TRIDENT, DECEMBER 21, 2010 1

www.relocatecanadianmilitary.com

Byron Balcom Managing Partner

Relocating?We can help.Relocating?We can help.

bbalcom@algvip.com 1-800-375-3884

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 � TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2010

It’s a favourite place to be formany—their own quiet get-

away: Falls Lake Recreational Fa-cility. Far away from busy citystreets and run-of-the-day errands,along with their friends and fam-ilies, members of the Departmentof National Defence (DND) com-munity can head out to LowerVaughan, near Windsor, Nova Sco-tia, and relax in one of Falls Lake’s25 fully-equipped cabins.

Skipping rocks off the lake, hik-ing through the woods, watchingthe stars at night, roasting marsh-mallows over campfires...FallsLake invites memorable vacationswith family and friends.

“We’ve been going to Falls Lakesince its grand opening in 1998,”says D.J. Perron, retired LieutenantCommander and former DeputyCommandant of the CanadianForces Naval Engineering School.

“Naval units would send workparties to clean up the brush, treesand debris left over from the landclearing and construction. Each ca-bin is named after a specific unit ormess, who added their own touchby including paintings and/or pic-tures of the unit or mess.”

Perron’s family loves their timespent at Falls Lake. His childrenenjoy swimming, kayaking, andfishing on the lake, and of course —

being so close to Ski Martock —they enjoy days of skiing and snow-boarding, as well. Perron saysthey’ve hit the slopes at Ski Mar-tock for eight years and counting,because it is located so close toFalls Lake. Ski Martock offers skiand snowboard lessons where kids,and their parents, are taught how toimprove their skills.

Falls Lake is cared for and man-aged by local residents under the di-rection of the Canadian Forces Ha-lifax Personnel Support Programs.Perron knows these residents byname: “Dennis, Shantal, Tara, andJudy take great pride in the cleanli-ness and level of service offered toits patrons.”

With laundry service, a seasonalcanteen, and equipment rentals,Perron admits, “It provides all ofthe necessary amenities of homeaway from home.”

“Nearby facilities such as SkiMartock and Ross Farms offersloads of fun for the whole family.Hiking trails, ice skating, and sled-ding are but a few activities that allfamilies who visit Falls Lake canenjoy.”

For many, Falls Lake offers aprivate retreat; a place to spend afew days. The facilities are also ful-ly-equipped for work functions,and offer free, high-speed, wirelessInternet.

Falls Lake operates on a seasonal

basis. Between October and June,the facility operates eight cabins:two bungalows, and six ranch style.It also offers a chateau style cabin,tucked away for your privacy, idealfor up to 20 guests. The facility re-opens for the regular season in mid-June.

“We often invite friends andfamily,” says Perron. “Everyonewe’ve suggested Falls Lake to, andeveryone we’ve gone with, hasloved it and they are now regularcustomers.”

Falls Lake is open year-round tothe DND and RCMP communities

(active and retired) and theirguests. For more information onFalls Lake Recreational Facility,including online booking, pleasevisit www.psphalifax.ca. Bookingscan also be made by calling the toll-free number, 1-877-325-LAKE(5253).

Year-round camping a delight in Falls LakeBy Benjamin J. DeLongTrident Staff

Falls Lake Recreational Facility serves the DND and RCMP communities (active and retired) and theirguests. It is open year-round for vacation getaways, work functions and retreats.

PSP HALIFAX

Special Issueof the

For 100 years, our Navy has de-fended Canadian waters, re-

sponded to humanitarian disastersacross the globe, and fought forpeace. This year was dedicated toour sailors, to recognize their 100thyear of naval service to Canada—the centennial year of the CanadianNavy.

“We wanted to inform Cana-dians of why we have a Navy andwhy it’s important,” explains Cap-tain (Navy) Craig Walkington, whowas the coordinator for the Mari-time Forces Atlantic centennialevents.

