Deployed: Army Reservists Overseas – A Documentary

Deployed: Army Reservists Overseas is a 90 minute documentary by LCol Mike Vernon of the Calgary Highlanders. It features interviews with a wide variety of current and former soldiers who have deployed on dozens of missions, beginning with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Egypt in the 1970s on through the Afghanistan deployments of recent years. In Canada, reservists are not ordered to serve overseas, but volunteer to do so, putting their civilian lives on hold until their return.

The Highlanders are part of 41 Canadian Brigade Group, based in Calgary, and all the soldiers in the documentary are drawn from units of that Brigade Group. Though each is a unique individual, their personal stories tell some universal truths about our soldiers, their lives and their work. For all of them, their days overseas were filled with moments of adrenaline-filled risk balanced by the daily routine of regular duties that are part of every deployment. As reservists who often must immediately integrate themselves back into civilian life after their return from deployment, they also have faced some unique challenges.

To view the documentary on YouTube, click HERE

LCol Vernon has served in both the regular force and reserves. In civilian life, he has worked as a video journalist for CBC Television News and is currently a journalism instructor at Mount Royal University in Calgary.