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http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Strobel_Mike/2006/04/21/1543305.html
Mike StrobelFri, April 21, 2006
Army Opens Base in Scarborough
By MIKE STROBEL
We knew the army would move into Scarborough sooner or later.
Makes you want to lean out an upstairs window and wave a hankie as they march down the street.
Pay attention, Galloway Boys, Malvern Crew, Crips, Bloods, all you yahoos.
There's a new armed force in town. Buffs Company.
The sign says Olympic Plastic Bags, and you can hear the clickety-clack of bag-making machines.
But half of this sprawling building near Markham Rd. and the 401 is now Dalton Armoury, a satellite of the legendary Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. Queen's Own first died in the Fenian Raids of 1866 and they have been spilling blood ever since on the battlefields of freedom.
Scarborough is not, repeat not, one of those battlefields, though a toff from Etobicoke might assume so.
The army is here because this is where many potential recruits live. It is time to expand beyond downtown.
But surely we will be heartened by the sight of strong, young men with crewcuts and C-7 automatic rifles double-timing along our streets.
And one strong, young woman.
I find Rifleman Sibel Sarper, 18, in the armoury's mess. Buffs Company, a reserve unit, is preparing for tomorrow's parade and open house at 1 p.m., 37 Mid-Dominion Acres.
Sarper is a soldier's soldier. She tried to join the reserves at 14 and was finally let in at 16. By day she takes urban planning at Ryerson. By night she can man a machinegun that fires 800 rounds a minute.
She's a local. Highland Creek. Is Dalton Armoury good for the mean streets of Scarborough?
"Not as a deterrence, but it's a presence. I think it will be good that people see we are here."
Would you go to Afghanistan, Rifleman Sarper?
"Absolutely. Why learn to play hockey, go to practice every day, then never play in a real game?"
Yes, but the Taliban are nastier than Tie Domi. And it's getting hairy over there.
"Yeah, but that's the job."
Cpl. Adam de Bartok, 27, got back from Over There last Christmas. Six months in Kabul and Kandahar.
Reservists can volunteer for such service. De Bartok is back on the list, as are five others in Buffs Company.
(The name comes from an old British unit, which in turn was named for buff markings on its uniform.)
Were you frightened Over There, Corporal?
"Very much so. It's the real deal," says de Bartok.
Take his first night in Kandahar. The Taliban blew up two British jets with rockets. There was a firefight on the base perimeter. Fuel tanks went kaboom.
"Welcome to Kandahar," de Bartok tells me. He is six-three, 235 pounds and wears the maroon beret of a paratrooper. He is Buffs Company's training NCO.
There are 55 men (and Rifleman Sarper) in the unit.
Their boss, Maj. Allan Champion, 49 and a local, has been knocking on doors in the neighbourhood. The army is here. Don't worry. Those guns and green trucks are on your side.
"We smile and wave a lot on PT," says Cpl. de Bartok. PT as in physical training. Do you sing like the Marines?
I don't know, but I've been told ...
"If you can sing, you're not running fast enough."
A rifle company, see, prizes speed. Get those guns to the front. Quick.
Dalton Armoury is named for Charles and Elliot Dalton, hero-brothers wounded while leading the first two companies, Queen's Own, onto Juno Beach on D-Day.
This is Scarborough's first army "base," not counting legions. "Moving to the suburbs makes sense," says Maj. Champion. "It's where the people are."
The army hopes some of them are looking for options to loitering at Scarborough Town Centre. A reservist can make five grand in a summer and you don't HAVE to go to Afghanistan.
Maj. Champion's son, a cadet, will soon join Buffs Company. Nice ring to it, eh? The Scarborough Buffs.
Would you let him go to Kandahar, major?
"He'll make his own decision. All I can do is influence him about citizenship and duty."
Now, that's what we like to hear out in Scarborough.
Mike StrobelFri, April 21, 2006
Army Opens Base in Scarborough
By MIKE STROBEL
We knew the army would move into Scarborough sooner or later.
Makes you want to lean out an upstairs window and wave a hankie as they march down the street.
Pay attention, Galloway Boys, Malvern Crew, Crips, Bloods, all you yahoos.
There's a new armed force in town. Buffs Company.
The sign says Olympic Plastic Bags, and you can hear the clickety-clack of bag-making machines.
But half of this sprawling building near Markham Rd. and the 401 is now Dalton Armoury, a satellite of the legendary Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. Queen's Own first died in the Fenian Raids of 1866 and they have been spilling blood ever since on the battlefields of freedom.
Scarborough is not, repeat not, one of those battlefields, though a toff from Etobicoke might assume so.
The army is here because this is where many potential recruits live. It is time to expand beyond downtown.
But surely we will be heartened by the sight of strong, young men with crewcuts and C-7 automatic rifles double-timing along our streets.
And one strong, young woman.
I find Rifleman Sibel Sarper, 18, in the armoury's mess. Buffs Company, a reserve unit, is preparing for tomorrow's parade and open house at 1 p.m., 37 Mid-Dominion Acres.
Sarper is a soldier's soldier. She tried to join the reserves at 14 and was finally let in at 16. By day she takes urban planning at Ryerson. By night she can man a machinegun that fires 800 rounds a minute.
She's a local. Highland Creek. Is Dalton Armoury good for the mean streets of Scarborough?
"Not as a deterrence, but it's a presence. I think it will be good that people see we are here."
Would you go to Afghanistan, Rifleman Sarper?
"Absolutely. Why learn to play hockey, go to practice every day, then never play in a real game?"
Yes, but the Taliban are nastier than Tie Domi. And it's getting hairy over there.
"Yeah, but that's the job."
Cpl. Adam de Bartok, 27, got back from Over There last Christmas. Six months in Kabul and Kandahar.
Reservists can volunteer for such service. De Bartok is back on the list, as are five others in Buffs Company.
(The name comes from an old British unit, which in turn was named for buff markings on its uniform.)
Were you frightened Over There, Corporal?
"Very much so. It's the real deal," says de Bartok.
Take his first night in Kandahar. The Taliban blew up two British jets with rockets. There was a firefight on the base perimeter. Fuel tanks went kaboom.
"Welcome to Kandahar," de Bartok tells me. He is six-three, 235 pounds and wears the maroon beret of a paratrooper. He is Buffs Company's training NCO.
There are 55 men (and Rifleman Sarper) in the unit.
Their boss, Maj. Allan Champion, 49 and a local, has been knocking on doors in the neighbourhood. The army is here. Don't worry. Those guns and green trucks are on your side.
"We smile and wave a lot on PT," says Cpl. de Bartok. PT as in physical training. Do you sing like the Marines?
I don't know, but I've been told ...
"If you can sing, you're not running fast enough."
A rifle company, see, prizes speed. Get those guns to the front. Quick.
Dalton Armoury is named for Charles and Elliot Dalton, hero-brothers wounded while leading the first two companies, Queen's Own, onto Juno Beach on D-Day.
This is Scarborough's first army "base," not counting legions. "Moving to the suburbs makes sense," says Maj. Champion. "It's where the people are."
The army hopes some of them are looking for options to loitering at Scarborough Town Centre. A reservist can make five grand in a summer and you don't HAVE to go to Afghanistan.
Maj. Champion's son, a cadet, will soon join Buffs Company. Nice ring to it, eh? The Scarborough Buffs.
Would you let him go to Kandahar, major?
"He'll make his own decision. All I can do is influence him about citizenship and duty."
Now, that's what we like to hear out in Scarborough.
