Another month has come and gone for MNB (RC-S) Headquarters and Signal Squadron. The month started off on a rather sad note with the Squadron attending three Ramp Ceremonies, in which the remains of two Canadian soldiers and one French soldier were returned home to be laid to rest. Sad faces could be seen everywhere as the caskets were marched past the formation and onto the aircraft. Once the ceremonies were complete, it was back to work for SHQ .

The rest of the month passed by with a move out of our “Weather Haven” tents and into our new, larger (and hopefully permanent) work location. While still in the same compound, we gained not only the additional space, but also an air conditioner that I'm sure will come in handy during the hot summer days in Kandahar. Other activities included refresher training on the new 117 TAC SAT radio by Master Corporal Callum Campbell and a quick overview of the Situational Awareness System (SAS) by Corporal Douglas Morgan. A program designed to help track movement of individual vehicles, SAS is very useful when members deploy outside of Kandahar Airfield. Other training included a familiarization lesson of the chat programs loaded onto our new network computer systems.

The Squadron also had a pizza party with catering provided by Pizza Hut. It was an opportunity for us to unwind for bit and chat it up with other members of the squadron, while helping to maintain the morale of the troops. It kept our mind off work and the harsh environment for a few hours

Finally, the month ended with more training for SHQ personnel. This time it was to prepare us for going “outside the wire.” The training consisted of: casualty extractions from vehicles, convoy operations, and proper hand signals for landing helicopters. The last day of the training was used as a confirmation of all that was learned over the past few days. All in all it was great training with a little bit of fun to boot.