Braden Fournier was left in shock as he was enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces by surprise.
“I’d been waiting for my paperwork to come in. This is a two-year process for me right now. It’s relieving that it’s over but I’m glad that it’s done and just excited to be part of the program.”
The evening started off as normal at the 2887 Rockey Mountaineer Rangers on Jan. 24 when the core surprised him, with the help of his fiancee who’s also an officer, and sprung a swearing-in ceremony on him complete with dignitaries who had been hiding in a separate room.
“I did the cadet program as a teenager, so I’d already been a part of it, and my other half is involved so with me coming down with her anyway I figured I’d get back into it.”
Fournier was already one of the youth instructors and will be continuing down the chain and hopefully become the platoon commander, he says.
Sean Dulmage, commanding officer of the cadet core, says the process of bringing new staff on is quite honorous.
“We’ve been working to get Mr. Fournier through for a while so we were finally able to do that… It’s nice to be able to bring him on board as part of our staff.”
The event was attended by members of the two local Legion, Mayor Mitch Campsall and the RCMP.
They’re absolutely happy to have him on board, he adds.
The program is open to those from 12 to 18 years old and they cover all kind of things, including leadership, outdoorsmanship, fellowship and citizenship.
“We’d like to invite any kids that are interested to come on down and check us out and hopefully take an interest and take part in our program.”