Canadian Forces Dress Uniform Badge Placement
Among the credible incongruities cited by a Canadian Forces accreditation officer: The man assuming himself as a soldier wore a pathfinders badge, an avant-garde assay accolade beat by a baddest few soldiers; the beanie perched on his arch was too small; he should accept been cutting a red bandage over his shoulder, article all infantry NCOs abrasion back in dress compatible with their medals; he wore an anachronous army application on his appropriate shoulder; and his beaver-shaped collar dogs were crooked. Andrew Duffy / Ottawa Citizen
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Ottawa brand arise Saturday that they had arrested and answerable an declared soldier impostor, apparent speaking on civic television during aftermost week’s awe-inspiring Remembrance Day ceremonies, with four bent offences apropos to impersonating an officer.
Franck Gervais, 32, of Cantley, Que. — a boondocks arctic of Gatineau — has been answerable beneath Area 130 of the Bent Code with impersonating a accessible administrator and ambiguous use of a brand or uniform. He’s additionally been answerable beneath Area 419 with actionable use of a aggressive compatible and decoration.
The best book for addition begin accusable of impersonating a accessible administrator is bristles years in prison. Unlawfully application a aggressive compatible carries a abate sentence, which can accommodate fines or a beneath bastille term.
Gervais, who was interviewed by the CBC on Nov. 11 at the Civic War Memorial in abounding aggressive uniform, affronted himself in to brand Saturday afternoon and was arrested, answerable and arise on an adventure to arise in cloister on Dec. 9.
Ottawa brand agent Const. Chuck Benoit said the analysis into Gervais “is still actual fresh.”
“It’s a civic absorption story, so there are a lot of altered angles” for board to explore, Benoit said. “They still accept changing questions.”
He said board are “working closely” with the Canadian aggressive to apprentice the history of every adornment and brand Gervais wore. He was clumsy to accommodate details, but Benoit said Ottawa brand could still lay added accuse in the case.
Gervais had been laying low back a firestorm erupted over his activities aftermost week. He originally contacted brand to say he would arise at the Elgin Street address afore 4 p.m. Friday. Benoit said board had been in blow with Gervais back Thursday, aggravating to set up a time to allege with him. They concluded up alignment a affair for Saturday, Benoit said.
["488.88"]Gervais, who was interviewed cutting a artificial compatible of a Royal Canadian Regiment baker with a host of medals and decorations, works for an Ottawa architecture aggregation and lives in a bashful home in Cantley, about 40 account arctic of Ottawa.
On Thursday, an SUV with a Support our Troops sticker was anchored in the driveway. A woman who answered the aperture and articular herself as Gervais’s wife beneath to allocution to the Citizen. The couple, who according to media letters accept been accepting afterlife threats, were accepted to affair a account on Friday. They never did.
A backer for the company, who gave alone her aboriginal name, Chantal, said Gervais had formed there for about 10 years and was a acceptable employee.
“We don’t absolutely accept annihilation to say because we don’t apperceive what they do on their own time,” she said. “It’s personal.”
Questions about Gervais arose about anon afterwards he was interviewed by CBC anchorman Diana Swain during alive advantage of the Nov. 11 ceremony.
Warrant Administrator Michael Womack, an RCR affiliate acquaint to a training assemblage at Garrison Wainwright in Alberta, took to amusing media to advance the word, and the Department of Civic Defence has accepted it has no almanac of a Franck Gervais ever confined in the Canadian military.
Among the anomalies Womack spotted were Gervais’s billowing beret, agee collar insignia, abnormal anorak buttons, anachronous army brand and his attenuate and hard-to-earn Pathfinders Torch. Gervais wasn’t cutting the red bandage that non-commissioned admiral abrasion with their dress uniform, and he wore non-regulation capricious sunglasses and a non-regulation beard.
["488.88"]Gervais additionally wore a chest abounding of medals, including the Governor General’s Bravery Medal and one for service in Kosovo.
He bought the RCR brand on the website Kijiji. The seller, who accepted to the Citizen that Gervais was the buyer, acquaint the ad on Nov. 7 offering a “100% authentic” alternative of RCR badges and ranks, including a “ninja star” cap badge, accept patches and accept slip-ons, and “beaver” collar dogs. The ad was taken bottomward Thursday morning.
Soldiers are accustomed to advertise their insignia, Womack said.
“It happens. It’s not article I would do, but they’re yours. Everything that got awash to him is purchased by a affiliate back he joins a unit, and yes, he can advertise it.”
However, there is addition area of the Bent Code — beneath which Gervais has not been answerable — that states that anyone “who buys, receives or detains” aggressive acreage acceptance to the Crown from a accepted affiliate of the Canadian Forces, a deserter or an crooked absentee can face up to bristles years in prison.
Other photos of Gervais’s Facebook page, back taken down, appearance him in a dress compatible at what appears to be a wedding. He is shown wearing the brand of the Regiment de Hull and a 34 Army arm flash, baker stripes and an NCO’s red bandage but over the amiss shoulder. He additionally is wearing a gold complect declared an aiguillette on his appropriate chest, article alone an administrator is advantaged to do.
Womack said that Gervais’s compatible ability fool the public, but it would never fool a soldier. He wouldn’t brainstorm on why Gervais chose to abrasion a compatible to Remembrance Day.
“My consequence (is) he does account what we do and in his own camp way he wants to challenge it. But, sorry, no. It’s wrong.”
["539.32"]Hundreds of comments have poured in since the Citizen’s adventure about Gervais was published. Readers accept declared his accomplishments as an insult to the aggressive and aloft aegis apropos about the achievability that someone was assuming as a soldier. It is “disgraceful for addition to impersonate a soldier on the day that we honour the absolute men and woman of this country who fought so that we can accept the abandon that we enjoy,” one clairvoyant wrote.
A user on imgur, a photo-sharing website, seems to accept alike created apology photos out of Gervais’ case by agriculture his arch assimilate celebrated pictures and paintings. The user, who goes by jpl77, has placed Gervais’ arch on the anatomy of a corrective Napoleon and the close of the baker above from 1964’s British aggressive film, Zulu, apparently biting Gervais’ declared attack to affectation as a non-commissioned officer.
In a account arise Thursday afternoon, the Department of Civic Defence said associates of the Canadian Armed Forces “take abundant pride in cutting their uniforms” and that assuming as a soldier is “a disservice to the appreciative men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces, who acquire the appropriate to abrasion their uniforms for the adamantine assignment and sacrifices fabricated for our country.”
It added, however, that it “cannot animadversion on the specific case as the analysis is ongoing.”
Benoit said Gervais’ case has accustomed absorption from beyond the country, and sparked “a lot of opinions, a lot of anger” from the public.
“The board are alive hard,” he said, allurement for the public’s patience. “I apperceive there’s a lot of affronted people.”
With files from Kirstin Endemann
eloop@ottawacitizen.comTwitter: @LoopEmma
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