Reaching many communitiesacross the east coast with a varietyof successful events ranging fromthe International Fleet Review tothe recognition of the Women’sRoyal Canadian Naval Service,Captain (N) Walkington saw thesame values reflected in each one.

“Every event that we did—big orsmall—spoke back to one or all ofthose three words in our slogan:Commemorate, Celebrate, Com-mit. Each was in recognition of apart of our history.” The goal was tobring the Navy to Canadians, andthe Navy did their part in seeingthat through.

Cities welcomed their Navy,

bringing them to their City Halls, togrant them the Freedom of the City:essentially acknowledging theirtrust in their Navy. His Worship,HRM Mayor Peter Kelly grantedthe Freedom of the City to the navalformation on behalf of the HalifaxRegional Municipality. This wason May 4, which was the birthdayof the Canadian Navy, 100 yearsago, and was declared by Kelly tobe Navy Centennial Day in theHRM.

HRM’s City Hall flew the Cana-dian Naval Centennial flag all yearlong. This flag was also permittedto be flown by all Canadian shipsthroughout 2010.

Limited edition giftware itemswere made to commemorate thelegacy of the past century, for thosewho wanted a keepsake of theyear’s events. All of which echo theachievement of 100 years.

Captain (Navy) John Pickford,now retired, oversaw the eventsfrom a national standpoint. He wasthe Special Advisor to the Cana-dian Naval Centennial and workedclosely with coordinators fromeach formation of the Canadian Na-vy. Although 2010 is the centennialyear, events actually commencedin 2009, two of which were held inHalifax—the re-enactment of thefounding of Her Majesty’s Cana-dian Dockyard, and the consecra-

tion and presentation of the re-placement Queen’s Colour.

Many groups and organizationshelped to support the planning be-hind the naval centennial, includ-ing other government departments,naval service groups, corporateCanada and volunteers.

“Some of these discussions tookyears,” says Captain (N) Pickfordof the planning process. Ideas suchas a national Navy monument inOttawa, and the commissioning ofsix centennial paintings by re-nowned marine artists were pro-jects that developed over long peri-ods of time and required a legalframework.

Throughout the year, the Cana-dian Navy was honoured by eventssuch as the launching of commem-orative stamps from Canada Post,two coins by the Royal CanadianMint, and a centennial bell present-ation held in the Parliament Build-ings.

Perhaps the event which most, inthe Halifax area, would refer to asthe year’s highlight was the Inter-national Fleet Review, consistingof 27 ships (on the east coast) fromnavies all over the world. Thecrews totalled approximately 5,000sailors, and the review was con-ducted by Her Majesty, the Queen.

This week-long festival will beremembered for years to come as

many revelled at seeing the Queenfor the first time, and manywatched the massive ships taketheir places in Halifax harbour.

“The centennial,” says Captain(N) Pickford, “not only provided aunique opportunity to tell the storyof the past 100 years of naval ser-vice to Canada; it also provided thevenue to inform Canadians on thecurrent and future roles of the Na-vy, and why a maritime nation, likeCanada needs a Navy.”

The Canadian Forces’ assistancein the Vancouver-hosted Olympicgames of 2010 was a positive re-minder of some of the kinds of sup-port that our military provide: Forexample, they constructed and in-stalled barriers in the harbour andthe port security divers aided theRCMP’s security efforts.

They responded to the devastat-ing, 7.0 earthquake in Haiti: re-building the community, and ad-ministering health care to the illand injured. They conducted acounter-piracy and counter-terror-ism mission off the horn of Africa.This is just to name a few.

“The Navy continued to do oper-ations,” states Captain (N) Walk-ington. “The Navy was able to con-tribute and make a significant im-pact in a number of operations allthe while planning a major series ofpublic events at home.” They’ve

been fulfilling their part of our na-tional defence’s mission—to de-fend Canada, its interests, and itsvalues, while contributing to inter-national peace and security—for100 years and counting.

