In four years at Fort Hood, Maj.
Dave Blackburn has become a
Texan.
He has the pickup, the belt
buckle, the boots and the cowboy
hat, and he will soon take that
all north with him as he returns
to his native Canada.
Blackburn finished his duties as
the U.S. Army Operational Test
Command's Canadian Forces
liaison officer Friday at a West
Fort Hood ceremony. His
departure is historic.
Blackburn is the last liaison
officer at the command, ending a
30-year partnership between the
Canadian army and Operational
Test Command or OTC.
Solid partnership
The position was created in 1979
when OTC was known as the U.S.
Army Training and Doctrine
Command Combined Arms Test
Activity. Canadian army majors
were placed in the spot to
observe and monitor the U.S.
Army's testing, evaluating and
technology development,
according to information from
OTC.
The liaison officer then reports
back to the Canadian army and
the two countries discuss how
they can share information and
projects.
Blackburn is one of nine majors
who have served as liaison
officer. The others are
Wolfgang Kirchner, Jim Follwell,
Paul Nielsen, Brian Hook, P.S.
Furnell, P.A. Cunningham, B.R.
Dixon and J.F. Derby.
There are hundreds of Canadian
military personnel who hold
liaison or exchange positions in
the United States military.
Liaisons like Blackburn are sent
to gather information to keep
their high headquarters
informed. Exchange personnel
work for the U.S. Army, thus are
limited in what they can report
back to the Canadian army,
Blackburn said.
The OTC slot is closing because
the militaries are reshuffling
the Canadian positions in the
Army and Marines.
OTC and the U.S. Army
Developmental Test Command at
Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.,
each had a liaison officer.
OTC's slot will go to the
Marines at Twentynine Palms,
Calif., and Maryland will keep
its liaison officer.
Blackburn is one of several
Canadian soldiers at Fort Hood.
Another is Brig. Gen. Peter
Atkinson, a deputy commander for
III Corps and Fort Hood.
Atkinson is the fifth Canadian
army general to serve as a
deputy commander at Fort Hood.
The first was Rick Hillier, who
served from 1998 to 2000.
Blackburn has worked closely
with many of the generals who
have served at Fort Hood,
including Atkinson. They both
are armor men and serve in the
Royal Canadian Dragoons.
Blackburn said he gets some
"incredible looks" while about
town in his Canadian
camouflage. Most often mistake
him for a Marine before they
notice the maple-leaf flag
patch.
He takes every opportunity when
in the community to introduce
himself and explain the
importance of the U.S.-Canada
relationship. It's a
relationship based on mutual
friendship, trust and respect,
said Lt. Col. Lawrence Zaporzan,
assistant Canadian Forces
military attache to the United
States. He was at Fort Hood
last week for Blackburn's
farewell ceremony.
No other nations have a
relationship like the United
States and Canada, Zaporzan
said, and Canada has proven
itself as a capable ally.
"We've been in the fight with
you and taken that fight to the
enemy," he said.
Heading home
Blackburn wanted to serve as a
liaison officer since 2002.
He's wanted to visit Texas since
the third grade when he did a
report on the Lone Star State.
"I thought it was really cool,"
he said of Texas.
Blackburn likes Texans. They're
salt-of-the-earth people, he
said.
"They say what they mean and
mean what they say," he added.
The Texas culture also drew
him. The state was its own
place — a republic — and that
has created a distinct mentality
among Texans, Blackburn said.
Other big draws were the lakes
and climate. Blackburn is a
"diehard fisherman" and is proud
to say that he's leaving the
state with a bigger bass boat
than he brought. His biggest
catch was a six-pounder at
Stillhouse Hollow Lake.
It'll take some time for him to
get used to Canadian winters
again after spending four years
in Central Texas, he joked.
Blackburn was born in Toronto,
Ontario, and grew up out west in
Edmonton, Alberta. He is headed
back home to Edmonton where he
will serve with a Canadian
military organization much like
the U.S. Army Training and
Doctrine Command. He hopes to
then end his military career
with a Joint Personnel Support
Unit, which is similar to the
U.S. Army's Warrior Transition
Units.
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