KATERINA

* will spend Christmas. day

with friends, have a tradi-
tional meal and then open
her presents.

She’ also
Christmas movie. only...
it will be projected .on the
door of a hangar containing
a helicopter on board Her
Majesty’s Canadian Ship

. Ottawa somewhere in the

Persian Gulf. ,

That’s’ because Stew-

“art, from New Aiyansh’ in

the Nass Valley, is.a Lead-

“ing Seaman on HMCS Ot-

tawa and her job, along with
‘nearly 225 shipmates, is to

STEWART |

watch a_

. for New

Stewart: has just ‘signed on-

for 20 more years. It does
contain provisions for her.to
leave if she wishes. :
HMCS~ Ottawa, which
celebrated its 10th anniver-

. finished basic training.

» “My very: first ship was.

the HMCS Vancouver and

that’ was for about four -

months,” said.Stewart.

Both Ottawa and Vancou-*

ver are. frigates, part of the
Halifax-class of warship.
Stewart’s job is that of a

- bosun (boatswain), meaning

stop the sea-borne trade of ©

people, weapons and drugs
that’s part of international
terrorism.

Stewart will be 22 ‘in

_ January and has spent four
years in the navy, joining

almost immediately after

graduating from Caledonia

Senior Secondary. .

“T enjoy the travelling.
because you can sce the
world,” said. Stewart in a
satellite phone’ conversation
late last week.

Her first contract with the

navy was for three years but

she spends a lot of time out-
doors driving. the Ottawa’s
various boats and keeping
her weapons skills sharp.
But she’s also a member

of the Ottawa’s boarding’

party contingent, an all-vol-
unteer -and highly-trained
group which searches ships
on the high seas for signs. of
people-smuggling, weapons
and drugs.

It’s one of the most chal-
lenging jobs among the in-
ternational naval contingent
patrolling the Persian Gulf

and Canada has gained the

The staff « and management at Cc urves
wish everyone a Merry C bristmas and we
can't weight to see yore: in 2007.

vear, has been hofite to Stew--
art almost from the time she

Decorate your home with loads of
good cheer and our hope that this
“Chrisings finds you and your .
ily healthy and happy. ._
fe appreciate the
business of all .

our loyal
customers.

‘TERRACE INTERIORS

‘A610 Lexelle Ave., Terrace 635-6600

‘The power to amaze yourself. ®

3228 Kalum St Terrace, B.C. V8G 2NI
‘os (250) 638- 8800 - ° :

IN NAVAL talk it’s called an n RHIB, short for rigid I hull inflatable boat, and ‘it’s used to:ferry Canadian sailors from
their vessels to civilian ships | in the Persian Gulf so they can be searched for guns and drugs... . <
~.* DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE PHOTO a

Christmas on high seas |
lyansh sailor

secures . a ‘dhow . and makes

reputation of having the best
trained: and most capable
boarding parties.

. « Thé boarding parties typi-

cally search dhows, regional

cargo or fishing vessels of |

40 to 80 metres in length.
“It was something to do
when I was not doing my

regular duties and I liked the |
dea,”. said Stewart of her
‘choice of an additional chal-

lenge.

.” By now, she says she’s —
become familiar with the:
various nooks and crannies

fal

of dhows.

The

work hard and some days
can do up to 20 searches.
' Tt also means SteWart
and the other boarding party
members have to keep their
skills honed. -.=

“Bach morning we'll do
PT (physical training] and go
through tactics and weapons
training, including shooting
and have refresher lectures,”
said Stewart.

There are 20 people in a
boarding party and Stewart
is one of two women.

There are two groups

‘within a - boarding party,
Alpha, of 10 People which

!
a

St. John Ambulance
SAVING LIVES |

mm at work, home and play

boarding parties ;

it safe and Bravo, also made
up of 10 people, which does
. the actual searching.

HMCS. Ottawa has been
in the Persian, Gulf since
mid-September and is more
‘than ‘halfway through its
scheduled: six-month — de-

ployment before returning .
to its Esquimalt B.C. home:
- port... | : :
Stewart has asked to be-.
come a recruiter as‘her next .

occupation in the navy. =:

‘And although HMCS Ot-
tawa is half a: world away
from northwestern B.C.,
satellite phones make it pos-
sible to keep in touch thanks
‘to 10-minute phone cards is-
sued every three days.

As for Stewart’s Christ-

mas presents, they’ve been .

tucked away — still wrapped
— for the past two weeks af-

ter making the long journey

to her.

Her parents are Yvonne
Stewart who lives in Fort
St. John and Trevor Stewart
who is in New Aiyansh.

‘Pd like to wish my |

friends and family a, Merry

_Christmas and a Happy New —

Year. I miss them and can’t
wail to see them,”-she said.
Stewart was promoted

from able seaman this fall.

“Jaya, 8 nd Vivian a the Staff of FoF Keatleyae os nee aa like te to
wish everybody a Happy Holiday Season and All The Best In The New Year!

a 250-635-5232
1-800.335-8088 » Fox: 250-635-3288 ° www.keeanleyside.com
' 4635 GREIG AVE., TERRACE B.C. (Next to Staples}

Mappy, Uolidays, To One

Greetings of the Season ae Best
Wishes for the New Year! Af

12, & AML

vas

‘Wishing all‘our good friends and neighbors Q.
holiday filled with good times, joy and:
— laughter. Serving you has been.

wo Tealt treat. for. US. . Thanks

(250)638-8171

B 4534 Keith Ave.
7 1-800-665-1990.

DL# 9662

/(2501635-0078

10 8- 4526 Greig

AVE. Terrace, B. c.

scaaen Wed like t to join ‘our good friends everyubere in

Gon INSURANCE a wish for peace on earth and goodwill towards °

all this holiday season. For the goodwill you've x
ON ces LD. ‘shown towards us we are deeply grateful.

We invite you to drop by! -

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