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Six weeks with the Canadian Forces
Deh Gah students complete Raven program

Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012

DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
Five students at Deh Gah School spent part of their summer holidays experiencing what life in the Canadian Forces is like.

Joseph Antoine, Garrett Bonnetrouge, Juden Landry and Roland Nadli from Fort Providence and Waylon Simba from Kakisa participated in the Raven Aboriginal Youth Employment Program. Maritime Forces Pacific runs the program that is designed to build relationships with aboriginal communities and make aboriginal youth aware of potential civilian or military careers with the Department of National Defence.

The five participants spent from July 8 to Aug. 16 at the Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt just west of Victoria, where they lived in the barracks. Antoine and Bonnetrouge said they were encouraged to join the program by other students at Deh Gah School who had graduated from it.

"During the first couple of weeks, it was pretty tough," said Bonnetrouge.

Both teenagers agreed one of the most difficult adjustments to make was remembering to be prompt. Everyone found it difficult to get to things on time and if they were late, they had to stay in a pushup position as long as possible, said Antoine. In time, the participants became more punctual.

"It was a professional job and you don't want to be late," he said.

The Raven program begins with a culture camp and then moves into military recruit training during which time participants learn the knowledge and skills needed to earn basic military qualifications. Bonnetrouge, 17, said his favourite activity was drill.

"(I liked) how awesome we looked when we were all in sync," he said. "We looked sharp, professional."

Bonnetrouge admitted it took a lot of work to reach that point. It maybe wasn't until the last week of the program that things started to come together, he said.

Bonnetrouge also liked the weapons class where he learned how to use a C7A2 rifle. Participants were taught how to disassemble the rifle and clean it as well as fire it on a range.

In addition to drill and shooting the C7A2, Antoine, 16, also enjoyed the fitness component of the program. Participants went on runs of varying lengths three times a week. On the other days, they did a combination of exercises including pushups, pullups and chinups.

Through the program, Antoine said he learned self-discipline as well as leadership and team-building skills. Bonnetrouge agreed and noted they learned lots of other things as well that are too numerous to list.

"It's a good program," said Antoine. "You gain a lot of skills."

Participants in the Raven program are under no obligation to join the Canadian Forces but both Bonnetrouge and Antoine said they are considering it as a career possibility. Now that they are back at school, the two teenagers said they will be promoting the program to other students in Fort Providence.

"I'd highly recommend it," Bonnetrouge said.

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