Christmas Dinner 2018 – Annual King’s Own Calgary Regiment Tradition

On 8 December 2018, Mewata Armoury was host to the annual King’s Own Calgary Christmas dinner. This was the first time in many years that with the amount of soldiers in the regiment, the dinner took place on the parade square rather than the Officer’s Dining hall.

The yearly Christmas Dinner is conducted to honour the hard work of the Junior Non-Commissioned members with the rank of Master Corporal or lower. The Officers and Senior Non-Commissioned Members of the rank Sergeant or higher serve the junior ranks during the dinner. The youngest and oldest junior soldiers are invited to the Head Table during a tradition where the their Coats are swapped with the Commanding and Regimental Sergeant Major. During which time the youngest soldier is the acting Commanding Officer and the oldest solider is the acting RSM.

This year was special, as we were joined by many distinguished guests and past King’s Own Calgary veterans from previous conflicts to officially name one of the new Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle’s as “Calgary”. Notable guests included Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Lois Mitchell, Mayor Naheed Nenshi, and Brigadier General Nicholas Stanton CD (Acting/ Deputy Commander 3rd Division).

A parade was held prior to the start of the Christmas dinner to which promotions and appointments were awarded. Congratulations to newly promoted Sergeant Danay, Master Corporal McKinnon, and Corporal Albano.

ONWARD!