DS Interview - Bruce Monkhouse

[Bruce Monkhouse]

What brought you to Army.ca?

It was November 11 2002, I was on a night shift at the old Correctional Centre that I worked at and I was learning how to use the new computer they had put in. I really didn't know the internet at all and whilst experimenting with something new to me called "google" I stumbled upon this forum. [cdnarmy.ca] I didn't even know what 'internet forums' were but I saw a thread on "Remembrance Day services not being well attended and have they lost their meaning, etc", and wanted to make note that the service in Guelph that day was packed. I joined up to make my 'one post' and some 6,000+ posts later I'm still here.

What kept you here?

I was only an occasional visitor until I went to Brockville, Ont. to help start a new psychiatric jail that the Govt. wanted to open there. Well, unlike a normal jail, where the Correctional Officers deal directly with the inmates, at this jail/hospital we were there to maintain the legality [ie transfers, visits, etc] and the Royal Ottawa Hospital staff dealt with the 'residents', only calling us when a "correctional intervention" was required. This led to 12 hour shifts with, sometimes, very little to do and so army.ca was my time passer.

What made you consider becoming a Staff member here?

Realizing that, at the time,[pre Vern and Old Medic] there were many nights from 0001 until 0700 where there were no Mods on and that I was available and had lots of time,  I asked Mike and he "hired" me as 'cleaning staff' to help merge, delete and generally make things easier to find. This was because you could fit my military knowledge in a thimble......

If you were CDS, what's the first thing you'd do?

Apply immediate first aid to anyone who knew me when I was serving......

What is your favourite aspect of Army.ca?

The people I have met, and will meet, in various 'meet and greets'.

What is your least favourite aspect of Army.ca?

Those who act different on the internet than they do in real life.


What do/did you enjoy most about the military lifestyle?

No contest......the people I served with.

What do/did you enjoy least?

Trying to maintain a 'life balance'.........I've always liked to separate my life from my work and, as most of you know, that is very hard in the CF. My wife and I have talked about this many times and we both agree that we probably wouldn't have 'made it' had I stayed in.
That is why I have all the time in the world for those who post whom are missing their loved ones.......

What is your favourite war movie or scene?

Don't really like war movies so I guess it would be a farcical one like Kelly's Heroes.

What book are you currently reading?

Renovation books.
I bought the house my Grandfather had built in 1918 and that my Father was born/ died in and it is in need of a lot of TLC.

What is your favourite quote?

Profanity is the inability of a feeble mind to fully express itself.

What is your favourite kind of music or favourite band?

I love anything as long as its done well, though I have a great fondness for old Canadian music...............my favourite band is a little known Canadian group called Fist.  www.myofist.com

What is your favorite drink?

Tea, tea, and even more tea..................followed closely by Fireball and/or Yukon Jack

What do you do on your free time (other than Army.ca, of course)?

If not with my family than playing sports.

What do you do in "civilian life"?

See first  long-winded answer.....

Are you married?

Yes, 22 years counting the live-together time.

Do you have any children?

Two lovely daughters, my reasons for breathing.

Do you have any pets?

Right now I have a dog, and a cat that is much larger than my dog.  A 6'4" 260 pound man walking a Chihuahua sure has made some people look twice.

What's the most memorable thing you have done or seen?

Being the best Father/Son that was humanly possible, .......most of the secondary things are not fit for public consumption.

Describe one thing you believe Army.ca visitors should know about you.

That there is a LOT of behind the scenes work that is done here and that I take this website and the moderating job very seriously. I think it fills a kind of need that the legions filled in the 'olden' days when it was easy for veterans to gather round and babble.

    THANKS TO THOSE WHO SERVE
    Bruce

 

[orange.paint]

Couple of questions:

1.Why did you release?You mention family earlier but was that the full reason?

2.Have you ever regretted leaving?

3.Have you ever thought about joining the reserves?If so why not?

4.Have you ever been seriously injured in the prision?What was the most dangerous situation you were involoved in?

5.What rank did you obtain in the RCHA?What were your career goals?Why were they obtained or not obtained?

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

1. No, main reason was I was just plain done.......I was in my second year in 'W' Bty in Gagetown and it started to feel to much "like a job", and the thought of remustering and leaving the Artillery didn't appeal to me, so I thought well if it "feels like a job", why not release and find a job that didn't have the extra commitments that being a member entails.

2.No, fortunately I ended up at a job where the comradeship is usually very good also.

3. I went down to the 11th Field in Guelph, and since I was advanced tech/ communicator and  had been in the CP for almost my whole ten years, offered to teach courses and help with the Tech side of things but not join up.
The Lt. I was talking to said that would be impossible and I never went back except to visit a few RSS that got posted there.

