Governor General announces the award of Decorations

[dapaterson]

Governor General announces the award of one Military Valour Decoration and 24 Meritorious Service Decorations (Military Division)

September 24, 2007

OTTAWA—Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, announced the award of one Medal of Military Valour to a member of the Canadian Forces who displayed gallantry and devotion to duty in combat. She also announced the award of 24 Meritorious Service Decorations (Military Division), namely three Crosses and 21 Medals, to individuals whose specific achievements have brought honour to the Canadian Forces and to Canada.

The recipients will be invited to receive their decoration at a presentation ceremony at a later date.

MILITARY VALOUR DECORATIONS
Medal of Military Valour

Sergeant Derek John Scott Fawcett, M.M.V., C.D.


Meaford and Ottawa, Ont.

MERITORIOUS SERVICE DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Cross (Military Division)

Lieutenant-Colonel Simon Charles Hetherington, M.S.C., C.D.


Ottawa, Petawawa and Oakville, Ont.

Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Marc Lanthier, M.S.C., C.D.


Ottawa, Ont. and Gatineau, Que.

Brigadier-General Donald Joseph Quenneville, M.S.C.


Plymouth, Maine, United States of America

Meritorious Service Medal (Military Division)

Master Warrant Officer John Gerard Barnes, M.S.M., C.D.


Petawawa and Pembroke, Ont., and St. John’s, N.L.


Chief Warrant Officer Stephen Stanley Bartlett, M.S.M., C.D.


Oromocto, Nasonworth and St. Stephen, N.B.


Major J.M. François Bisaillon, M.S.M., C.D.


Kingston, Ont. and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.


Lieutenant-Colonel Shane Anthony Brennan, M.S.M., C.D.


Ottawa, Ont.


Chief Warrant Officer Joseph Claude Caron, M.M.M., M.S.M., C.D.


Toronto and Courtice, Ont., and Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Que.


Lieutenant-Colonel John David Conrad, M.S.M., C.D.


Toronto, Orono and Listowel, Ont.


Major Mark Anthony Gasparotto, M.S.M.


Oromocto and Fredericton, N.B.and London, Ont.

Commander Darren Carl Hawco, M.S.M., C.D.


Ottawa, Ont. and Pierrefonds, Que.

Master Corporal Lance Thomas Hooper, M.S.M., C.D.


Petawawa, Beachburg and Lindsay, Ont.

Major Gregory Wayne Ivey, M.S.M., C.D.


Petawawa, Ont.

Lieutenant-Colonel Colin Roy Keiver, M.S.M., C.D.


Winnipeg, Manitoba and Three Hills, Alta.

Colonel Frederick A. Lewis, M.S.M., C.D.


Kingston, Ont.

Major Andrew John Lussier, M.S.M., C.D.


Denison, Alta., Petawawa, Ont. and Montréal, Que.

Captain Steven Kelly MacBeth, M.S.M., C.D.


Wainwright, Alta. and Whitby, Ont.

Master Warrant Officer Bradley William John Montgomery, M.S.M., C.D.


Denwood, Alta. and Chatham, Ont.

Lieutenant-Colonel David Anthony Patterson, M.S.M., C.D.


Kingston and Wolfe Island, Ont.

Captain Anthony Peter Robb, M.S.M.


Toronto, Ont. and Surrey and White Rock, B.C.

Corporal Jean-Paul Somerset, M.S.M.


Petawawa, Ont. and Middleton, N.S.

Lieutenant-Colonel Barry Marshall Southern, M.S.M., C.D.


Ottawa, Ont. and Calgary, Alta.

Major Matthew Bruce Sprague, M.S.M., C.D.


Kingston and Kenora, Ont.

Major Michael Charles Wright, M.M.V., M.S.M., C.D.


Shilo and Brandon, Manitoba, and Oakville, Ont.

Citations are online at: http://www.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=5182

 

[HItorMiss]

Maj Sprague, MWO Barnes, Cpl Somerset all well deserved. All three set a very high standard for soldiers to emulate. I am proud to have served closely with them and learned so much.

 

[tomahawk6]

The awards are heavily weighted towards officers. Are there lesser awards for the ranks that are not announced by the GG ?

 

[HItorMiss]

There were some Mention in Dispatches announced as well as well as one MMV to a Sgt. The last annoucement had more valor awards to the general rank and file. And as people are continously told there are still more to come from all the Roto's.

 

[bilton090]

  Master Corporal Lance Thomas Hooper, M.S.M., C.D  Had 3 piece's of Hvy. Eqpt. blowen out from under him.

1- ZL loader
2- D-6 dozer
3- D-7 dozer

          And he would not go back to K.A.F , stayed to the end at M.S.G

          Job well done !   

 

[HItorMiss]

Fine line between hard and crazy, I told Hoop he crossed it after incident 2... Well done Hoop you might be crazy but you sure are dedicated to the guys in the field. Next time I wont use your vehicle for cover 

 

[tomahawk6]

Sounds like Hooper needs a promotion.

