 | Al, after his embarrassing defeat in the beard growing competition. |
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Al poses down for the husband of the British Ambassador. "I will pump you up!!!" |
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 | The rare and elusive Francophonus Moustachionus... |
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...and his more common cousin, Francophonus Non-Folicularus, captured on film in their native environments. |
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"Alright Shawn, I've taken the photo. You can give the brush back to Brad now..." |
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The subtle but distinctive metamorphosis from Capt McKnight, fearless leader of the HelAirDet, to Private Pyle. |
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Fortunately for us, the Mauritanian soccer team had partaken in a wild night of barhopping the night before, and only beat us 9 -1! |
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| Al writes: When Barry came up with the idea for this
site, it was with the intention of conveying our real thoughts, feelings,
and experiences while on deployment. It would not be proper not to include
some of the less pleasant aspects of our trip.
We take great pleasure in serving our country and showing our pride in Canada. Because we so often hear that the international opinion of our country is that of deep respect and affection it’s easy to forget that in some corners of the world that particular view is not held. While Spain is an ally, and indeed one of their ships sails with us in our fleet, some people whose lives are directly affected by the fishing industry here still hold a grudge with regard to the Turbot War of the mid-90s. We should have foreseen the potential for conflict, especially for those of our ranks from Newfoundland. Unfortunately things got a little out of hand at a local pub when tempers flared between a local man, and our proud Newf aviator Barry. Those of us around did our best to diffuse the situation with our Canadian diplomacy, but the Spanish patrons weren’t in the mood for talk. Before we realized it, a melee ensued. The police arrived before Barry could inflict too much damage to the instigator. Our entreaties that it was a case of self-defence went unheeded by the constables (perhaps lost in the translation), and poor Barry was carted-off to the station for processing. Thankfully with the arrival of the ships commanding officer at the police station, Barry was handed over to the custody of our shore patrol; but not after being "Booked." Our liaison officer, under the pretence of requiring them as evidence for an internal investigation, managed to acquire the mug shots as a souvenir of the evening. As a postscript to this narrative, in a typically naval move, Barry has been confined to the ship for the rest of our stay here: "…in the interest of public relations, and for his own protection." Some or all of this account has been dramatized or completely fabricated. Any similarity of this story to actual persons or events is purely coincidental. | |
