MOOSE JAW — Veteran Sherri Wedel served as a military police (MP) officer for 31 years, with one of her most endearing memories being the fundraisers she participated in to support refugees and others in need.
She worked with other MPs on a project called the Blind Fund, which collected money for children with eye troubles. No matter where she was posted — from Cold Lake, Alta., to Baden, Germany — they usually collected plenty of money for the cause.
Their normal practice was to take juice cans, cut them in half, wrap paper around them and write in English, French German and Turkish why the cans were out.
“Within a week, they would fill. So we would raise … $40,000 for the Blind Fund. It was fun,” Wedel said. “It’s a huge, huge fundraiser that the military police have done … since the ’50s.”
The MPs always attempted to give back wherever they were stationed while they engaged in positive community activities such as bicycle rallies, bike-a-thons or rodeos with kids.
Wedel recalled working at a Royal Canadian Air Force base in Borden, Ont., where hundreds of Kosovo refugees had been housed. With so many kids on base, Wedel and other MPs bought them bikes.
“Everybody chipped in (and) everybody did everything they could. You’re always trying to give back to the community,” she added.
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wedel was 22 when she enlisted in the regular forces in 1983 after spending the previous four years as a Sea Cadets’ officer. However, her father didn’t approve of her joining the military, nor even joining cadets.
“But I did it anyway and he’s proud of what I’ve done,” she said.
Wedel always wanted to be a police officer, whether it was with the RCMP, military or Vancouver city police service. However, the military called first, so she jumped at the opportunity and became an MP.
Wedel’s older brother Victor was in the military when she joined, but he never learned about her decision because he died in a training accident in Baden, Germany, the year she enlisted. She noted that Victor was preparing to throw a grenade during the exercise when he pulled the pin and the device exploded immediately, killing him and another man.
“I had already joined, so that (death) didn’t influence me. But my brother and I were tight anyway,” she reflected.
The Canadian Armed Forces began allowing women to join in the early 1970s — full integration occurred in 1989 — while the military police began accepting women in 1974.
When Wedel joined in the early 1980s and was sent to Cold Lake, she was fortunate since there were 10 women on base, which was unheard of for one unit since it would normally be two to three females.
“But at first, you had to prove yourself,” she recalled.
Wedel remembered having to clean everything while ensuring coffee was made for new shifts — essentially, she was “being treated like a maid.” So, she met with the sergeant and told him she didn’t join the military for that work while she was just as capable as the men.
After that, her situation changed for the better. However, she pointed out that not every woman was capable of being an MP, so some had to prove themselves continually.
Wedel served in Germany from 1989 to 1993, which she said was a fantastic post since she worked with the French and German forces. The MPs were forced to work extra hard around 1990 because the Gulf War was underway and the base was receiving regular threats of attack.
The veteran also operated as a criminal investigator and worked with Germany’s criminal police section and France’s gendarmerie on “some really good investigations,” such as missing children cases.
“So it was fantastic. And when we closed the bases (Baden and Lahr) down, it was the saddest thing we ever had to do,” she added.
Over the years, as an MP, Wedel protected many important dignitaries, from the pope to governors general to Prince Charles to the Queen Mum to prime ministers to musicians like Brian Adams. She noted that, contrary to rumours, the prince was “a very nice man,” while she snapped a “beautiful photo” of the Queen Mum in a green dress.
Wedel retired in 2014 and moved to Moose Jaw, where she made friends with a group of other retired MPs.
