From Thomas Skelding
The Royal Canadian Dragoons drove their Leopard tanks for the last time in
the Ottawa Valley on Friday 28 Mar 2003. The following article appeared in
the Saturday Edition (front page) of the Pembroke Observer.
Tanks for the memories
By STEPHEN UHLER
Staff Writer
A decade after they had rumbled through downtown Pembroke after being
granted the Freedom of the City, the Royal Canadian Dragoons rolled their
Leopard tanks through the municipality and into history one final time.
It marked the end of an era for the CFB Petawawa regiment, which has served
on the tanks for the past 25 years.
Once the vehicles have been shipped to Wainwright, Alberta, and the unit
takes part in Exercise Resolute Warrior in April and May, the troops will
return but the Leopards will re-main out west.
On Friday, some 400 members the regiment lined Pembroke Street to pay
tribute to this historic moment, joined by members of the public who came
out to show their support or just to take in the spectacle of 17 tanks and
their support vehicles rumbling through the downtown.
The convoy of tanks and 10 other tracked vehicles left the base at 12:30
p.m. and made its way along Petawawa Boulevard towards Pembroke, reaching
City Hall shortly after 1 p.m.
Leading the convoy was an old style Military Police jeep, followed by the
Regimental Commander's tank, commanded by Lt. Col. Dean Milner and carrying
the regimental colours, which flapped proudly in the light rain of the
gloomy after-noon.
It was followed by the remainder of the group. which all made a sharp turn
onto Mackay Street to head to the railway siding where the tanks would be
loaded onto flatcars for the last time.
The crowd stood watching the convoy, some silently, some dabbing tears from
their eves and others cheering wildly. Everywhere cameras clicked, video
cameras whirred and a military helicopter hovered overhead, recording aerial
views of the historic event.
Petawawa Mayor Bob Sweet, on hand to witness this, said this is an emotional
time for those on base as well as the people of the Upper Ottawa Valley.
"They've had a long tradition in this area, and I'm sorry to see them pull
(the tanks) out," he said.
Mayor Sweet said it was great to see so many people turn out to pay tribute
to this moment and to the regiment, another testament to the close and
wonderful relationship the Valley has with CFB Petawawa.
The Dragoons knew this day was coming since last year, when they learned
they would be stripped of their amour as the Army proceeds with reorganizing
itself to make the best use of its scarce resources. As a result, the unit
is being transformed into one which will perform a reconnaissance role and
it is planned the Leopards will be replaced with Coyote light armoured
vehicles sometime in the future.
For Lt Col. Milner, commander of the RCDs, there is a touch of historic
irony to this; his father, Clive Milner, commanded the same unit in the
mid-1970s, and he was charged with overseeing the transition from one type
of tank to the Leopard; now his son is overseeing its phase out.
"It'll be a sad day for some of us," he said in an interview in August.
"There are those who wear the black beret, like me, who will miss the
tanks."
While, in modern times the regiment has been tasked with "recce" before,
primarily during their service in the Second World War, the Royal Canadian
Dragoons have always considered themselves a tank unit first for 50 years or
so they have a number of types, including American Shermans British
Centurions before they were equipped with the German made Leopard in 1976.
...
The tanks have been stationed fit CFB Petawawa since 1993.
Two out of the three squadrons in the RCDs are already equipped with
Coyotes. Currently in 2 CMBG, one Coyote squadron is attached to support 3
RCR in the field as part of a rapid reaction force, the other to 1 RCR.