Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 24, 2007

HAY RIVER - A young Hay River man has returned home from an adventure "across the pond."

That pond is the Atlantic Ocean and the adventure included combat in Iraq and a chat with Queen Elizabeth.

Gordon Alexander, who has dual Canadian/British citizenship, joined the British Army in 2001.

Alexander left the British forces more than a year ago, and returned home for the first time since then on Sept. 10.

During six months in Iraq in 2003, he drove a Challenger 2 main battle tank.

"To tell you the truth, it just felt like another training day," he said of most of his service in Iraq.

However, he said it's difficult to explain what it's like when shooting starts, adding a person has got to be there to understand it.

"You're so pumped up," he explained. "It's like drinking Red Bull 12 times, taking a 30-second rest and drinking 12 more."

Alexander, who was in a few battles while stationed near the city of Basra, said he is proud of his service in Iraq.

"I had the NWT flag over there, but I wasn't allowed to hoist it up," he noted, explaining the army didn't want to create confusion over which countries were supporting the invasion and which weren't.

Alexander said he wasn't disappointed Canada didn't join the effort.

"Every country has its reasons, just like normal people do," he noted.

Alexander spent more than six years in the Scots Dragoon Guards.

"I had a lot of fun," he said. "I met a lot of new people."

The 28-year-old said his time in the British Army was a life-changing experience.

When he first joined, he was shy and quiet, he recalled. Afterwards, he was more confident and more assured, and stood up taller.

Aside from Iraq, he served as a peacekeeper in Kosovo, Bosnia and Cyprus; helped with flood relief efforts in Germany; and participated in military exercises in many European countries.

Alexander met Queen Elizabeth while she was visiting troops.

"She's just like an old granny," he said. "She's a normal person pretty much."

The Queen chatted with Alexander and was surprised to learn he was from the NWT.

In his last four years in the army, Alexander switched from front lines to logistics.

"The challenge wasn't there any more," he said.

Since leaving the military, he has been working in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe.

In Hay River, he is now relaxing and taking care of the basics like getting a Canadian driver's license.

"I'm just chillin' out," he said.

Alexander plans to stay in Canada, but he is not sure what he will do or where he will live.