We think of them every Remem-brance Day. We think of the veter-ans, the armed forces of our past.We think of them because we knowthem. They are our loved ones, andour loved ones lost. We think ofthem, because so many of our free-doms are tied to their service.Here’s to the year of our Navy.

For more information on theCanadian Naval Centennial, pleasevisit www.navy.forces.gc.ca/cen-tennial.

Naval centennial a cause for celebrationBy Benjamin J. DeLongTrident Staff

HMCS Shawinigan at anchor inHalifax harbour during the In-ternational Fleet Review.

CPL FRANCIS GAUTHIER, MFA HQ

2 TRIDENT, DECEMBER 21, 2010

Recreation is often a large partof staying healthy: having fun

while being active is an importantfactor contributing to one’s well-being.

Canadian Forces Personnel Sup-port Programs (PSP) Halifax offersa number of unique recreationalprograms to suit the needs of theDepartment of National Defence(DND) community; although, anumber of clubs are open to thewider civilian community as well.

Major Michel Ouellet is a mili-tary Provincial Liaison Officerworking out of an emergency man-agement office in Dartmouth, NovaScotia. He is also the President ofthe Shearwater Scuba Club.

“I’m fairly new to it,” says MajorOuellet. “About four years ago,when I moved to Halifax, therewere two things that I had alwayswanted to do: sailing and scuba div-ing. Halifax is an ideal place forboth.”

Major Ouellet joined the Shear-water Scuba Club and learned howto scuba dive. Today he’s still do-ing it. “It was, and is still, very rea-sonably priced and it is a safe pro-gram,” he says, explaining his en-thusiasm for the program.

Members of the club dive at leastonce every weekend, and partici-pate in weekly winter pool times atthe Shearwater Fitness and SportsCentre to help keep fit and stayready for Spring diving.

Club members range in age from15 to 70 and are certified from basicdiver to instructor. Family mem-berships are also available. Theclub often hosts workshops andspecialty courses provided throughthe instructors and local communi-ty groups. The club also offers se-lect rental equipment at a modestfee.

Major Ouellet says that the divesvary depending on the type of train-ing that the members want. For ex-ample, they go out on night dives,and deep dives, usually in St. Mar-garet’s Bay.

Memberships can be short-term.A person may join in order to take acourse to qualify to go diving downsouth, while other members devel-op a long-term interest.

The Shearwater Scuba club has aconsistent core group of memberswho return each year, like MajorOuellet. Many have been therethroughout its four-year existence.DND members and their familiesare welcome to join the scuba club.Some members bring their chil-dren, or their partners to go for adive. Civilians also are eligible tojoin.

Another water-based club is theStadacona Water Polo Club. Lieu-tenant Commander (LCdr) TonyWright, club President, says that“Water polo is a very popular adultsport in bigger centres and othercountries.” All it takes is a love forthe water and a willingness to learn,says LCdr Wright.

The game is basically like soc-cer, but played in the water. Thewater polo club offers recreationaland competitive level games foreach of their members: and mem-berships are available to everyone,young and old, military or civilian.

“It ends up being a lot of fun.Once people start it, and they real-ize there’s different levels of play,they really get into it,” says LCdrWright.

In Nova Scotia, water polo is asmall but growing sport. There area few teams—Dalhousie, Stadaco-na, and a Truro team at the Agricul-tural college — playing in a fewpools and in a few tournaments

hosted around the Maritimes. The Stadacona Water Polo Club

tries to participate in three or fourtournaments each year in associ-ation with other water polo clubs inthe Maritimes. “The future lookspromising, with another good facil-ity soon to go up in Halifax.”

“There’s a good sense of teamwith the club, in terms of doing ex-tra-curricular activities together,and participating in a tournamenttogether. That element is attractive

to people. Water polo is a greatsport, which combines physical fit-ness with endurance training in ateam environment.”

Previously a competitive swim-mer, LCdr Wright says that waterpolo is the most physically de-manding sport he has ever played,and that it is a natural extension ofswimming.

