19 January 2024
The current CMEA website was launched on 19 January 2014, ten years to the day of writing. Since that time it has grown from 500 pages to over 8500 pages of current news, events, historical entries and other items of interest. In addition to thousands of visits from Canadian users, it receives dozens from other parts of the world.
In 2014, to mark the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, the French government began the process of honouring Canadians who participated in assisted with the liberation of France. To date, nearly 1,200 Canadian veterans have received the French National Order of the Legion of Honour. As France prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day next year, the country is working with the Canadian government to identify more veterans who qualify for the honour.
Effective 1 January 2024, Parks Canada will be providing free daily admission to active CAF members, Veterans of the CAF, and their immediate families. See here for details.
On a beautiful Sunday in September, several members of the Georgian Bay Volunteer Search and Rescue came out to the Canadian Forces Fire and CBRN Academy (CFFCA) training area to hone their skills and to prepare two of their canine members for their upcoming certifications. They took advantage of our expansive area of 159 acres and maneuvered through challenging scenarios, making use of some of the training props in our “Disaster Village”.
22 November 2023
On 22 and 23 November 2023, the CMEA held its National Conference at the Novotel in Ottawa. The first day of the Conference was devoted to Professional Development with over 100 people in attendance. It was also streamed live to a wide audience.
This year's Sapper Claus marks the tenth anniversary of this programme. In those ten years, the CMEA has shipped Christmas greetings and gifts to over 1,400 Engineers serving on deployment or in the far north over the holiday season away from family and friends.
This is a story about the compassion and sensitivity shown by Canadian soldiers in the horror of war in Italy. It starts just after the battles of Monte Cassino and the Liri Valley when a small orphan named Gino was found hiding in the rubble of his village overlooking the battlefields. Gino stayed with those men until the end of their time in Italy before moving on to continue the fight in Holland and Germany. Bear in mind, by June 1944, many of these these men had fought from the shores of Sicily to the outskirts of Rome, walking and marching most of the way.
Article by Capt Kyle Ho, Real Property Operations Unit (West)
On Nov. 11, Canadians gather to recognize and acknowledge those who have sacrificed so we can enjoy our peace and freedom.