HMCS Tecumseh, or
"TEC", is a unit of the Canadian Forces Naval
Reserve based in Calgary, Alberta
.
Summary
HMCS Tecumseh Crest
Operations
HMCS
Tecumseh is properly referred to as a ship, as it has
been officially
christened
as
Her Majesty's Canadian
Ship. However, since the ship is part of the reserves it does
not operate on a full time basis, except for the Museum. Rather,
most of the operations occur in the evening on weekdays. The
primary operations of the ship include a recruitment office,
numerous cadet corps, the Canadian Naval Museum, and the
Tecumseh Naval Reserve Band.
History
Calgary's Naval Reserve division was established on 31 March 1923.
However it was not christened HMCS
Tecumseh until 1
November 1941. It is named after the
Shawnee
chief who served with the British and Canadian military force
in the
War of 1812. Two years after its
christening, the division moved to its present location on 17th
Avenue SW.
During
World War II, over 4,500
personnel enlisted at
Tecumseh. Of those, 52 were killed
in action. Among them was Lt(N)
Robert Hampton Gray, the only person in
the Canadian Navy to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
Unlike some Naval Reserve divisions in Canada,
Tecumseh
survived post-war defence cuts. It has since survived other
challenges including armed forces unification, and a major fire in
1981. Rebuilt since the fire,
Tecumseh is a fully modern
training facility. In addition to the Naval Reserves,
Tecumseh houses
746
Communication Squadron (a Communication Reserve Unit), Royal
Canadian Sea Cadet Corps UNDAUNTED and Navy League Cadet Corps
CAPTAIN JACKSON.
Tecumseh is also home to the
Naval Museum of Alberta.
Subsequent to rebuilding,
Tecumseh became the headquarters
of the first female flag officer in the history of the Canadian
Navy, Commodore Laraine Orthleib. Then in 1992,
Tecumseh
felt the pull of war again, this time in the Persian Gulf.
At this
juncture, several members of the unit volunteered for duty of whom
two were selected to serve onboard HMCS Huron
.
Tecumseh personnel were deployed to combat Manitoba's 1997
Flood of the Century, provided security at the 1998 APEC meeting in
Vancouver, and assisted in the recovery mission following the Swiss
Air crash off Halifax as members of the Maritime Coastal Defence
Vessel crews assigned to the operation. More recently,
Tecumseh personnel have provided support for the G8 Summit
in 2002 and participated in OP APOLLO in the Gulf of Oman in
2003.
See also
External links
Contact information
- 1820 - 24th Street SW, Calgary, Alberta, Phone (403) 410-2320
ext 3758
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