With this being the club’s biggestyear yet, and with a tournament inlate February, he hopes the club

will continue to grow, and openlyinvites others to join. “There’s lotsof pool time available. If we havemore people to play, then we’ll justbook more pool time.”

While it is a military and DNDemployee club, it is open for civil-ian participation as well. Interac-tion with other groups, and otherpeople in the community is goodfor the Canadian Forces, says LCdrWright.

The Stadacona Water Polo Club

uses the STADPLEX pool to train,but matches are played at Centen-nial Pool and DALPLEX. Noexperience is necessary to join andnew players are always welcome.

There are many recreationalclubs available to the DND and ci-vilian community. For more infor-mation on the Stadacona Water Po-lo Club, the Shearwater Scuba Clubor any of the other recreationalclubs offered by PSP Halifax,please visit www.psphalifax.ca.

Recreation at the pool or off the coastBy Benjamin J. DeLongTrident News

TRIDENT, DECEMBER 21, 2010 3

Keith I. TannahillAtlantic Lifestyle Realty

(902) 452-3456tbf@eastlink.ca

Selling Buying

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Realtor thanks military community with cash back

Since January 17, 2008, Realtor Keith Tannahill has given back over $100,000 to the many military families who have used his professional real estate services. “It’s my way of saying thank you, from my wife Linda and me to all the CF members who put themselves in harm’s way.”

During his 26 years in real estate, Keith has acquired an in-depth knowledge of the market in Halifax Regional Municipality. Two years ago, Keith received approval to start his program of cash back to CF members who used his professional services in buying

and selling houses.“With the cooperation

of a lot of good people in the Department of National Defence, it got underway and now, I can see the returns. It’s enjoyable to see so many people benefi tting from this program.”

If you are posted to or from Halifax, or even if you are moving to a new home within this area, Keith Tannahill can

put extra cash in your pocket. If you purchase your home through Keith, he will give you his cash to buyer incentive. This applies to all MLS® listings in the Halifax and surrounding areas. Keith Tannahill is an experienced full-time real estate agent offering qualifi ed professional service with all his listings on the MLS® system.

He offers you all the benefi ts of MLS® with advertising and promotion plus the added incentive of his cash back offer. Should you list your home with Keith and he writes an acceptable offer from a qualifi ed buyer, he will give you, the seller, on closing, up to two

per cent of the selling price. For example, if Keith helps you sell your home for $200,000 you will receive up to $2,000 and $4,000 cash back. If he helps you purchase your home for $200,000, you’ll receive up to $1,000 cash back.

“The CF members and their families have given me the privilege and the trust of assisting them with the sale or the purchase of a home,”

says Keith. “I want to fulfi ll my responsibilities to the family I’m working for, as people in the CF are very busy with their careers and with so many other tasks.”

He receives email queries from CF members deployed in the Persian Gulf and in Afghanistan.

“These are people who are thinking of moving to a new

house or are being posted when they return, and they want to meet with me to talk about it.”

Over the past 26 years, Keith and his executive assistant (wife) Linda have worked with numerous military families posted in and out of the Halifax area. During that time, they have seen how useful it is to

have extra cash in hand during a move. Keith says he knows extra money is always helpful, even though the military covers many of the posting expenses.

“I’ve seen the results of my program,” he says. “It’s great when the families get a couple of thousand dollars they wouldn’t have, otherwise. Then they can get some of the extra things they would like to have, over and above just the things that they need.

“I encourage families to see every property they wish to see, as this allows them to make an informed decision. It means additional running around but the result is that everybody feels

wonderful about what they’ve accomplished.” Linda and Keith do not take a vacation until after Labour Day and even then, he has his cell phone and laptop and is available 24/7.

As the year 2010 progresses and now that annual posting season has arrived, Keith and Linda look forward to greeting and assisting Canadian military families, either selling and moving to a new location, or on their house hunting trip. Please do not hesitate to contact Keith at (902) 452-3456 or by email at tbf@eastlink.ca.