 

[dapaterson]

The citation:

Master Corporal Lance Thomas Hooper, M.S.M., C.D.
Petawawa, Beachburg and Lindsay, Ontario
Meritorious Service Medal (Military Division)

From August 1, 2006, to February 15, 2007, Master Corporal Hooper, a combat engineer with 23 Field Squadron, 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group,, in Afghanistan, demonstrated exceptional dedication to duty. During three separate incidents, either enemy fire or explosive devices destroyed the engineering vehicle he was operating. On two of these occasions he was wounded and required medical evacuation. In spite of being hit, he eagerly returned to duty each time. Master Corporal Hooper’s remarkable dedication and professionalism in combat set an inspiring example for all ranks of the Battle Group.

 

[Scoobs]

The awards are heavily weighted towards officers. Are there lesser awards for the ranks that are not announced by the GG ?

There are no honours or recognition that are strictly based on rank, with the exception of the Order of Military Merit (ORMM).  There are three categories within the ORMM, those being:

1. CMM = commander military merit = flag officers only.
2. OMM = officer military merit = senior officers (Maj and above).
3. MMM = member military merit = Capt and below (this includes the ranks).

All other individual honours or recognition are strictly based on each file, not the rank.  Rank only comes into play when looking at if the mbr did something way above what is expected of their present rank.  FYI, there are three general categories of individual awards:

1. Valour awards (must be an exchange of fire with the enemy).
2. Bravery (similar to Valour, but no exchange of fire with the enemy).
3. Distinguished Service (includes Meritorious Service Decorations, MIDs, and then Commendations in that order of precedence).

A Medal of Valour is an extremely prestigious award and it is not awarded that often.

 

[redleafjumper]

I see a LCol DA Patterson is to receive the MSM, is that our scribe dapaterson?  If so, then congratulations.

Cheers,

Redleafjumper

 

[dapaterson]

There is DA PaTTerson, and DA PaTerson.  I am the latter, not the former, and not on the list - if I were, modesty would prevent me from posting the list...


or perhaps I would have put my name in bold flashing text... one or the other...


EDIT to add:  Though this is not the first time the two of us have been confused... and last time he got a good deal of grief because of me  > .

 

[geo]

DAP is a " bold & flashing text" kinda guy

 

[Armymedic]

Kudos to JP Somerset.

He's been out doing the deeds with 1 RCR for a few years, and definitely deserves the recognition for what he did those days in Sept last yr.

 

[armyvern]

EDIT to add:  Though this is not the first time the two of us have been confused... and last time he got a good deal of grief because of me  > .

There's a Sgt Vern GXXXXX in 36Bge who was very happy to see me promoted!!  >  Especially when he got "chick" mail like firefighter calendars!!

 

[PMedMoe]

Thread hijack

There's a Sgt Vern GXXXXX in 36Bge who was very happy to see me promoted!!  >  Especially when he got "chick" mail like firefighter calendars!!

I went on Roto with a WO and Sgt of the same last name.  I figured if there was a screw up in pay, I was in a win-win situation!  ;D
That being said, we got a lot of each other's email, proving (once again) that people just don't pay attention to detail!!

Hijack over

Congrats to all who received recognition for their efforts and also to those who did not.

 

[vonGarvin]

There's a Sgt Vern GXXXXX in 36Bge who was very happy to see me promoted!!  >  Especially when he got "chick" mail like firefighter calendars!!

Or volumes of Chaps photos, eh?  >

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

Congratulations to all those receive decorations!

 

[Fusaki]

Master Corporal Lance Thomas Hooper, M.S.M., C.D  Had 3 piece's of Hvy. Eqpt. blowen out from under him.

1- ZL loader
2- D-6 dozer
3- D-7 dozer

          And he would not go back to K.A.F , stayed to the end at M.S.G

          Job well done !   

Hehe...

I had heard of this guy by reputation ("That dozer driver who was blown up a bunch of times"), but we hadn't met untill around November last year when he approached myself and my LAV driver asking if we had an extra blast blanket laying around. Its tough to say no when the poor guy's on his third veh and our CQ was happy to write off a blast blanket for him. We could never agree on whether he had balls of steel or was just plain nuts!

 

[Edward Campbell]

The awards are heavily weighted towards officers. Are there lesser awards for the ranks that are not announced by the GG ?

It became fairly common, late in the Second World War, to decorate commanding officers who performed in more than just a satisfactory manner. This was done, I think, in recognition of the fact that few people - not even the brigade commanders - were in a position to 'see' and evaluate the commanding officers' actions in battle.

It may be that the spate of Meritorious Service Crosses to commanding officers means that sensible custom is being reinstated.

 

[Armymedic]

We could never agree on whether he had balls of steel or was just plain nuts!

I knew Lance when we were both Cpls in 2 CER years back.

I'd say he's both.

 

[Scoobs]

It became fairly common, late in the Second World War, to decorate commanding officers who performed in more than just a satisfactory manner. This was done, I think, in recognition of the fact that few people - not even the brigade commanders - were in a position to 'see' and evaluate the commanding officers' actions in battle.

It may be that the spate of Meritorious Service Crosses to commanding officers means that sensible custom is being reinstated.

Trust me, that custom is not being reinstated.