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BEHCHOKO/RAE-EDZO - His friends and family call him the Tlicho Soldier and Cpl. John Paul Rabesca Jr. is proud of that.

Rabesca recently completed his military training as an armored crewman. Stationed in Edmonton, the 21-year-old Behchoko man developed an interested in the military when he took a seven-week youth course on military basics.

John Paul Rabesca Jr. is proud to be a part of the Canadian Military. He recently completed his Armored Crewman training in Gagetown N.B. and is now stationed in Edmonton. - photo courtesy of Josephine Rabesca

"I did a military youth program just to try it out," he said. "They have it every summer. I liked how it was in the military, the life and all, so I applied for the military.

"It's something I wanted to try. It was either this or school and school didn't work out so I wanted go away and try something different."

Through 13 weeks of intense training, Rabesca completed his basic training before moving to Gagetown, NB, to complete his 13-week training course to become an armoured crewman. As a crewman, Rabesca is responsible for maintaining vehicles as best he can during and after combat situations.

"I wanted to fight and I also wanted to help out in the field," he said. "I didn't want to do infantry and I wasn't a big fan of artillery. I always liked the armored corp. I like the modern cavalry of the day, tanks and things like that. I really like tanks."

Vigorous training throughout the 26 weeks, Rabesca said it was challenging at times to work and survive on such little sleep.

"The courses are really hard," he said. "They keep you confined to barracks for four weeks straight. It can be challenging. You have to take it day by day because it can get crazy. They teach you about how to maintain the vehicle and how to work in a combat situation. It's really fast-paced."

Rabesca said they are required to maintain the vehicles and check and see what might have gone wrong with them if they were out in the field.

"We have to make sure they are in top shape as much as possible," he said. "Sometimes they break down and it's beyond our skills to fix so we send them to people more experienced to take care of them."

The thought of being in a combat zone doesn't seem to bother Rabesca. He said they are trained to be in situations of combat and are able to take courses on base all the time to help prepare them for the day when they might have to fight.

The pride in his voice of being part of the Canadian military is easy to notice and the dedicated solider is pleased with his choice of joining.

"It's important to represent your country," he said. "It's a big deal for me to be doing this. There aren't many aboriginals who are in the military so it's an honour to be able to do this.

"I'm happy and proud to be in the military right now."