In the navy, on the prairies

Two men jump into the water. Each takes a turn trying to right a life raft that is floating with the wrong side up, using their body weight and a rope to do the job.

Once the raft is righted, the rest of their compatriots also jump in the water, fully dressed, with their arms crossed across their chest.

They go to the raft, scrambling up into shelter, helped along by the others who've already successfully made it on board.

This life-saving naval drill isn't happening in the vastness of the ocean or anywhere near a coast. Instead, these sailors are in a non-descript warehouse on Kingsway Avenue in Edmonton. The building is home to the HMCS Nonsuch, where naval reservists train for service using a variety of facilities like a dive tank.

The HMCS Nonsuch is one of 24 naval reserve units that are spread out across Canada.

"As much as possible we refer to it as a ship," said Lieutenant-Commander Tim Cusack, the commanding officer of the Nonsuch.

Cusack, a St. Albert resident, took over as commanding officer in late September. Another St. Albert resident who is part of the command structure is Katherine Moser, chief petty officer second class and the coxswain.

Both joined the naval reserves when they were 17, thinking it would be a short-term, part-time job. Now, 28 years later, both are still proud to be part of the reserves and help train others who join.

"We've been in quite awhile, so for me, I can go anywhere in Canada pretty much and know someone and feel that I have someone I could call on if I was ever in need. It's a sense of family, it's a sense of loyalty, it's a sense of belonging," Moser said.

Navy on the prairies?

Some might wonder why naval reserves would be stationed in land-locked Edmonton.

The practical reason is the units enable reservist sailors to keep up the skills they learn when training on ships, often on either the Atlantic or Pacific coasts, in Halifax or Esquimalt, or at the fleet school in Quebec City.

"We call that regenerative training," Cusack said.

Practising in the Nonsuch's dive tank or on the bridge simulator are just some of the ways naval reservists can keep up the skills they learn. For new recruits, it offers the chance to start training before they head to a coast.

The HMCS Nonsuch also helps represent the navy to civilians.

"One of the big portions of why there is a navy in Edmonton is we are asked to be a strategic voice pipe of the navy to Canadians," Cusack said. He also noted reservists can be called on to aid the civilian government in times of crisis, like the recent floods.

"It's good to know you have a cadre of trained people who could deploy in relatively short notice and be effective," Cusack said.

There's another reason in naval lore why landlocked Canadian cities host naval facilities, Cusack said. Nonsuch was first established in 1923 as a half company, only 13 years after the birth of the Canadian Navy.

"Basically they were looking to train people to go to sea … the prairies, being relatively flat, and wide open vistas, they found that prairie folks were very good at spotting things at a distance and picking up things, so they made particularly good lookouts," Cusack said.

Training at the Nonsuch

The HMCS Nonsuch has everything from its dive tank to a kitchen to a mock-up of a diesel engine to a boat shed. This allows the reservists to practice their trade.

"We have divers, we have musicians, we have what's called a boatswain," Moser said.

Those are some of the non-commissioned member trades. Officer trades include positions like logistic officers and maritime surface and sub-surface officers.

There are 15 trades at Nonsuch, Cusack said. Reservists progress in trades by taking a graduated sequence of courses.

"They get more rigorous and complex as you go along," Cusack said.

The facilities at Nonsuch include classrooms, a gym space as well as the dive tank, kitchen, diesel engine, a bridge simulator and more. There are three different mess halls for the different ranks.

Usually reservists are expected to attend training one night a week, one Saturday a month and also to travel for two consecutive weeks of training a year. Signing up to be a reservist doesn't mean spending all the time doing physical drills, however. While they do promote a "culture of fitness," the reserves don't involve doing calisthenics every session.

"There is a minimum physical standard that you have to achieve," Moser said, noting that there is an annual fitness test. If someone can't pass the test, they will provide extra training to bring them to that level.

When new recruits go off to basic training, there is a fitness element that's required, she said. As well, there's a minimum swimming ability that needs to be met.

"There's a variety of lectures, there's a variety of training," Moser said of the regular meetings, including items like operational exercises.

Weapons training is another part of the experience.

In addition to the learning, training and socializing that happens at the HMCS Nonsuch, the unit also tries to be involved in the region's community. It participates in various initiatives and Cusack noted St. Albert has had a strong presence in the naval reserves, with three commanding officers from here in the last decade.

The HMCS Nonsuch has historically had about 100 sailors at any given time, but right now it's closer to 75. With people away on contracts or training, Cusack said their parade strength is about 40.

"It's a challenge as a reservist to dedicate that time towards your training," Cusack said, but the results can be worth it. He credits his advancement in his career – he's a junior/senior high school principal – to the experience he's gained through the military.

The experience can help young people assume responsibility, he said.

"I remember being 23 years old and standing watch aboard the ship … it was really a humbling but awesome feeling," Cusack said of being responsible for alerting his shipmates of any problems.

"That instilled in me a lot of confidence as a young person. As a reservist that carries forward into your civilian self, into what we do in civilian life."

There's also an opportunity to travel and network. Cusack noted that this year he's travelled to San Diego, Toronto, Halifax, Quebec City, Calgary and Victoria with the military.

Both Moser and Cusack have valued their years – nearly three decades each – in the naval reserves.

"It was the friendships and the family," Moser said of why she's remained.

Cusack encouraged young Canadians to consider the military reserves or other ways to give back to their community.

"I think it's a tremendous opportunity that's too readily overlooked by young people today," Cusack said.