ADVERTISING SPECIAL

Wishing all Service Men and WomenWishing all Service Men and Womena healthy and happy Holiday Season!a healthy and happy Holiday Season!

It’s that time of year again when we arecelebrating the season and are surround-

ed by a host of holiday-related goodies. Thefollowing tips will help you survive the ho-lidays without the typical post-holidaysluggishness and weight gain.AT THE MALL:

Ease the stress of fighting for a parkingspot and burn more calories by parking agood distance away and then walking to themall. If this isn’t your thing, walk aroundthe mall to enter on the opposite side whileyou’re still unburdened by parcels.

If you decide to treat yourself to icecream, or those delicious pretzels, or bakedtreats, order the smallest size available.You are likely to eat more snack food if youbuy it in large portions.

Running into a fast food joint may savetime, but the fat and calories add up, andslow you down. Duck into a nice restaurantor make reservations for later in the day. Ifyou absolutely must go the fast food route,try to make choices with lower fat content,such as the grilled chicken or a salad. Aword of caution on the salad dressing: aserving of some types are equal in fat andcalories to a small serving of fries.

It’s hard to say no to free samples, and inthe grocery stores, they seem to be aroundevery corner. Try having a high proteinsnack before you go shopping or bringalong a healthy snack. If you can’t resist thesamples, ask the vendors for the nutritionalinformation and go from there.

Drink often, and try to bypass the soda. Inone study, habitual diet-soda sippers hadhigher hunger ratings than people whodrank unsweetened or naturally sweet bev-erages. Opt for bottled water, flavouredsparkling water or unsweetened iced tea.ON THE HOME FRONT:

Do crunches while the kids are watchingHow the Grinch Stole Christmas, or set thetimer, crank the tunes and jog, boogie, orclimb the stairs. Working out for a mere 10minutes three times a day has the same ton-ing and calorie burning benefits as a singlehalf-hour session, and it’s easier to fit into ahectic holiday schedule.

We all seem to receive more boxes ofchocolate than anyone could possibly eat.It’s difficult, but don’t feel obligated toopen them and dive in. Save them for yourholiday celebration or only put them outwhen company comes. Take any unopenedboxes that you don’t want to your place ofwork, or donate them to a food bank or shel-ter.

If you are giving gifts of baked goods,wrap and label the goodies, then plop them

in the freezer. They will be less accessiblefor you to nibble if they are packaged anddesignated for others.

It sure is tough to resist cookie dough.Some people think it is repulsive, but forthose who love it, you may want to try dif-ferent strategies for resisting the tempta-tion. If you absolutely can’t help yourself,melt a chocolate chip in your mouth-it givesyou a blast of pure chocolate with only twocalories and 1/10 g of fat. At that rate, have9 or 10. Chewing gum helps to curb thecravings for unhealthy snacks, as well.

Too much time inside can rob you of thesunlight that your body needs to make sero-tonin, a brain chemical that makes us feelbetter and helps to tame hunger. To keepthese levels high, get out of the house. Chopdown your holiday tree, have a snowballfight, or walk around the neighbourhood tolook at holiday lights.AT THE PARTY:

Snack on a bit of chicken or drink a glassof soy milk beforehand. The protein willhelp to satisfy your hunger and may preventover-indulging. Studies show that peoplewho eat high-protein foods eat less caloriesa day.

Some mixed drinks such as a rum toddyor pina colada pack as many calories as arich dessert. Instead try a Virgin Mary or ajuice spritzer. For a refreshing change, addSprite or 7Up to a glass of wine. Alcoholalso reduces our resolve and increases ourappetites, so try drinking two glasses of wa-ter for each alcoholic drink you may chooseto have.

Buffets are a challenge when you are try-ing to control your intake. Serve yourself,pile up the vegetables, and then move to theopposite side of the room. You will then beless tempted to keep eating. Socializing onthe way there and back will also cut downon your overall number of trips.

