NR-10.005 - May 2, 2010
OTTAWA – The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence today announced changes to the Canadian Navy uniform in commemoration of Canada’s Naval Centennial.
The navy will add a badge called a Sea Service Insignia (SSI), a visible and formal recognition for those who have spent significant amounts of time at sea. Also, the government will reinstate the “executive curl,” a loop on the braid of a naval officer’s rank insignia, on the top-most stripe of a tunic sleeve or epaulette. The executive curl was adopted by the Royal Canadian Navy when it was formed in 1910.
“The executive curl provides a distinct naval officer identity that was lost when the National Defence Act unified the three services in 1968. What better time to bring back this tradition than in the year of the Canadian Navy’s 100th anniversary” said the Honourable Peter Mackay, Minister of National Defence. Vice-Admiral P.D. McFadden, Chief of the Maritime Staff, also welcomed the changes saying, “Recognition of people is vital to our long term operational effectiveness. The creation of the SSI is intended to recognize the efforts of all those who serve at sea and to re-enforce the key role that naval operations play in Canadian security at home and in diplomacy abroad.”
The SSI is a visible and formal recognition of the time the navy’s sailors, as well as members of the army and air force who sail on HMC Ships, spend at sea, away from their homes and loved ones. It is a way of saying “thank you” to all those who have spent significant amounts of time away from their homes and families in service to the Canadian Navy. Four different levels have been designed, with members receiving the first insignia for 365 days spent at sea.
- 30 -
Note to editors:
For further information please contact:
Lieutenant (Navy) Heather McDonald, Navy Public Affairs at (819) 945-0902.
