Navy Tells its Story on Great Lakes Tour

Navy tells its story on Great Lakes tour
Visit the ship starting today
By John Burman
The Hamilton Spectator
(May 4, 2007)

It's about who sailors are, what they do and what they do it with.

By the time HMCS Halifax glided through the ship canal and beneath the Burlington Bay Skyway into Hamilton, everyone aboard had a good idea what she and her people are capable of.

An action-packed cruise from Oshawa harbour to a berth at Pier 8 next to Second World War destroyer HMCS Haida -- Canada's most famous and successful warship -- featured everything from deck-tilting high-speed turns to man overboard drills and using the ship's Sea King helicopter to pluck divers from Lake Ontario.

The Great Lakes tour is a chance for the navy to connect with the majority of Canadians who never get to see much of ships or sailors because they are primarily based in Halifax and Esquimalt, says Rear Admiral Tyrone Pile, Canada's chief of military personnel, who was aboard for the trip.

"Its about visibility," says Pile, adding it is also a chance to "tell the navy's story" and promote the life and careers for recruiting.

Commander Scott Bishop, Halifax's captain, echoes Pile's comments. "We have a chance to show the Canadian people who we are, what we do and what this ship is capable of."

For Bishop, the trip to Hamilton was special. He proudly berthed his ship next to Haida, the destroyer his dad served on in the 1950s.

"Haida is to Canada what (Lord Horatio Nelson's) HMS Victory is to England.

"It is a national treasure."

Along the way, some 120 guests on this leg of the navy's Great Lakes public relations tour were treated to a barbecue and given the run of the ship.

The trip into Hamilton is a homecoming for the ship's navigation officer Lieutenant Keith Miller -- who says he joined the navy to travel and now spends his time telling people where to go.

Miller, 27, grew up in Hamilton, and got a chemical engineering degree with the navy at the Royal Military College (RMC) before joining active service.

"The opportunities for travel, responsibility and education have been unbelievable," he says.

Paul Suchy, 16, Petty Officer Second Class with 31 "Lion" Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps in Hamilton, is interested in what Miller -- a "Lion" veteran himself -- says.

Suchy and Leading Cadet Michael Sweika, 16, are both interested in attending RMC, getting an education and serving in the navy.

But education takes a back seat to plain old fun when Halifax heels over 20 degrees in a high-speed turn just outside Hamilton harbour and the deck tilts like a fun house.

"This is the best part, totally awesome," Suchy yells above the shrieks of the happy cadets, a troop of Royal Canadian Navy League cadets from Durham and military guests and victors aboard the ship. For more information, visit the Halifax website at www.navy.forces.gc.ca/halifax.