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Tuesday July 7 2015 9 NORTHERNERS VETERANS Smiths Landing First Nation NWT Cree Language Program Fort Smith Mtis Council Northwestern Air Kaesers Northern Store NWT Power Corp. TDC Northern Journal Town of Fort Smith Fort Smith Justice Committee Freunds Building Supplies Smiths Landing TentGrounds Crew Smiths Landing Council Members Uncle Gabes Friendship Center NWT Womens Corrections River Ridge F.S. Mtis Council President Ken Hudson MLA M. Miltenberger Lorraine McDonald Destiny Martin Bev Heron Delbert Bourke Trent Heron George Kurszewski Chief Andrew Wanderingspirit Kyle Napier Carla Ulrich Tina McNeill Ethel Chalifoux Peter Paulette Victor Marie Henry Beaver Don Matthews Jr. Peter Daniels Richard Van Camp Jeremy Turcotte Ronnie Schaefer Annie Bourke Denise Yuhas Maggie Sikyea Julie Beaver Lida Blesse Violet Edgi Esther Gordon Emily Smith Lia Ruttan Cecilia Schaefer Eileen Beaver Ashley Stokes Linda Masson Mary Cardinal Leonard Cardinal Daryl Cardinal Ryan Beaver Raymond Beaver Freddy Beaulieu Simon Beaver Ervin Beaver Donald Beaver Joyce Courtoreille Teena Beaver Judy Bourke Colleen Eckert Lucy Tulugarjuk Mike Foster Linda Foster All the Judges Time Keepers Fort Smith officer awarded medal of bravery By DALI CARMICHAEL Two years ago while serving in Kabul Af- ghanistan Master Warrant Ofcer Stanley Mercredi disarmed his neighbour a fellow soldier who threatened to kill himself. Inthemilitarywerealwaysbeingtaughtto watch for signs of people in distress watching to see how their reactions are from one day to anothermakesurethattheyreonhesaid.It just happened to be that the guy who actually did this was living in the room next to mine. For his act of valour Mercredi - born in Inuvik and raised in Fort Smith - was hon- oured with a medal of bravery by Governor General David Johnston at a ceremony held in Rideau Hall in Ottawa on June 26. I was pretty shocked. I actually thought at that time about being humble having Ab- original roots I learned to be humble from my grandparents he said. The incident took place on Jan. 13 2013 when Mercredi noticed a military member fromanothercountryactingerraticallynearby. I went and rapped on the door he was very agitated and he wanted to be left alone Mer- credi said. He left the room then he came back and I heard screaming. I knocked on the door again and I asked him Are you O.K. The next few moments moved in slow mo- tion Mercredi said. He just looked at me then looked at his friend he said. Right behind him was his service pistol it was sitting in the holster. He started to reach for that and his room- mate wasnt fast enough he was only able to grab the holster. Decades of military training and instinct kicked in as Mercredi sprang into action. Afterhedrewhispistoltheguyspunaround. Ibelievedatthattimetherewasgoingtobedan- gernotjusttomyselfbuttoalltheothersoldiers that were around us which was several Cana- dians him and his roommate Mercredi said. I didnt have a choice because at that time the pistol was coming around in my direction. I had to run into the room tackle him and his roommate to the ground and twist the pistol out of his hand. I removed the pistol from the room and unloaded it then ran back in to secure the member until the police in Kabul came over. Mercredi later learned the soldier had re- ceived bad news from home which caused the member to act irrationally. A shift in military mental health Sincethe1990stheCanadianArmedForces CAF have put a renewed effort into offering suicide prevention and mental well-being ser- vices formilitary personnel and theirfamilies. Providing greater access to clinical and non-clinical interventions mental health education and suicide awareness information are only some of the measures being taken to address the matter according a document on suicide and suicide prevention in the CAF published by the federal government. Still incidents can happen. Between 2010 and 2014 CAF recorded ve suicides in fe- male regular force members and 68 males in the same time frame 16 of which took place within the last year. CAF continues to offer preventive initiatives with the intent of de- creasing these numbers. Hanging up his rucksack NolongertouringMercredinow lives about 150 km west of Ottawa by the military base in Petawawa Ontario. As of this November he will have served as a CAF member for 33 years with tours in Croatia Bosnia Kosovo Germany and two tours in Afghanistan. Looking back on his career every so often Mercredi will reflect on the events of Jan. 13 2013. I think when you look at situations like that it does have an effect on you because every time you think of something or you see something on TV you rethink the moment Mercredi said. You learn to live with it be- cause its part of being in the military. PhotoSgtRonaldDuchesneRideauHall Master Warrant Ofcer Stanley Mercredi left shakes hand with Governor General David Johnston after being awarded a medal of bravery in a ceremony held in Ottawa on June 26.