[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”]
[et_pb_row admin_label=”row”]
[et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]In the summer of 2008, I accepted a contract as a conflict management practitioner at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Petawawa. I couldn’t pass-up the opportunity, jumped at the chance feet first, and with a great deal of enthusiasm I packed my little blue Yaris, threw my dog in the back seat and headed east on the 401. I waved goodbye to Toronto as I watched the skyline disappear from the rear-view mirror. Now, one and a half years later, I look back and think; “wow, what a great experience!”
Within a few short weeks on the job I noticed my down- town Toronto civilian life-style was coming to a slow halt. I couldn’t understand why my parking spot hosted an electrical outlet. I had visions in the summer of me sitting on a deck chair in my spot with a frothy drink in my hand, and my radio plugged into the conduit, blaring my favourite music. My first winter told me that I was wrong and electrical outlets in parking spots were used to start cars when it hit -40 outside, which it did. My co-workers wore shades of green or tan, sported jaunty matching berets and were trained to kill if necessary, I’m not sure if any of that was a prerequisite to become a member of Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario (ADRIO), but I was pretty sure it was not. It was not uncommon to drive down Petawawa Blvd and see a tank in my rear-view mirror, usually with a “student driver” sign hanging from the barrel of its gun. The language changed as well; I worked for DND for the DGADR, on the CCMP project, located at the DSC, in the SSCC, at CFB Petawawa, I taught the ACE course, hoped to one day become a SME, and have a good PR. I’ll translate; I worked for the Department of National Defence for the Director General Alternative Dispute Resolution, on a pilot project called the Community Conflict Management Project, located at the Deployment Support Centre, in the South Side Community Centre, at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa. I taught the Approaching Conflict Effectively course, hoped to one day become a Subject Matter Expert and have a good Performance Review. Acronyms were the word of the day, so to speak.
Many community issues revolved around noise disturbances, gossip, pets, parking spots, and business deals gone wrong. The concept of the Community Conflict Management Project (CCMP) was to provide the military community and their families with consultation, conflict coaching, training and facilitation so disputants at home could resolve their own issues without troubling their deployed partners. In many instances a disputant wanted to tackle the situation on their own, so my co-worker and I would coach them on basic communication skills. If that approach didn’t work for them, we were then brought in to facilitate. In addition, we provided a 12-hour communication course which included role –plays. We developed a home study course of the same.
Marketing this new project was a necessary part of our job. We needed to get the word out for our free service to the military members and their families. Our marketing concept began with a simple idea; “Never take a ‘no’ from a person who is not in a position to give you a ‘yes’” and we left no stone un-turned. We developed a CCMP website, created PowerPoint presentations, and went to Base units, met with the Padres, Base Mental Health, and many other services who could possibly refer us. We tapped on 1600 doors in the Permanent Married Quarters (PMQ’S) (housing), and introduced our free services to who ever answered, we did this twice! The project was very well received.
In May of 2009 CCMP merged with the Dispute Resolution Centre (DRC) and the focus was now workplace and community conflict — surprisingly, the conflicts at CFB Petawawa were not dissimiliar to conflicts in the private sector. I was involved with teaching the DRC’s conflict resolution course, and gave pre-deployment briefings to troops so that they could better handle conflict and maintain mission focus while away.
So, working on the Base? Things I observed: Mode of transportation; tank or helicopter, dress code; Cadpat (Canadian Disruptive Pattern) green or tan, major dinning; a place called “the mess.” It is easy to say the experiences I had with DND were unlike any other I would find in the civilian world and despite the tough military exterior of my new environment, I was deeply moved by things that had become not “used to” but “accepted” by the soldiers and the families that I met. For example; just before the first pre-deployment briefing I was to give to troops, a padre I knew came over to me and asked me when I was deploying. It took a second for me to realize that she had no idea I was presenting, but believed I was participating in the briefings because I was on my way to Afghanistan. I didn’t honestly think I was fitting in that well.
The Dispute Resolution Centre shared an office building with another unit on the Base. After I had lunch with a number of soldiers one day, they began fixing their hair, and straightening their uniforms, they were getting ready for mandatory photographs which were to be taken shortly after lunch. I asked what the photos were about, a Captain replied; “these are our death photos,” or, the photos we see on the television when yet another solider is lost. I tried to imagine what that would be like, but had difficulty wrapping my mind around the thought. When I worked at the South Side Community Centre, a memorial table, a condolence book and a “death photo” was set up whenever a soldier was lost. People would drop by and sign the book which was ultimately sent to the soldier’s’ family. I was about to sign a condolence book, and took a moment to read the remark just before mine, it went something like this; “… I’m so sorry for your loss… You are in our prayers…. little Johny and Suzy still miss their daddy…” I looked around the hallways to see who had written in the book. The hallways were empty, but I knew somewhere in the building was a woman without a spouse and she had children without a father. Months later another series of death photos, four, were placed on a memorial table, but one soldier looked familiar. Several weeks later I learned that years ago when I was a wedding photographer, I had photographed him in a wedding party. I thought of his family and the different meanings and emotions those contrasting photographs represented.
I’m looking at the notes I’ve written in my draft copy for this article, and realize I have many more memories to share, but I haven’t the word-count. I’ll sum up; working at CFB Petawawa was truly a remarkable experience leaving me with life-long memories that very few will experience. So, CFB Petawawa Conflict Management Practitioner returns to city life for a new contract. She is bringing with her more acronyms, a respect for Cadpat, and the hope that there will never be another Death photo on a condolence table anywhere.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column]
[/et_pb_row]
[/et_pb_section]