Receiving a jacket patch from the Veterans UN/NATO Canadian Military Group is a mark of pride for Dale Bachmier.
A retired Warrant Officer, Bachmier, 56, served in the Canadian Armed Forces for three decades, working both as a UN peacekeeper in the Golan Heights and as a member of the NATO coalition that intervened in Bosnia. He received the patch this year after applying for it in 2020.
“This group is UN and NATO. It’s got the green beret and the blue beret. The blue beret represents the United Nations and peacekeeping. The green beret represents the units that still fight,” Bachmier explained. “This badge is an elite group, even in the military. I had to send in paperwork and everything just to verify all the stuff that I did.”
Bachmier said it means a lot to receive the patch. It’s a recognition for his service and something he earned, he said.
Serving with or in the military is something Bachmier has been doing since he was a child.
Growing up in Chilliwack, Bachmier said he had a choice between being a “short hair or a long hair.” He chose to be a “short hair” when he joined cadets at the age of 12, enrolling in the 1725 Canadian Military Engineer Cadet Corp. Bachmier said he and his brother Dave, who joined with him, found it intriguing.
“Back then, we worked with the military, you could say we played with the military, and that was the intriguing part. That’s why both of us joined the military,” Bachmier said.
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When Bachmier was 17, a position in the military opened up and he joined as an artilleryman while his brother became an infantryman.
As an artilleryman, Bachmier’s primary job was protecting the infantry by being stationed 30 miles behind the lines using the big guns. In total, he did four tours of duty and one TAV, or a technical assistance visit. Two of the tours were in the Golan Heights from 1994 to 1995 and 2002 t0 2003, two were at CFS Alert in Nunavut in 1998 and 2000 while the TAV in Bosnia took place in 1999.
“When we go on tours it’s not just to go and fight, we go over there and do a lot of humanitarian things too,” Bachmier said.
In Bosnia, for example, he said he was stationed at a camp, an old cement factory, that had a polluted creek running through it. As they treat each base they establish as sovereign Canadian soil, he said that meant they had to ensure basic needs like clean water were met.
Bachmier said that he and the other soldiers on the base established a basic water treatment plant that ensured the water that flowed out of their camp was clean. This helped the locals who began to use their creek as their water source.
In the Golan Heights, meanwhile, Bachmier said he joined the curling club started by the Canadian Armed Forces. While there are no curling leagues in Israel, he said it was a way for them to work with orphans by raising money. He recalls that one Christmas they bought three turkeys and gifts for every child in one orphanage and celebrated the holiday with them.
“We bonded so well with those kids. Our job is number one but benefits like that were excellent,” Bachmier said.
Bachmier went on to serve until he was 40, changing careers halfway through his service to become a carpenter.
After retiring from the military and joining the Canadian Reserves in 2005, Bachmier moved up to 100 Mile House where he came full circle and started working with cadets again, this time as an instructor. He said he was attracted to the area for its peace, quiet and space. It also helped that his wife Lori’s grandparents had owned a cabin in the area, so they were familiar with it.
Working with the local 2887 Rocky Mountain Ranger Army Cadet Corps was different from when he was a cadet. Beyond his age and experience, Bachmier said that they no longer work as closely with the military as they did in his day.
“The dynamics have changed a lot,” Bachmier said. “I usually worked with the senior cadets and my biggest joy was watching when the lightbulb came on. When they realized that they were a leader, that they had the potential to lead and be a driving force in things.”
He stepped back from working with cadets in 2020 as he felt it was time to change direction and hang up the uniform. Bachmier said he’s hoping to do some travelling, once COVID-19 is done, and see the world through the lens of a tourist, not a soldier.
@ksinoski
kelly.sinoski@100milefreepress.net
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