Fort William First Nation citizen inspired by great-great-uncle to enlist and serve on Canadian Armed Forces

CBC executive director and Fort William citizen Michael Dick graduated from his Basic Military Qualification course in Saskatchewan in 2019. – Photo supplied

By Rick Garrick

THUNDER BAY — Fort William’s Michael Dick realized a lifelong goal when he joined the Canadian Armed Forces Lake Superior Scottish Regiment in Thunder Bay.

“In 2019, I was sent to Saskatoon and CFD Dundurn to do my basic military qualification course,” says Dick, executive director of programs and specials for CBC Network Radio. “I passed the course and was actually honoured enough to win the Top Shot for our graduation class. I was at that point 39 and significantly older than most of the group, but I think the best and most important thing about the military is when you put your uniform on and you put your Maple Leaf on, whether you’re 18, 19 or 20 or 40 like me, it doesn’t matter, you’re treated like an equal.”

Dick says he enlisted after travelling to France in 2018 to see the gravesite of his great-great-uncle Pte. Thomas Godchere, a scout from Long Lake #58 who was killed in battle at Vimy Ridge in 1917.

“No one in my family had seen his grave, so I took an Eagle Feather from our community to give to him,” Dick says. “When I was in Vimy to see his grave, it was humbling to see what he had done and where he had fought. It really sparked for me the drive to enlist and to serve.”

Dick says he was “incredibly proud” to participate in line with the other soldiers at last year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies at Waverly Park in Thunder Bay.

“And having my mom and dad and my wife Christina to see me in uniform,” Dick says. “Even now I get a little bit choked up thinking about that because it validated a lifelong boyhood dream and it reminded me when I looked around that there is so much more that I want to achieve, even though a bit older than most.”

Dick says he will likely be going to Alberta for further training in the New Year after missing out on a qualification training opportunity this past summer due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“Right now, I am a member of the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment infantry division and I am learning all the skills of what it means to be an infantry soldier,” Dick says. “Down the road, I could be a public affairs officer or I could be a signals operator — there is so much opportunity to grow and challenge yourself.”

Dick says his unit at the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment is currently preparing for a reconnaissance patrol exercise and an attack situation in the forest in Northern Ontario.

“You’re learning stuff that helps you as a person, it makes you stronger,” Dick says. “When I do my day job, I do a lot of journalism and a lot of decision-making; when I’m there serving in the military, I’m doing exercises in the bush, I’m taking orders and I’m worrying about what I need to do to survive and to be efficient to my unit.”

Dick says it is “awesome” to take off his CBC hat, put on his military beret and to give back and learn a new skill set.

“You’re never too old to learn something new,” Dick says. “I feel more confident in my job, I feel more confident in who I am as an Indigenous man in this region and I feel so much better about myself for breaking down that perceived stereotype that I was too old and I didn’t have anything to offer the military.”