The Cochrane Generals saluted the return of a hometown hero with the return of Lt. Rhys Davies at the Cochrane Generals Alumni Night at the SLS Centre on Feb. 17.
As a representative for the Maritime Forces Pacific, Davies spent the evening supporting the Gens and engaging with the public.
“I’m here on what's called a 'Hometowner Initiative,' and that’s where sailors who recently deployed get to go back to their hometowns to spread awareness about the Royal Canadian Navy,” Rhys said.
Davies grew up in Cochrane where he once worked for The Eagle as a paper boy. He also attended Cochrane High and played on the Cochrane Cobras football team, before finishing highschool in Vancouver Island.
He later attended the Royal Military College for four years before being stationed in British Columbia. He has since been stationed around the world, adding that he has been stationed five times in Antarctica.
Davies currently serves on the HMCS Regina. Last year, Davies was deployed on the HCMS Vancouver as the operations officer. He was also deployed in Operation Projection.
“Operation Projection is a precursor to Operation Horizon, which is the government of Canada’ s strategy to increase our presence in the Indo-Pacific,” Davies explained. “We’re really working to build our partners there.”
Davies also shared that the Navy is currently looking for new members and has a new program called the Naval Experience Program for those looking for a new career path and hoping to explore the world.
“It is a one-year opportunity where you can try the navy for a one-year contract only,” Davies said. “It’s a great program for somebody who’s looking for something to do before they go to school, or they just graduated and they aren’t sure what career they want to pursue.”
He said the program offers basic training, naval environmental training, and three months aboard a ship. Davies added that the program will also try to give everyone the chance to do a foreign port visit.
“In the most recent case with the [HMCS] Vancouver, we did have the Naval Experience Program come with us to Hawaii, and then sail home with us,” Davies said.
Davies invites anyone who is interested to learn more about the program or is interested in joining to do so by visiting www.forces.gc.ca.
