Report by LT Laura Phillips, Acting Commanding Officer.
On Thursday, June 7th, The Royal Regiment of Canada Cadet Corps held their Annual Inspection at Fort York Armoury. This year was a special occasion as it marked the 50th Anniversary of the forming of the unit. To recognize this milestone year, the Corps was privileged and honoured to have Col (Ret’d) Ted Taylor, CD as its Reviewing Officer. Col Taylor has a longstanding relationship and connection with the Royals having served as an Officer and eventually Commanding Officer of the Regiment. In 1962, when High Schools no longer supported Cadet Training, he formed 2736 Cadet Corps at Fort York Armoury and was appointed the first Commanding Officer of the Corps. His presence at this year’s Annual provided a tangible and strong link to this moment in the Corps history.
35 cadets were on parade, including a contingent of Pioneers and a Flag Party. The Cadets were honoured by the presence of members of Branch 266 The Royal Canadian Legion; The Regiment – Col Jesse Jones, CWO Nick Webb, MWO Darryl Chambers and 2Lt Mark Henry, the Corps Liaison Officer, as well as the Cadet Detachment Representative, Capt John Morgan and the Parent’s Committee and Sponsor Representative, Mr. Randall Ross. The parade was supported by the band of the Royal Regiment, led by Capt Mighton.
The Cadets presented themselves extremely well in drill, dress and deportment. After the parade, there were many compliments and comments on their performance and turnout. The Officers of the Unit were extremely proud of all the cadets and very pleased to present the following awards:
- Baruwa Family Fitness Award for top fitness – Cpl Jing Pang
- LCol AE Neal Trophy for dress and deportment – Cpl Adam Donnelly
- Maj JA Fogg Award for best recruit/Green Star – Pte Rhys Mondok
- CWO Stefan Simonyi Award – Cpl Abubakar Baruwa
- Capt Dave Bennett Peer Mentoring Awards – MCpl Fraser Duff and Sgt Kenneth Jondonero
- Commanding Officer’s Award for participation – WO James Novakovic
- Joe Ryan Award for excellence in leadership – MCpl Fraser Duff
- LGen GG Simmonds Trophy for Cadet of the year – Sgt Kenneth Jondonero
We were also very pleased to award two medals:
- The Legion Medal of Excellence for Cadets who excel in leadership – WO James Novakovic
- The Lord Strathcona Medal, the highest award bestowed on cadets – WO Michael Nguyen
The parade was a wonderful culmination of the year of full and exciting training for the cadets. It was also a great way to send off the 16 cadets headed to summer camp on various courses, from first year General Training, to staffing at the National camp level. The Cadets are looking forward September, when we begin another great year of training!