4. No.  Probably the worst was defused before anything happened when I came to assist another officer who was more concerned with 'making a bust' than common sense safety. It looked like it was going to be a 20 on 2.....

5 M/Bdr, twice. Since I joined at 17 so that I could get off probation early and get out of Guelph before I got in more caca, I really didn't have career goals. Fortunately I met the above two though.

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

1) Do you think the Artillery made a wise decision in adopting the LG1 and the M777?
2) Should the batteries be a mixture of towed and self propelled?

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

1. You didn't catch the 'thimble' part did you?
Since I was trained on an L-5 and hardly even touched a C-1 and have only seen pictures of those other guns I would have to say

Seriously, anything that would bring down the PER [probable error in range, if its even called that now] would be a wonderful step in the right direction now that we are actually firing a 'real' "Fire Mission Battery".

2. Batteries, no...Regiments, yes,....bearing in mind the task. 2RCHA in my day would not have worked as we were 'air portable/ air droppable'.

 

[armyvern]

Very nice intro Bruce,

And for everyone else who hasn't had the pleasure of meeting him; he's a 6'4", 260lb teddy bear, who is quite welcome to steal my pickles anytime.

Corrections is the richer for having gained you (& not as an inmate)!! 

Edited to add pic:
and lest there be any doubt as to which kind of pickles I'm talking about...the bear himself:

 

[PMedMoe]

Very interesting, Bruce. 
And thanks, Vern for the photo because a picture is worth a thousand words.....
Actually, it's nice to have a face to go with the name, that's why I'm looking forward to my first Meet n' Greet in April. 

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

So, this is how it is, eh? The hot redhead gets 6 pages of questions,
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/55426.0.html

and I get caught stealing pickles.......well alrighty then. :clown:

 

[navymich]

Name: Bruce 
Gender: male 
Origin: French, Scottish 
Meaning: thicket, woodlands

Monkhouse

Origin Displayed: English

The Monkhouse surname finds its roots in the Anglo-Saxon terms "munec," meaning "monk," and "hus," meaning "house." It is thought that the name may be either have been used by someone who lived in or near a monastery, or by someone who worked there.

Spelling variations of this family name include: Monkhouse, Monckhouse, Monkhowse and others.

First found in Northumberland where they were seated from very early times and the name was thought to exist prior to the invasion of the Normans and the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Jane Monkhouse, who arrived in Virginia in 1765; Wm. Monkhouse, who came to Philadelphia in 1805; and James Monkhouse, who came to San Francisco in 1851.
Motto Translated: I a monk (house) shall be saved.

Family crest found here.

 

[Mike Baker]

Fair enough time to think of some serious questions...

Bruce, do you watch hockey? And if yes, what is your favorite team?

 

[warspite]

Well, I tried to get Bruce into his own conversation, but he never took the bait 

Hmmmm I hope we didn't scare him away from his own interview thread........

But on the topic of questions about Bruce
What then is your favorite movie?
And thinking about that, do you like movies?

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Actually, not really.....................once they made The Blues Brothers no other movie could measure up.

 

[Mike Baker]

Actually, not really.....................once they made The Blues Brothers no other movie could measure up.

Hey, you forget me or something? 

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Oops,  any Canadian team will do fine.

I guess I have a liking for the Leafs as they don't make me waste my springtime  watching them play.....

 

[Mike Baker]

I guess I have a liking for the Leafs as they don't make me waste my springtime  watching them play.....

;D That was funny, you made my night Bruce 

 

[deedster]

Oops,  any Canadian team will do fine.

Okay, I'm jumping right in...if anybody knows how to waste space on a thread it's "moi"  ;D
Bruce, only 2 Canadian teams left in the race.  Vancouver probably won't make it through this round and there's NO WAY a Leafs fan is going to cheer for the Senators.

What's the story with Big Bird?

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

That was my nickname I aquired in Cornwallis as for some reason I arrived 2 full days before anyone else did and they gave me the 'new' haircut on the Friday and someone arriving on the weekend, whom still had hair, said I looked like "Big Bird" and it stuck.......
Revenge was mine on the Monday though,....watching.

However, Mike didn't know that when he was being a smart#%& with the Photoshop while trying to describe my height to another Mod...........and that avator was the result.

The curved fence you see is behind the new Psych. jail in Brockville.

 

[Mike Baker]

:rofl: Oh my that was funny. Good one on Mike's part.  ;D

 

[warspite]

Lol I had forgotten I always used to wonder what was with the bigbird ;D

 

[deedster]

I looked like "Big Bird" and it stuck.......

I like it!  It suits (from what I've "heard")
but I'm not sure if Big Bird ever likked pickles