This strategy is often used for peoplequitting smoking, so why not use it whenyou’re watching what you eat. Hold yourbeverage in your right hand if you’re arighty, or vice-versa. It will make grabbingfood a bit more difficult, so you’ll hopefullyeat less.

If you are curious about the ingredients ornutritional content of a particular food, askwhoever prepared the dish for the ingre-dients. This will give you valuable informa-tion that will help you decide how deeplyyou want to dig into a dish.

It’s tough not to resist overindulging as-sociated with the holidays. Try to focus onthe meaning of the season and do things thatare going to make you feel good.

For more tips on how to keep fit and con-tinue living a healthy lifestyle, visitwww.psphalifax.ca.

Surviving the feasting seasonBy Melanie BowerHealth Promotion Manager, PSP Halifax

4 TRIDENT, DECEMBER 21, 2010

“Winning gold was great for curl-ing,” says Lieutenant (Navy) JoeMurphy, representing the Cana-dian Forces Base (CFB) HalifaxCurling Club. Lieutenant (N) Mur-phy is referring to the gold medalwin by Canada in the 2010 WinterOlympics.

“The level of knowledge of par-ents, who drop off their kids toplay, is getting better now. They’vebeen watching the Scotties tourna-ment and the Brier on TV, and thesport is getting a lot of recogni-tion.”

Lieutenant (N) Murphy and hiscolleagues at the curling club onHawk Terrace, Windsor Park, hosta juniors program for kids to learncurling, have fun, and play at acompetitive level. He says it’s in-teresting to hear the kids talk abouthow it competes with hockey.

“Hockey is supposedly Cana-da’s national sport. But curling hascompetitions between provincesand it’s got national coverage threetimes a day.” Lieutenant (N) Mur-phy says kids relate to curling, es-pecially due to its exposure on TV.

The CFB Halifax Curling Club isbuilt to accommodate curlers at anylevel. With six sheets of ice, two li-censed lounges, and on-site cater-ing, the club is bustling everyday ofthe week with eager curlers or spe-cial events.

Every curling club has a juniorsprogram to promote awareness ofthe sport at the youngest levels, andto recruit them when they’re older.Lieutenant (N) Murphy says this isan important element in promotingawareness of the sport, and forbuilding strong skills essential incompetitive athletes.

“We have the perfect balance,”says Bruce Larter, Junior TechnicalDirector. “Some clubs will just letthe kids have fun on the ice, andsome clubs will focus only on train-ing for the gold medals. But here atCFB Halifax, we offer both.”

Lieutenant (N) Murphy and Lar-ter say that their real mission is to

become the program of choicewithin the HRM, and "hopefullybecome a model for the rest of theprovince for how to build and run ajunior program."

“Our goal is to teach our kidshow to curl,” continues Larter. “Werun clinics, we spend part of everySaturday going over the basics, thesame as you would in any skill:keep beating at the basics. Weteach them at their level, and wehope that in the end, even our recre-ational curlers are good curlers.”

The club offers programs for allages. There are ice rental opportu-nities from as little as one sheet for

a couple of hours, right up to largemilitary and/or corporate bonspielsspanning several days.

They offer competitive rates andflexible memberships for both mil-itary and civilian employees andtheir dependents. Guests are al-ways welcome.

“The sport is getting a lot of rec-ognition,” says Lieutenant (N)Murphy. “Of course the Olympicshad a lot to do with promotingawareness of the sport, but the sportitself is growing.”

For more information please callthe club at 455-1444 or visit onlineat www.psphalifax.ca.

Curling is for CanadiansBy Benjamin J. DeLongTrident Staff

The CFB Halifax Curling Club is built to accommodate curlers at anylevel, and offers programs for all ages. With six sheets of ice, twolounges, with bars, and on-site catering, the club is bustling everydayof the week with eager curlers or special events. There are ice rentalopportunities from as little as one sheet for a couple of hours, rightup to large military and/or corporate bonspiels spanning severaldays.

LORNA ASH, PSP HALIFAX