Appreciate our uniformed services

The untimely passing of one of our community early this month is a reminder of the dangers of service to the community and country -- even when far from operations.

West Nova Master Warrant Officer Michel Frechette passed away Feb. 13 as the result of an auto accident while on an advance group for the Valley unit's annual training exercise at Fort Pickett, Virginia.

This is after 29 years of previous service in the Canadian Navy, including 10 years in the submarine service, arguably one of our military elites.

As well, 18 West Novas -- a number of them from Hants County -- served with the Second Royal Canadian Regiment rotation in war-torn Afghanistan last year. The West Nova contingent, thankfully, suffered no major injuries.

Military service, even outside combat, is dangerous. This can be from travelling to training venues, to the dangerous equipment and circumstances encountered in training for the worst, and, of course, the worst -- under fire facing the enemy.

Regulars and reservists in all three arms of the military prepare for their roles in an emergency -- at home and far from our shores and airspace. The current Afghanistan mission is only one indication of the hard service. But, it takes a lot of effort to get to that point.

Regardless of the duties being performed, there is an element of danger and sacrifice.

And so it is with the other uniformed services -- the police forces and fire departments. We often take these elements for granted -- the fire service more so, because it is most often performed by unpaid volunteers, especially in rural communities such as our own.

Our society had been given a valuable lesson concerning the place of firefighters in national defense during the Blitz in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. But despite a brief interest in civil defense during the early Cold War, the wisdom seemed to have gone dormant until the terror attacks on New York Sept. 11, 2001. It was then that we got a blunt reminder of the role firefighters play in defense and in our general safety and security. The same is true of the police services.

Often people and communities tend to forget firefighters' long service and sacrifice, until one like the late Walter Stephens passes on and so obviously deserves belated community honour. And then it can be fleeting.

Those in the uniformed services are always on call for operations -- an ice storm, fires, aid to the civil population, other national and international disaster emergencies, and combat.

Again training is difficult and dangerous, the call is always there, and the likelihood of being taken for granted is high.

But they still do it, the Walter Stephens and Michel Frechettes, and hundreds of thousands of others like them over the years.

They are what make us strong as a community and country.