IN THE NAVY – Dean’s Experience of a Lifetime!

September 17, 2009

When the opportunity presented itself to participate in the Canadian Forces experience program, I jumped at it - and given my experience - I am better for doing so.

While I cannot begin to adequately describe the honour that was bestowed upon me to serve aboard the HMCS Regina, I wanted to share with my constituency the experience that I had and a few of the things that I’ve learned.

To begin with, I made it clear to Commander Derek Moss that I wanted the full experience; that meant no V.I.P. treatment and that I expected to be a contributing member of the crew while aboard and earn my keep.  To their credit, that is exactly the experience that the crew sought to provide me with.

Upon arriving at CFB Esquimalt, I was outfitted in a uniform and then quickly escorted aboard ship.  The HMCS Regina is a Halifax class frigate that was commissioned in 1994.  She measures 134 metres in length with a beam of 16.4 metres.  Entirely Canadian built, the Halifax frigate is one impressive vessel.  Capable of top speeds of over 30 knots or approximately 35 land miles per hour, she turns like a speed boat and can come to a full stop in roughly 1 ½ times her length.  Simply put - they are the finest such vessels in any Navy in the world.

Once on board, I was taken to my bunk in Cabin 68 were I shared my accommodations with 4 sailors.  The accommodations were clean and comfortable and nicely personalized by the crew.  They are also very tight and strikingly dark after lights out - clearly not in competition with a cruise ship.

The camaraderie in the Navy is incredible, and the patriotic and professional crew that make up the ships compliment seemed as interested in my presence as I was in working with them.   Introductions were quickly made and I was assigned to duty.  Without warning, the first drill on board was underway as “man overboard” was cried out am my initiation began as the vessel came about abruptly with the ship seeming to tilt right over on its side!

The wake-up call, “all hands” is at 7 am but you are well advised to be up an hour before that to insure a turn in the bathroom before breakfast.  The food onboard is surprisingly good and plentiful and the crew eats in shifts and then quickly makes the transition to their post.

On Day 2 (the first full day), I was assigned to Operations - a high security part of the ship where all of the tactical defence, tracking, and armament are controlled and constantly monitored.  While the crew make working on the radar and sonar equipment look easy, it’s a highly skilled position that the entire ship depends upon and - for the record – it’s not that easy, although absolutely fascinating.  The best way to explain “ops” is to imagine the bridge on the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek, it’s very cool!

Next to the Bridge is where I served with the Bosun, effectively the Secretary of the Bridge who is responsible for all the “pipes” on board.  The “pipes” refer to the whistles sent over the intercom to the ships company to announce everything from dinner to warnings.  It’s an important and hectic position, particularly when the ship is conducting training exercises.
 
From there I went to the ships electrical department and learned of its incredible output capability.  I inspected the panels, generators and monitoring systems.  The Regina is equipped with 4 diesel generators that have the ability to light up a town of 5000 people but on any given day at sea they operate on only two and they have the ability to run on just one in an emergency situation.

Lastly, I finished my day in the engine room where I was astonished to learn that the Halifax Frigates are powered by both a fuel efficient diesel cruise engine capable of propelling the ship up to 17 knots and -more impressively - two General Electric jet turbines producing 50,000 horsepower.  There is something very special about watching a screaming jet turbine through a window on a ship, the power on display is awesome and the effect is incredible.  I can tell you that having stood on the back deck while the ship made 32 knots across the water and then turned like a speed boat is a feeling that cannot be adequately described.

Day 3 started off with reporting for duty with the Ship’s Vitler.   The Vitler is the crewman responsible for taking the food from storage to the galley as well as keeping inventory of the entire ships storage of food.  The ship is equipped with a large refrigeration room and several freezer storage rooms as well as an additional lower compartment where the staples are kept.  The order sent down from the galley on any given day is big … really big!  We pulled and carried boxes and boxes of food of all description - everything from milk to frozen cookie dough and all things in between.  Nobody goes hungry in the Canadian Navy, unless by choice, and there are several meals and snacks a day that must be supplied.  Once the food was pulled and carried up to the galley through the steep and narrow stairways, I shifted rolls and began to assist in the galley for lunch preparations.  I got so busy that I missed the much celebrated 10am soup time - too bad that it was my favourite, french onion!  Once I had “trayed” the various items to be served for lunch - which on this day was smokie sausages, maple glazed broiled Atlantic salmon, steamed cauliflower, beans and french fries - I carried the trays up to the Officers Lounge where I placed them in a steam rack and prepared the area to dish out lunch.  The crew had a lot of fun at my expense ordering up their meals. Several wanted more and sent back their plates, others less and some just wanted their salmon in a bowl as opposed to a plate; but it was good fun and frankly a great way to make friends.  Once the mess from lunch was cleaned up, and I got the chance to try out a garburator and it was off to the laundry room for the balance of the afternoon.

While the ship was alongside in Esquimalt, laundry got a bit behind so needless to say there were a lot of sheets, uniforms, overalls and blankets to get through.  The ship is well equipped with very large commercial washers and dryers and you can fly through a lot of laundry pretty quickly.  In this regard the navy is really right up my alley, not much is separated and folding is not a precise science.  The hold process is a system designed by guys - which I am pretty good at despite my wife Kelly’s efforts to show me a better way.

At 1630 hours I was relieved of duty and travelled to the aft deck where I emerged to a spectacular day.  I say a breathtaking mountain backdrop from a seemingly untouched bay where the Ship’s Commander had elected to drop anchor for a few hours until sunset.  Without question - this kind of beauty is best appreciated from the sea – it is one of the remarkable advantages of naval service; the world just looks more beautiful from the sea and the sunsets are without comparison.

The evenings were spent in the Officer’s Wardroom talking to the junior and senior officers on board.  At suggestion of a former sailor from the riding, I really wanted to go down to The Cave (the crewman’s bar), ring the bell and buy a round for Peterborough but the bar doesn’t open at sea so I never had the opportunity; that said - the crew were certainly impressed that I went down and offered; its good to be able to count on some Naval Veterans as friends or I wouldn’t have known!

Coming along side the pier at CFB Esquimalt on Day 4 meant the end of my service and experience on the HMCS Regina 334.  I had learned a lot about the ship, the crew and the daily life of the sailors on board.  Despite my experience I can’t fully appreciate the challenges of a deployment or the stresses of operations in a potentially dangerous theatre of operations; I never experienced them - few of us will.  The Navy is understaffed, but recruiting during what is an exciting time of re-investment back into the fleet.  It’s not an easy job but I’ve got to say that the Officers and Crew are some of the finest people that you will ever meet and the experiences and destinations are unlike those you will find elsewhere.  I will not forget my time on board the HMCS Regina, the ship was something to behold and the men and women of its crew were absolutely incredible people.

Dean Del Mastro, M.P. - Peterborough