The last time I talked to Sgt. Morgan Wong was in September 2025.
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I → talk → September
“Good to see you again,” he texted me afterwards.
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he → see → me
“I’m sure we will meet down the road again!”
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we → ’m → road
Sgt. Morgan Wong, a member of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, died in CFB Wainwright over the weekend along with three members of C Company, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
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Wong → die → Company
Dozens more people were injured, many critically.
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people → injure → ?
I made a promise yesterday to Morgan, the other soldiers impacted and Canada itself: We will not forget them and their sacrifices.
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We → make → them
Anyone who has served Canada in the military would do the same.
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who → serve → same
It is a calling that we voluntarily embraced and sought out, and Canada needs to remember that.
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Canada → embrace → that
We do not expect pity or sorrow from our country, we expect our country to understand what we signed up for.
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we → expect → what
The infantry even more so, and it is the infantry that trains at CFB Wainwright.
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that → train → Wainwright
Many military occupations have a civilian equivalent, the infantry does not.
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infantry → have → equivalent
It is a unique trade in the Canadian Armed Forces with a proud history and respect that is earned through sacrifice and literal blood, sweat and tears.
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that → earn → sacrifice
Morgan was in the infantry, as was I.
To those who have never been, CFB Wainwright is where we train to fight and fight to train.
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we → train → those
It is a world class training centre that allows for full spectrum combined arms training.
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that → allow → training
Using live rounds, high intensity training evolutions and well designed scenarios, it is where professional soldiers are made.
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soldiers → use → rounds
I will not comment on the event, circumstances, procedures, responses or outcomes.
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I → comment → event
I can, however, speak to my time at CFB Wainwright, the training there and my observations as both a firefighter and a soldier.
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I → speak → firefighter
I can say this: Training at CFB Wainwright is, by necessity, dangerous work in service of our country.
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Training → say → country
We must always remember and honour those who lose their lives doing it.
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who → remember → it
I would argue that CFB Wainwright is one of, if not the, most dangerous places in Canada.
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Wainwright → argue → Canada
As someone who has trained, learned and lived there, it is unlike anything I experienced in my careers as a firefighter and soldier.
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I → train → firefighter
The landscape, terrain and training is specifically chosen to replicate combat experiences that soldiers can encounter anywhere on earth.
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soldiers → choose → earth
From the deserts of Afghanistan to the High Arctic, Wainwright can replicate it.
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Wainwright → replicate → it
CFB Wainwright can also replicate the extreme and pervasive risk that exists in real world combat conditions.
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that → replicate → conditions
Live ammunition, unexploded ordinance, extreme weather and natural disasters are omnipresent and can suddenly appear.
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ammunition → appear → ?
CFB Wainwright is so famous that many believe the fictional training base Camp Arthur Currie in Robert A. Heinlein’s book “Starship Troopers” is an exact description of CFB Wainwright.
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base → believe → Wainwright
And like in the book, injuries and death happen and will continue to happen.
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injuries → happen → book
Here is the part that those who have never been in the Canadian Armed Forces Infantry have a hard time understanding: training takes place in some of the most extreme, high-risk environments where the margins of error are minuscule.
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margins → have → error
This risk is inherent in what we do, there is no way a professional army can replicate modern training without it.
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army → be → it
In fact, I would argue that the extreme risk in what we do is part of the training itself.
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we → argue → training
Those in the profession of arms do not ask for much from Canada.
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Those → ask → Canada
But we do hope for one thing: that our country remember our sacrifices, especially the ultimate ones.
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country → hope → sacrifices
We do not seek glory or attention, but it will find us, from Vimy Ridge to CFB Wainwright.
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it → seek → Wainwright
The trauma will find us, too.
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trauma → find → us
So many soldiers before us didn’t receive any help with the violence they experienced.
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they → receive → violence
But the mental health of current members and veterans takes precedence to all else after situations like this, and help is available through the Member assistance helpline 1-800-268-7708 and Crisis Support for Veterans 1-800-567-5803.
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help → take → Veterans
I will also ask one other thing on behalf of my brothers and sisters in arms: This Remembrance Day, and all those that follow, remember the sacrifices that were made by Sgt. Morgan Wong, Pte. Shaun Farrell, Pte. Aidan Goulding, Pte. Hayden Lykkemark and the 39 hospitalized soldiers on Oct. 17, 2026.
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that → ask → Oct.
The Aporia
