BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN
A young Sudbury man who dreamed of joining the army as a child has been named the One Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (OCMBG) top combat soldier for 2005.
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Pte. Jesse Tait, 25, started his military career in the 2964 Walden Irish army cadet corps. |
Pte. Jesse Tait, 25, joined the Canadian army nearly four years ago and became a member of the Second Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.
In the summer of 2003, he was sent to Bosnia along with other members as a peacekeeper for six months.
Right now, he's stationed at the army base in Shiloh, Manitoba, where he's receiving further training as a sniper and trying to get some leadership experience under his belt.
He's also entered several "mountain man" competitions during his time in the army, where he participated in canoe races, sand bag carries and rucksack runs.
Tait's commanding officer told him to apply for the OCMBG honour this summer.
He filled out a form asking about his professional accomplishments, tours of duty, decorations, after-hours activities and community service.
He'll receive the award in Ottawa on Nov. 18.
"I found out that I'd won on the graduation parade of the course I did this summer," he says. "The commanding officer of the battalion came out, and asked me if I'd heard anything, and I said I hadn't because I'd kind of been in a vacuum out there during the course. He said that I was the guy who won."
Tait says his parents are pretty proud of him for following his dreams and winning the prestigious award.
As a teen attending Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, Tait nurtured his interest in combat as a member of the 2964 Walden Irish army cadet corps, where he excelled in biathlon.
He attended college for a few years before finally taking the plunge and joining the army.
"I've always kind of wanted to go in the army. My grandfather was a mounted policeman during the Second World War - a mountie. He didn't get to
go over," he says. "I just really enjoy it. I'm glad I did it."
The young man learned about the ravages of war while serving in Bosnia. At times, he felt very far away from his family and friends in Sudbury.
"The countryside was beautiful, except in some places there's a lot of garbage. It's a real eye-opener, because the war hasn't been there for 10
years. We've been peace-keeping there for 10 years," he says.
"People are still living in houses that are bullet-riddled and shelled out. It's not pleasant living conditions over there for anybody, really."
Tait has great respect for all veterans, especially those who served in the Second World War. His own experiences as a peacekeeper have been relatively tame, he says.
"I don't think there's a comparison. I've never seen horrors like I'm sure they have," says Tait.
"I absolutely have a lot of respect for them. Maybe one reason that I'm in the army is that if no one was here to keep going, they would have done it
for nothing."
