The largest and last graduating class of the former Royal Roads Military College (RRMC) will be gathering at Royal Roads University from Sept. 12 to 14 to celebrate three decades since their 1995 graduation.
The class of 1995 had 64 graduates before the school's closure the same year. These graduates went on to lead the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) operations over the next decades in places like the Persian Gulf, East Timor, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo, Afghanistan and at home for floods in Manitoba, storms in Ontario and
Quebec, wildfires in B.C., the 2010 Olympics and multiple G7/8 conferences.
"So 11 out of 64 are still serving. And we've got one general, one admiral, so we got guys that made it to the top of the game," said Kael Rennie, a member of the reunion committee, which has been working for the past year to put the event together.
This reunion will mark the largest gathering of the last class of RRMC since the closure in 1995, with over 30 ex-cadets registering so far. The homecoming weekend will also serve as reunions for other classes ending in years 0 and 5.
"We've got a great turnout coming, and it's going to be interesting because quite a few are now retired, but it'll be a chance for them to come back as well and put on some of the old uniforms," said Rennie.
The weekend will include a golf tournament at Olympic View, a meet-and-greet at the 6 Mile Pub, campus tours and formal dinner, a mast ceremony and circle March at Hatley Castle, a potential fly past from the Royal Canadian Air Force, and a memorial bench dedication for the two graduates who died in the line of service – Miles Selby, a Snowbird pilot who died in 2004, and Juli-Ann MacKenzie who died on a search and rescue operation in 2002.
"Lots of pictures and reminiscing with folks that are going to take place over the weekend," said Rennie. "It's going to hopefully be a fantastic weekend."
