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Members of the Ceremonial Guard dot the capital’s landscape in their bright red uniforms and large black hats, like poppies illuminating an otherwise empty field. The Ceremonial Guard was established decades ago by the Canadian Armed Forces to fulfil public duties such as the Changing the Guard ceremony on Parliament Hill and serving as sentries at Rideau Hall, the Governor General’s residence and the National War Memorial.
The guard’s public affairs officer, Lieut. (Navy) David Lewis, explains how members of the guard deal with the heat in their iconic, but thick full-dress uniforms.
Q Where exactly do guard members work and what is their schedule like?
A Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and at Parliament Hill and Rideau Hall are all part of the Ceremonial Guard, which consists of over 80 units and regiments across Canada that form the Ceremonial Guard over the summer. They stand from 9 a.m. in the morning to 5 p.m. in the afternoon. Their duty is one hour long, and that’s a one hour shift per person. Once they’re done they go back to the guard house to relax and cool down.
Q Do their schedules or uniforms change depending on the outside temperature?
A If it’s exceptionally hot, and we have medics who monitor the heat index, then the guard sergeant has the option to switch them out every half an hour, and that goes for extreme cold as well. He has the option to switch them out despite the heat or the cold. It’s his call as well as the medics’ call. Their uniform, however, doesn’t change in any way. It’s a heavier wool uniform, and there’s no way to make them lighter. It’s the same uniform they’ve had for almost 60 years standing there.
Q Have their shifts been shortened to 30 minutes during this week’s heat wave?
A Based on numerous factors which include on-site advice from Canadian Armed Forces medics monitoring the sentries, the guard commander consulting with the soldiers during their sentry duties, it was determined that hourly rotations were appropriate.
Q But how do they handle the heat in those thick uniforms?
A Remember that these aren’t costumed re-enactors. Many of these people have Afghan tours or Somalia tours and a lot of them are combat veterans who have been in Afghanistan in 54 C heat in full battle attire with 30 pounds of protective steel plates on front and back. So they are in fact infantry-trained Canadian Armed Forces members. There are about 45-46 of them this year who actually served in Afghanistan.
Q How do you make sure they’re healthy and aren’t getting sick?
A Of course, not to minimize the fact that they’re standing in the heat for an hour, but they are monitored by medics and they can get half an hour if the heat is extreme. We have medics there and they have their heat index charts. They’re the ones who make the call and we certainly care about the health of our troops.
Q Is there anything they can do to make their shift in the sun easier?
A What makes it easier is that they do not have to just stand. They can do what’s called ‘nine paces.’ You’ll see them tap the riffle on the ground and the others will also respond by a tap and they will turn, march nine paces out, and then turn again, and march nine paces back. So that gives them a little relief to stretch their legs and move a bit. They can move, they don’t have to just stand.
avoski@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/anaisvoski
查看原文...
The guard’s public affairs officer, Lieut. (Navy) David Lewis, explains how members of the guard deal with the heat in their iconic, but thick full-dress uniforms.
Q Where exactly do guard members work and what is their schedule like?
A Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and at Parliament Hill and Rideau Hall are all part of the Ceremonial Guard, which consists of over 80 units and regiments across Canada that form the Ceremonial Guard over the summer. They stand from 9 a.m. in the morning to 5 p.m. in the afternoon. Their duty is one hour long, and that’s a one hour shift per person. Once they’re done they go back to the guard house to relax and cool down.
Q Do their schedules or uniforms change depending on the outside temperature?
A If it’s exceptionally hot, and we have medics who monitor the heat index, then the guard sergeant has the option to switch them out every half an hour, and that goes for extreme cold as well. He has the option to switch them out despite the heat or the cold. It’s his call as well as the medics’ call. Their uniform, however, doesn’t change in any way. It’s a heavier wool uniform, and there’s no way to make them lighter. It’s the same uniform they’ve had for almost 60 years standing there.
Q Have their shifts been shortened to 30 minutes during this week’s heat wave?
A Based on numerous factors which include on-site advice from Canadian Armed Forces medics monitoring the sentries, the guard commander consulting with the soldiers during their sentry duties, it was determined that hourly rotations were appropriate.
Q But how do they handle the heat in those thick uniforms?
A Remember that these aren’t costumed re-enactors. Many of these people have Afghan tours or Somalia tours and a lot of them are combat veterans who have been in Afghanistan in 54 C heat in full battle attire with 30 pounds of protective steel plates on front and back. So they are in fact infantry-trained Canadian Armed Forces members. There are about 45-46 of them this year who actually served in Afghanistan.
Q How do you make sure they’re healthy and aren’t getting sick?
A Of course, not to minimize the fact that they’re standing in the heat for an hour, but they are monitored by medics and they can get half an hour if the heat is extreme. We have medics there and they have their heat index charts. They’re the ones who make the call and we certainly care about the health of our troops.
Q Is there anything they can do to make their shift in the sun easier?
A What makes it easier is that they do not have to just stand. They can do what’s called ‘nine paces.’ You’ll see them tap the riffle on the ground and the others will also respond by a tap and they will turn, march nine paces out, and then turn again, and march nine paces back. So that gives them a little relief to stretch their legs and move a bit. They can move, they don’t have to just stand.
avoski@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/anaisvoski
查看原文...
