Canada - Modern-day vets can count on Brady Poirier, Comrades MC

OFF THE WIRE
BY: STEVE PETTIBONE
Source: recorder.ca
STEVE PETTIBONE The Recorder and TimesBrockville resident Brady Poirier was recently awarded the Minster of Veterans Affairs Commendation for his contributions to raising funds and awareness for veterans groups in Canada. A member of the Canadian Forces from 1990 to 1995, he started Comrades Motorcycle Club, a group that raises funds for programs such as Soldier On and Wounded Warriors, in 2007...
Brady Poirier says he had a pretty good idea what the nature of a call he received recently was going to be when the voice on the other end identified herself as a representative from Veterans Affairs Canada.
"I had applied for a job at Veterans Affairs about a year and a half ago," he recounts. "I thought, 'Wow, it's taken them a while to get back to me.'"
But Poirier was wrong about the purpose of the call. He, in fact, was told he was being awarded the prestigious Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation, an award given annually to recognize individuals who have performed commendable service to the veteran community or who represent commendable role models for their fellow veterans.
A Sudbury native, Poirier served in the Canadian Armed Forces, first in the Air Force, and then the Army, between 1990 and 1995. In 2007, he founded Comrades Motorcycle Club, a group that raises funds to support Canadian Forces members through such programs as the Soldier On program and other activities.
He explains the club's genesis.
"I was looking for something that could attract similar members, whether ex-military, or active serving members, and civilians or civil servants who share the same thoughts and ideas about supporting our troops," he says.
He says he also wanted to create a fun atmosphere based on the joys or riding, and the traditional motorcycle culture started by veterans of yesteryear.
"It was also about riding and having fun -enjoying the camaraderie, hence, Comrades MC," he says. "We took on a traditional motorcycle club approach, paying homage to the 1940s clubs - World War II vets who were coming back and starting their own thing."
Following what he describes as a "very lengthy process" of creating a website -"I'm not an IT guy," he laughs -and logo based on an army stencil font, and featuring such elements as a yellow Support Our Troops ribbon and elements of motorcycle history, the club was off and running.
Each year, since its formation, the club has undertaken rides to raise funds for soldier-support programs, such as Soldier On and Wounded Warriors, he says.
The latter is a group close to his own heart, as his brother-in-law was wounded during a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
"He was seriously wounded," Poirier says. "And he announced last night there's a good possibility he goes back... so it's a lot for him to think about."
He explains a bit about Wounded Warriors' work.
"They provide little comfort things for the troops while they are in the hospital in Germany recovering -simple stuff like phone cards, electronics and toiletries, because these guys go directly from the field to the hospital, so they have nothing," he says.
Work on the 2011 ride has begun, he says, with a new organization -the Tony Stacey Centre for Veteran Care -as the target recipient.
Based in Toronto, the centre is a long-term care facility for veterans, their families and the community. Poirier says the move to help fund the centre represents a shift in philosophy for his club.
"It's a different sort of fundraising for us, in that we've been focusing on today's veterans, the guys that are currently serving, versus the older veterans," he says. "That's something that we shouldn't forget; it's something that we have to support and remember."
Comrades is a small club, he says, with about 12 current members spread across Ontario.
The objective is "quality over quantity" in seeking members, he says.
"It isn't about growth or numbers," he says. "The intent was never to get very big."
Although the membership has remained small, the club's work has gained it national attention, culminating in Poirier's commendation.
Describing the November 29 ceremony as "something that I'll remember forever", he says he was honoured to share the company of the other recipients.
"There were so many well-deserving people," he says. "I just remember, I felt honoured to be amongst so many deserving people -people who have contributed years and years of their lives. Most of these guys are veterans who have forty-plus years with the Legion and doing community work supporting other veterans."
A recent transplant to Brockville, Poirier is an active volunteer with Royal Canadian Legion Branch 96 in Brockville, as well as with the Brockville Rifles Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps. He says he has seen a marked change in the Canadian public's perception of its military over the past decade or so.
He mentions the negative backlash that coincided with the Somalia affair, the Bosnian conflict and the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s -the era in which he was a young recruit completing his military training.
"The public perception at the time was that, since WW II and Korea, it was, 'What are we doing as a nation and who are our forces?'" he says. "I think a lot of the guys serving at that time weren't acknowledged or getting the respect that they are today."
He says the contributions and sacrifices of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan have changed this.

"It took Afghanistan and 9-11 to wake the general public up, and say 'Listen, these people are committed to protecting us, serving our country and sacrifice,'" he says.
For more information on Comrades Motorcycle Club, visit its website at mailto:www.comradesmc.com.steve.pettibone@recorder.ca