I was a member of the Canadian Forces Reserves for nine years, and at one year of that time was full-time service at CFB Toronto and CFB Bordon. I started with the Lincoln and Welland Regiment and took my Infantry Section Commander's Course in 1989, achieving the rank of Master Corporal before transferring to what was then LFCA Int Section, which then became 2 Intelligence Company. I was seconded to 1 Intelligence Company at CFB Kingston in 1991 for a few months.

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Just to be honest and straight-forward: I was never an outstanding, or even remarkable soldier. My father's family came from a Mennonite background, and he was never involved in the military, and while my father's father was drafted into the German army to fight on the Eastern Front, he never really talked about it. My mother's family, while also living in Germany during World War II, were farmers and so not that many of her relations, especially none of her immediate family were in the military. Also, I went to a fundamentalist Baptist church, so I'm always curious about how I got into the army. It was on a whim; one Donald Sutherland turned around in our business class one day and asked if I wanted to join up. That night, I found myself going to the regiment and signing up. At the time, I did not understand military culture, and I don't think I ever really did at the time. That was my fault, entirely, and while I have gained a greater understanding of military culture in the intervening years, it is still somewhat foreign. Never-the-less, I enjoyed my time there, and I did learn a lot.