News Article
“New Veteran” Transitions from Military to Second Career
Mario Toneguzzi, The Calgary Herald
December 17, 2009
Neighbours is profiling our soldiers as Calgary's military groups march toward centennial celebrations in 2010.
Drew Beauchamp has been described as a shining example of the "new veteran."
He's a captain in the Calgary Highlanders and also the manager of human resources at the Corps of Commissionaires, southern Alberta division.
Beauchamp transitioned from full-time military duty to a role with the Commissionaires, but still remains active with the Highlanders, where he is a rifle company second in command.
"My job at the army is to take care of all the administration," he says. "I'm there to take care of all the administration to make sure that the soldiers employed in the rifle company are set up for success. So I take care of everything from personnel appraisals, making sure that we've looked at whatever training we're undertaking and we've ordered all the appropriate supplies for it. Keeping my boss up to date with what's going on with our soldiers so if someone is having a particular difficulty or needs a certain type of support, my boss is in the know so we can provide that support to the soldier."
Beauchamp has been in the army for 10 years.
"When I was going through college, the army seemed like a good part-time job to gain some credible experience while I was working my way through."
The 29-year-old Calgary native, who graduated from Ernest Manning High School, went to Mount Royal College (when it was still a college) and the University of Lethbridge, studying management.
He received a diploma in business administration from Mount Royal in 2003 and a bachelor's degree in management from the University of Lethbridge in 2006.
His formal training with the Highlanders was as an infantry officer.
Over the years, Beauchamp has also been with the 18th Air Defence Regiment as a troop commander and a course officer while in Lethbridge.
When he returned to Calgary, he was a rifle platoon commander with the Highlanders.
For a while he was also staff officer in the Operations Branch at 41 Canadian Brigade Group headquarters in Calgary as he remained platoon commander with the Highlanders.
Before he started working at the Corps of Commissionaires, he did a tour in Afghanistan in 2008 for about seven months.
Beauchamp's platoon was tasked to maintain security at Kandahar air field's primary entry point and provide protection for resupply convoys moving in Kandahar province.
"Service in the reserves is a wonderful part-time job while you're working your way through university or college, and it gives you a broad and varied experience to draw on and gain employment later on in your life," he says.
The Corps of Commissionaires is there to help young men and women who are in need of employment after their military service and to assist them with their transition to civilian life.
"The Corps of Commissionaires is here to employ veterans. So people that are either in the reserves right now or people that have gotten out of the regular force, it's a wonderful employer for veterans. A lot of the people here were in the Forces, as well. They understand the mindset you're coming out of Forces with. It's a very familiar structure and a very familiar feel when you do come and work for us," says Beauchamp.
Most Canadians think that members of the Canadian Forces stay for most of their working lives and therefore retire with pensions. But the reality is that most soldiers retire long before they're eligible for a pension, so they pursue second and third careers. Only 30 per cent of veterans have earned pensions when they retire from the military.
The Commissionaires was founded in 1925 to provide meaningful employment for former Canadian Forces and RCMP personnel.
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