Sailor receives army medal… 30 years late

Left photo: Pte Rick Milne (right) in 1985 at CFB Wainwright. Right photo: OS Milne receives his Cold War Medal from Commander David Coulombe, Commanding Officer of Regional Cadet Support Unit (Pacific) on Dec. 7.

OS Rick Milne was recently presented the Special Service Medal NATO/Otan bar by Cdr David Coulombe. OS Milne earned the medal when he served in Lahr 1985-86 when he was serving with the Canadian Army as an ELM 431 LEME Electro-Mechanical Technician; however, he didn’t receive the medal until after he joined the Royal Canadian Navy.

At 19, then Pte Milne, enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces as an ELM 431 LEME Electro-Mechanical Technician in the Army. He was first posted to Special Service Force 2 Service Battalion at CFB Petawawa from 1979-1981. In 1982, he was posted to 1 Canadian Brigade Group 1 Service Battalion at CFB Calgary as a Fire Control Systems (electronic) 432 EME Technician. He remained there until 1985.

He was sent to 1 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery in Lahr Germany in early July 1985. This was during the height of the Cold War when Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev were busy creating the SALT treaty. At the same time, the Beirut bombings of the US Embassy had just happened, which brought Lahr to a high state of readiness. Cpl Milne served there proudly until the spring of 1986, when he left military service. He was never presented his SSM Nato/Otan medal upon release.