This past April, a cadet from the local chapter of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets program spent two weeks on a training ship in the United Kingdom — the only Saskatchewan cadet selected to take part in the deployment.
Chief Petty Officer First Class Parker Boczkowski has just finished his sixth and final year with the Cadets and was excited to travel to the UK for such a unique training exercise.
Now that he’s returned, he finds that the trip was well worth the experience.
Part of his time in the UK was spent touring London before the crew drove to Portsmouth and boarded the TS Royalist, a British cadet training ship that can take up to 24 cadets on each deployment.
CPO1 Boczkowski found the training interesting, but was most affected by the route the ship took during the two-week exercise; they sailed the English Channel to France, passing by Juno Beach in Normandy and witnessing the landing zone troops endured on D-Day.
“It was amazing. The fact that my grandfather fought on those beaches and I was sailing past them was a great experience,” said Boczkowski.
Other than that connection, Boczkowski found that the trip afforded him some other connections as well.
“The people on the ship I was getting to spend the time with, they're all amazing and we made great friends,” said Boczkowski. “If I ever want to go back, I have places to stay and people to see. You just make great friendships.”
This was Boczkowski’s final year in the cadet program, aging out after six years of service. At the recent Annual Ceremonial Review, Boczkowski was presented with a certificate noting his time in service, from Commanding Officer, Acting Sub-Lieutenant Nicole Kutsak.
He also received his medal for six years of service, and the Lord Strathcona Medal recognizing his excellence in the program — the highest civilian award that can be granted to a cadet.
As for what comes next, Boczkowski indicated he intends to enlist in the Canadian Armed Forces.
