Tuesday, May15th, 2012

Sgt Ackerland

I've just begun the journey of a life time. Starting off the journey, we took an eight and a half hour flight to Bella Roma, Italy. To begin to describe the sights sounds and smells of the Eternal City, is like trying to describe the meaning of life. The Trevi Fountain, Saint Paul's Cathedral, Ancient Rome.... everything is just breathtaking. The food, the people, the shops and ruins, everything is incredibly insane. I've only been here for a day and I already feel as though I've seen enough to last a lifetime. 

Sgt. A. Ackerland

2912 Sudbury Irish

FIOR GO BAS

Our plane ride was long, but everyone pulled through. It was my first time ever flying, I was a little nervous at first, but, once up in the air, all the nervousness went away.

We landed in Rome, met our tour guide, drove to our hotel and shortly after, visited a few of the many areas around there.

Everything is beautiful, very different from Canada.

Also, the food is great & the people around here are nice & polite, most of the time.

I had an amazing day today, can’t wait until tomorrow.

We’ll keep you updated soon.

Sgt Barrette

DAY 1 – THE ETERNAL CITY, ROME, ITALY!

We are here…can you believe it?  We arrived at the armoury yesterday morning at 10am and I could feel the excitement running off the cadets.  We had a few last minute details to get sorted out, handed out the new shirts and said good-bye to our loved ones.  We arrived at Pearson airport and checked in rather quickly and finally boarded the plane.  Some of the cadets had never flown before and some had never flown so far.  It was an amazing and extremely tiring experience, but well worth it!  In the end it was a very long flight and we were very happy to get off the plane.  We arrived in Rome at 10am on Tuesday 15^th of May.  Our tour guide Giuseppe greeted us and off we went.  The adventure of a lifetime, the Memory Project finally come to fruition.  Today we did not have anything on our schedule and was supposed to be a day to check in to the hotel and rest.  2912 being 2912 decided against lazing around and started the tour early.  This means we have not slept since we got up yesterday morning. We headed into the city of Rome.  Our first stop was the Trevi Fountain.  According to the legend if you throw a coin into the Fountain you will one day return to Rome.  Many of us did not want to miss out on that opportunity!  We walked through the city and stopped at the Pantheon.  The word huge took on a whole new meeting today.  This structure is so massive and beautiful and in such amazing condition still.  I was in awe and I could tell the cadets were as well.  We wondered around the Piazza Nova, ate some pizza for lunch and then headed to the catacombs.  The day got more amazing as the hours went by.  Over half a million Christians were buried in the catacombs at one time…and we had the opportunity to walk through a small area of the structure.  We were able to see some of the tombs and the beautiful drawings and carvings.  The energy in the catacombs was very heavy but very peaceful.  Next stop, St Paul’s Basilica.  This for me was the best part of the day.  The architecture, the artwork and the history is amazing even if you are not a religious person.  Inside there was a choir singing hymns, there were people quietly praying as well as people simply taking in the sights.  I for one felt very emotional while inside the Basilica.  It is hard to convey to everyone the experience the 14 of us are sharing.  I hope to post a few of the video blogs and some pictures within the next few days.  We will continue to write as the trip moves forward both on our online blog and our social media feeds.  Tomorrow we will be in Rome again, touring the Vatican, St Peter’s Basilica and the Coliseum.  If you have any questions or comments for us please post them on our facebook page.  I cannot thank everyone who helped us get here enough.  You have made so many dreams come true and have helped us start a project that will change our community.  FIOR GO BAS!

Captain A. Groulx-Grant
Commanding Officer

Something to be proud of...

There is always so much going on with 2912 that it is hard to choose one thing to be proud of.  Of course I am proud of each cadet and each individual accomplishment.  I am proud to be a part of 2912 in the capacity of Commanding Officer.  I was also just as proud when I was a cadet.  Like I said, so much good, so much pride.  

I think the best part now for me is to watch the cadets/unit accomplish their goals.  The Memory Project is the biggest project we have ever taken on as a unit.  I am happy to see the "trip cadets" get engrossed in the research!  To ask questions and try to understand what the soldiers went through during the great wars.  I am also even more impressed by the support from the junior cadets, the ones not attending.  It is truly a corps project and benefits all of us, including our very generous community.  In the next little while we will be posting more videos and piecing more of the history together.  Watch for updates!

Congratulations going out to MWO Lamirande and CWO Bergeron on the promotions, it is well deserved. 

Band and Drill practices are on going and looks like we will be quite the contenders again this year.  Keep up the hard work everyone.  You set the example and demonstrate what can be accomplished with a little effort and a lot of heart.

Captain Groulx-Grant
Commanding Officer
2912
Fior Go Bas

2912's Memory Project

This May myself and 8 other cadets will travel to Europe. More specifically France, Belguim, Italy and Switzerland to document and research the battle fields of world war 1 & 2 and pay respects to our soldiers that have paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

I think this project is very important to our community because the soldiers we will be documenting are from our own town. This will definitely restore some of Sudbury's forgotten military heritage.

Personally, I know that I will remeber this trip for the rest of my life and that it will stay in Sudbury's history for a very long time because this stuff matters and affects us all. I am very proud to be a part of it.

Brady Savignac
Sergeant
Drum Major