Lt. Leah Ahenakew at her Royal Military College graduation in Kingston, Ont., in 2020. (Submitted/Lt. Leah Ahenakew)

By Angela Brown

A career in leadership

Young woman from Ile-a-la-Crosse makes strides as officer with Canadian Forces

Dec 8, 2022 | 4:05 PM

A young woman from Ile-a-la-Crosse is continuing a successful career with the Canadian Forces after starting in an Indigenous youth program several years ago.

Lt. Leah Ahenakew, 25, who is now based in Edmonton, first became interested in the idea of a future career with the Forces when she was in Grade 11 and signed up to take part in a program called Raven. Raven is one of five Indigenous summer programs offered by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and is a six-week naval reserves basic-training program based in Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt, British Columbia.

After taking the program, Ahenakew returned home to complete high school.

“Once I finished that, I realized I really like the way things were in terms of the military,” Ahenakew said.

Next, she signed up for the Aboriginal Leadership Opportunity Year (ALOY) at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMCC) in Kingston, Ont., which she completed in 2016. ALOY is a one-year university program.

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“[Participants] can immerse themselves in that kind of military culture and get a little bit of a university education,” Ahenakew said. “After the first year, I realized I liked where I was, and this was something I could see myself doing. So, I went full-time into the military and joined as an armoured officer at RMC.”

She signed a contract to go directly into the Regular Officer Training Plan (ROTP) program to take part in the four-year program at RMCC and graduated in 2020.

About two years ago, Ahenakew was posted to CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick, where she completed all her training requirements.

Ahenakew is now posted to the armoured regiment, Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Edmonton after arriving there in June of 2022.

In total, she has been with the military for about seven years now.

Now that Ahenakew is back in Edmonton she is looking forward to visiting her hometown of Ile-a-la-Crosse more over the holidays.

“It’s nice to finally be six hours away from home versus 20 to 40 hours away,” she said.

Ahenakew said she hopes to take on further leadership roles in her work with the military.

She would also like to be involved in training youth in the ALOY and Raven programs she participated in previously.

“Being a course officer of those courses after being through it myself was one of my aspirations I hope to achieve while I’m still in the military,” Ahenakew said.

She recently visited the high school at Ile-a-la-Crosse just before Remembrance Day last month and spoke to some students there about the training she underwent.

As a positive role model for young people, Ahenakew encourages other Indigenous youth to consider pursuing a career in the Canadian Forces if that is something they might be interested in.

When she first signed up for the Canadian Forces programs herself she was fascinated with the idea of doing something different.

“It was something I thought would sound cool. Being from a small village, I wanted something more,” Ahenakew said. “This was the best way to get that.”

She said other youth should explore the possibility of a career in the Forces as well if they have ever considered it.

“To anyone else who is kind of in the same position as I was, where they aren’t sure what is next, if they have a few ideas but aren’t sure which one would be feasible, or if it feels like maybe these goals are too high to be attainable, just do it and see what happens,” Ahenakew said. “That’s exactly what I did with the military, and I’m still in today. I have no regrets.”

She said her career in the military has given her many positive memories, as well.

“Should they [other youth from Ile-a-la-Crosse] make it onto this side of the military, I’ll be there with open arms,” Ahenakew said. “It’s hard work, but it is very rewarding as well. You work hard, you do your job and good things come out of it, good stories, memories and friends that last you a lifetime.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow