Jim Short’s distinguished military reserve career was recognized earlier this month in Ottawa when he was presented with the Order of Military Merit.
Short, who retired in July after 26 years with the Reserve Force in the Canadian Armed Forces Chaplain’s Branch, was presented with the award by Governor General Julie Payette at the official investiture ceremony at Rideau Hall on Nov. 10.
The governor general bestowed the honour on two commanders, seven officers and 36 members.
“It’s a great honour. The award is the military’s equivalent to the Order of Canada,” said Short. “It’s unusual for a reserve chaplain to be appointed. There are not a lot of military chaplains that have received the Order of Military Merit, so it’s a pretty amazing thing.”
Short said the ceremony was full of pomp and circumstance.
“You get treated very nice and they thank you for your service,” he said. “There are all these senior officers there and, of course, they are there for you. Usually when senior officers come we are there for them.
“It’s quite the process. Your nomination goes through four or five vettings and eventually gets to the Chief of Defence staff and the Governor General’s Office. I was surprised. It was a lovely time to be in Ottawa because it was right before Remembrance Day.”
Short was commissioned into the Reserve Force in 1991.
His military reserve career was spent mostly in B.C., but one of his most notable calls for service was a year-long deployment in Afghanistan.
During this deployment he initiated and dedicated himself, along with a team of volunteer Canadian soldiers and civilians on the home front, to support education for Afghani children and the needs of their teachers through a project that provided learning materials to a school in Kandahar, then an orphanage in Kabul.
“Most of us are just your average military men who just tried to do the best they could and never thought they would become a member of the Order of Military Merit,” said Short. “I don’t tend to think of myself as anyone special. I really enjoyed my military career, but I suppose I could look at some of the things that I was a part of, but then again, so were other people. And the thing is, they never tell you why you were chosen, they just say you didn’t get here by fluke or by accident.
“There was obviously people who thought enough of my efforts. It was a humbling experience. It’s a lovely medal and I’m honoured to have it.”
