Roxanne Hurley

To say I was honored and excited to serve on a United Nations Peacekeeping Tour while serving in the Reserves would be an understatement.

After enrolling in the Reserves in Halifax in 1989, I was proud to be wearing the uniform of our country. I worked as an Administration Clerk for 33 Service Battalion based in Halifax, while working for Base Telecommunications in Halifax Dockyard.

I took a full-time job at Land Force Atlantic Area Headquarters in Halifax, which was the headquarters for the East coast reserve units. There I worked as an Administration Clerk in the Orderly room, also compiling and finalizing travel claims. This is where I came across a message that came from Land Force Central Area looking for reservists to volunteer to join the Second Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battalion, based in Winnipeg, MB. The process to join this battalion was intense and consisted of passing the Battle Fitness Test, learning to fire many types of weapons (the .50-caliber machine gun was a favorite of mine), and learning to drive military vehicles. I was so determined to work hard to get through the grueling process. 

The time came and we were off to Yugoslavia. I had no idea what to expect. When on the bus driving to our camp (Camp Polom) it was devastating to see the damage done from all the fighting. Buildings were bombed and you could see bullet holes in the concrete. I thought to myself, what in the world have I gotten myself into. But then I stopped to think we are on a United Nations mission to help the people who lived here, and I soon thought about all the good we were going to be doing.

As a clerk in Camp Polom, life was good, and the routine was the same day in and day out. As a Clerk we still had other duties outside of our jobs inside the office, so I did my job during the day working in the Orderly room, and at night when I was on duty, I would have to do security patrols around the camp with another person. 

On 28 July word came that the Battalion, minus two companies, would move out of Camp Polom and move South. This was considered the RED zone of the tour. This was totally 100 percent different from the first three months of our tour. This place was surrounded by razor wire and was a far cry from what we had in Camp Polom. Working in the Orderly Room, I was doing even more typing than before because of my skills. One day while typing I asked what the loud noise was in the distance and was told those were the sounds of mortars going off on the other side of the mountain. Our camp was set up in a valley type area, which really made me feel uneasy, but we were there to do a job and we were doing it.

I recall one night while I was on duty in an Observation post, a family was walking down the dark road with all their belongings they could carry. It was such a sad sight knowing what was going on in this country. On another night, off in the distance I could see tracer rounds as another skirmish was under way.

On 3 July 2002, the battalion was recognized for their actions during this battle that took place in Medak Pocket. It states in part “Members of the Second Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battalion Group received the commendation for their actions during the Medak Pocket operation when members of the Battle Group held their ground while facing enemy fire, forcing the halt of “ethnic cleansing” in their sector”.

Being back in Canada, after this tour, I started looking at things differently, realizing how blessed we as Canadians live with such a diverse community of people. To wear the uniform of our country with our country’s flag is a privilege and an honour, one I will always cherish. I am so proud of what we did during our tour and of being a Canadian.