Army reservists honoured (6 photos)
Friday, October 05, 2012 by: Brad Coccimiglio
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Earlier this week, 49th Field Regiment honoured one of their own as Master Bombardier Stephen Rowley as well as his employer, Wilderness Group in a presentation made on Wednesday afternoon.
MBdr Rowley has been a member of 49th Fd for over 12 years and during that time he has served two tours of duty in Afghanistan as a member of Artillery 155mm Howitzer Gun troop.
31 Service Battalion also recognized one of their own in a similar fashion as they honoured Sergeant Jantje Bomhof and his employer, Soo Mill, by presenting both with 31 Canadian Brigade Group certificates of appreciation.
Captain Bradley Miller, 49th Field Operations Officer, said the opportunity to honour some of their own is something special.
“It’s a huge honour and a privilege honouring a military individual who has sacrificed his time from his family to go over and represent Canada overseas twice,” said Miller. “To also bring in his employer is huge. We feel privileged to be able to do that.”
Prior to the presentations, the 49th Field Regiment held an open house at the armoury.
Members of the public were able to see some of the machinery used by members of the 49th.
“The reason we had the open house and invited the community was because 49th is made up of community members, so why not bring them in and show what we do on a daily basis,” said Miller. “To bring them in and show them our equipment and some of our training is exactly what we want to do. We want to get back out into the community.”
Miller added that community interest has grown in recent months as they try to stay in the public eye by participating in community events when possible.
Wednesday also marked a significant date in the history of the Army Reserve as it was Oct. 3, 1914 when the 1st Canadian Division sailed from Gaspe, Quebec to Europe at the beginning of World War I.
