From the Commanding Officer
REGIMENTAL HQ – MONTREAL. I blink, and it is time again to pause and set down another entry for the Red Hackle Express. I do not expect the pace to get any slower, but I would not exchange it for anything in the world. My wife asked me the other day: "which evening this week will you actually be home?" If that is not a measure of the tempo, I do not know what is.
Thank you, Yulia, for your never-ending patience.
Over the last month we sent off nine soldiers on expeditionary deployments and conducted multiple engagements in support of the regiment. I had the pleasure of reviewing the Black Watch Cadet Corps ACR just over a week ago. I would also like to extend my thanks to our former Commanding Officer LCol Rob Unger for acting as Reviewing Officer at the Lachute Cadet Corps ACR, and to HCol Bolton and Maj Dubuc for representing the regiment at the Bishop's College School Cadet Corps ACR, where the Reviewing Officer was none other than our own 2nd Canadian Division Commander, Brigadier-General Harvey.
HCol Bolton and I also had the privilege of attending the Plaque Unveiling Ceremony at Guy-Drummond Elementary School, where we engaged with the Drummond family, the Mayor of Outremont, and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, the Honourable Rachel Bendayan. The school was named a century ago, for Capt Guy Melfort Drummond, one of the Regiment’s well-known officers in WWI, killed at the 2nd Battle for Ypres.
The unit has stood up a Force Generation Platoon and an RHC Engagement and Expansion Team to significantly catalyse the growth of the regiment in the new defence context. The work ahead is substantial, but I have every confidence we are up to the task. The Operations Plan has been published, all 38 tasks requiring Orders, Backbriefs, or Directives have been assigned, and the unit calendar residing in Defence 365 MS Outlook is expected to be operational by end of month.
Next week, I have the privilege of travelling alongside a small group of giants from this regiment for a short audience with His Majesty King Charles III on the 23rd of June. This relationship, sustained across generations by The Black Watch, reinforces something worth saying plainly: a storied regiment and a sovereign nation are not unrelated things.
The remainder of the summer will be dedicated to the Montreal and Maxville Highland Games, setting the conditions for the fall return to training, and establishing the unit order of battle. On that note, I am actively looking for volunteers to support the Montreal Highland Games. If you are able to lend a hand, please sign up at the link below – every pair of hands makes a difference.
https://www.
Thank you to the entire regimental family for your continued support and commitment to one of the finest military organizations in the world.
CO RHC