Private Halcrow, a Royal Winnipeg Rifles infanteer, shares her journey from Cross Lake to Op UNIFIER

August 9, 2023 – Defence Stories

By: Major Christopher Daniel, Joint Task Force-UKRAINE Senior Public Affairs Officer

“I’m from a small beautiful community up north in Manitoba called Cross Lake,” said Private Keira Brook Joyce Halcrow, a Reserve infanteer from the Royal Winnipeg Rifles and a proud member of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation.

Private Halcrow was deployed on Operation UNIFIER Rotation 15, providing basic military training to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) recruits in the southeast of England.

“I got deployed on Op UNIFIER because I volunteer for everything back in my unit,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what or where it is, I’ll be there. So, when I was selected to serve on Op UNIFIER, I was very excited and grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of this mission.”

Private Halcrow’s role at the training camp was to help train a section of AFU recruits. She also performed general duties, such as feeding the troops and making sure everyone had the things they needed.

“My experience with Ukrainian trainees is that they’re very motivated group and they accomplished a lot during their training,” she said. “It’s very inspiring to see their resilience and tenacity to hone their soldiers’ skills.”

Op UNIFIER is Private Halcrow’s first deployment.

“My key takeaway from this deployment is that if we work together as a team, we can accomplish a great outcome. I gained a lot of experience from this mission, and it’s amazing how far I’ve been since the day when I first met a recruiter from my Regiment,” she said.

The Royal Winnipeg Rifles is a Primary Reserve infantry unit of the Canadian Army in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The members of the Rifles are proficient in a wide range of small arms weapon systems, specializing in dismounted offensive and defensive operations. They are trained in winter warfare operations, to provide the lead elements of an Army Reserve operational commitment to a domestic operation in the high Arctic.

“I was inspired to join the CAF when I was trying to decide what to do with my life,” said Private Halcrow, “I thought, if I had a million dollars what would I do? I immediately imagined myself being in the Canadian Armed Forces, and no I don’t have a million dollars,” she smiled.

Private Halcrow said that she chose the Infantry trade because she enjoys the outdoors and shooting guns.

“My thoughts of women in Combat Arms are that joining any combat trade requires meeting high demands regardless of gender, if women can meet the same standard men do, they would only be a benefit to the team. The advice I would give Canadians thinking of joining the CAF is that there is a large variety of trades,” she said “Find one you’re interested in and pursue it. If you like a challenge, join the Infantry!”