From a small rural town nestled in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia to deploying multiple times for her country, volunteering in her community and supporting fellow survivors of sexual assault, Sgt. Helen Hawes has earned her place as a member of the Order of Military Merit.

She flew her parentsto Ottawa for her investiture at Rideau Hall by Gov. Gen. Julie Payette on Monday.

“I grew up out in the Rocky Mountains, in the middle of nowhere, not much money, so to be able to take them to a fancy event at Rideau Hall, that was emotional for me,” Hawes said. “My dad took a thousand photos.”

Hawes is an army communications systems specialist at the Canadian Forces School of Communication and Electronics at Canadian Forces Base Kingston. The investiture recognizes members of the Canadian Forces for their “distinctive merit and exceptional service … many have demonstrated dedication and devotion beyond the call of duty.”

A total of 41 members of the Forces were invested to the Order as members, officers and commanders.

Growing up, Hawes’ father was a miner and her mother worked as a typesetter in a small community newspaper. She said she never went without, but the family wasn’t able to do much travelling aside from summer vacations to Saskatchewan. Hawes sees her many deployments as her adventures now and doesn’t need to be asked twice to go.

In addition to various deployments around the world, including California, Norway and Texas, Hawes deployed to Afghanistan three times, spending almost two years all together.

“As with 99 per cent of soldiers, I love deployments,” Hawes said. “I would deploy in a second. Any time, anywhere — which is the Canadian Forces Joint Signals Regiment’s motto.”

This summer, Hawes will be heading to Mali, Africa, for her next deployment.

Hawes has also proven herself time and time again physically, running a marathon, multiple half-marathons and participating in the 50-kilometre Iron Warrior race at CFB Petawawa. She’s motivated to complete the feats of athleticism because one time someone told her she’d never finish the Iron Warrior — an individual rite of passage of sorts that features a 32-kilometre run/march with a rucksack, a four-kilometre portage, an eight-kilometre paddle, then a six-kilometre sprint to the finish.

“Boy, that drove me,” Hawes said. “That first (Iron Warrior) took me nine and a half hours, then the second year I came in at seven hours and 30 minutes. That’s when I was the third fastest female in the brigade. So I knocked two hours off my time just by having someone say, ‘You can’t do that.’”

Hawes has now run the gruelling race eight times, more than any other woman in the Army. Last year she finished first in the women’s masters category.

Hawes is also an active volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society and the Gananoque and District Humane Society. It is the only completely volunteer no-kill shelter in Ontario, said Hawes, who owns “two dogs, two cats and a very small house.”

“We can get really focused on the military community, but it is really nice to get out and into your actual community,” Hawes said. “Otherwise you can become very, very focused on just your military affairs, your tours, deployments and what is happening at work. I really enjoy being a part of the community and meeting people.”

Her career took a dark turn in 2015 when an Army officer sexually assaulted her. Hawes explained that it happened as she and some friends were celebrating the life of Cpl. Ryan (Alex) New, a motorcyclist who had been struck on Perth Road by a transport truck driver later found guilty of dangerous driving. After the formal funeral events, the evening was going well when the officer, with whom no one was very familiar, arrived and after a few drinks “groped” her.

“The Army encouraged me to report it, and I did,” Hawes said. “They took the matter very seriously. I had so much support from my chain of command, it was unbelievable.”

Hawes was then forced to testify in front of almost 100 of her peers at a court martial to explain the details of the assault. The officer was found guilty of the crime and was released from the military as a result.

“The support was always amazing. I truly believe the Army is working towards changing that culture,” Hawes said. “I think that it gave me admiration from the chain of command that I was willing to come forward, willing to speak in front of my peers, willing to throw myself out there and be vulnerable in front of my peers to make change.

Now Hawes supports fellow members who have been assaulted, and she has represented Canada at major conferences on the topic in Gagetown, N.B., and at a United Nations event in Turkey. She is confident the Forces’ Operation Honour, established to combat sexual assaults and general sexual misconduct in the Forces, is working.

“There are going to be setbacks — it’s a massive organization — but as long as we’re all open and we speak about it. I didn’t ask for my name to be withheld during the trial if people wanted to talk to me about it, I would,” Hawes said. “If we’re willing to talk about it, change can be made.”

She’s also excited about new bystander training that has been put forward by the Forces. In her case, others at the party didn’t realize anything was wrong.

“If you see someone inappropriately touching someone else, just get them out of that situation, make that change and it could affect their whole life,” Hawes said.

Hawes admits she’s always been honest and open about her thoughts and views on the military. Sometimes it has gotten her into trouble, but it is clear that her superiors, who put her name forward for the investiture, admire her for it.

“I was brought up to always make the right choice and to try to be as honest with myself and with others,” Hawes said. “It has gotten me in trouble in my career, but I try to do it with the right intentions.”

scrosier@postmedia.com

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