europe.
Fong will be working with parents and the rest of the command staff, which will continue to include Schaber, to work out the details of the trip.
Schaber will be staying with the Chestermere Cadets at least until the new year as an advisor to Capt. Fong.
In 2017, Schaber will stay with the Chestermere Corps if there is an opening for an officer. If that doesn’t occur, he will be transferred to the 2554 Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) Cadet Corps in Calgary.
For more information on the cadets go to http://www.chestermerecadets.com.
