CARSTAIRS -Remembrance Day is an opportunity for Canadians to honour those who have served our country. In addition to the Remembrance Day ceremonies on Nov. 11, there are also events planned for many of the schools in the area during the week.
Speaking at the Hugh Sutherland School Remembrance Day ceremony on Nov. 7 will be local veteran Jacqueline Buckley.
Buckley moved to Carstairs in 2015 with her husband, a Calgary city police officer. She served in the Canadian Armed Forces from 1990 until 2010 when she was given a medical release following a PTSD diagnosis.
Buckley, who grew up in Nova Scotia, joined the forces in 1990 after graduating from Annapolis Vocational School as a nursing assistant.
"I went to an air show," said Buckley. "I was watching the Snowbirds aerobatic team and I wanted to become a mechanic for them. I thought their precision filled me with pride and I wanted to serve my country. I went to recruiting and joined. My father served for 28 years so I knew about the military."
After basic training at CFB Cornwallis, she obtained her dental assistant trades training at the Canadian Forces Dental School at Canadian Forces Base Borden.
Buckley developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after being part of the dental forensic team aiding in the recovery of 229 people who perished off Peggy's Cove, N. S. aboard Swiss Air Flight 111 in 1998.
Buckley stayed on with the forces for another 11 years after that. In 2001, she was posted to CFB Borden and was later selected by the military to attend Algonquin College in Ottawa to complete the dental hygienst program.
"Once I was finished my training there I went to Esquimalt (near Victoria, B.C.) and I worked at the dental clinic there," she said. "That's where I was medically released."
Buckley was posted in Halifax when the Swiss Air plane crashed off Peggy's Cove. She was a single mother at the time with two children living on the base when she was awoken by sirens and helicopters.
"The military was called in to do different tasks through that," she said. "The dental unit was called in to help with the dental forensics portion of that. I was one of the dental assistants in that operation helping the dentists out. The remains would come in and we would try and confirm the identities."
Buckley said she gradually developed symptoms of PTSD over time after that.
"For me, I shut everything down," she said. "I don't think I shut everything down at first. When I first went in to the situation, I don't think I was prepared for it. I don't think anyone could be prepared for what you're going to see."
Buckley found herself shutting down emotionally. She also suffered from nightmares and flashbacks.
"One thing about the military, and this is where everything goes downhill, when you go through basic training you're taught certain values such as being dedicated and you're supposed to be resilient," she said.
"When people think about police officers and the military and firefighters, they're perceived to be these people who are these hugely strong, resilient people who can't show any emotion and have to be strong because that's what everybody relies on. But at the end of the day, we're all human."
Buckley said they were taught in the forces to try to be strong and emotionless.
"You hear all the time to 'suck it up!'" she said. "That was the mentality back then. You don't have time to get into the right headspace. You have a mission to do. That's where it breaks down. I was having flashbacks, I was having anxiety, which got worse and worse.
"I eventually started having heart palpitations that were so bad I needed to see a cardiologist."
Buckley was eventually sent to a psychologist who ran a number of tests before officially diagnosing her with PTSD.
"That was 11 years later," she said "I went 11 years with symptoms. Since my diagnosis -- I couldn't change it -- you can't give anyone back 11 years. but what you can do with it is you can pay it forward. That's what I focus on now."
After being medically released from the military, Buckley enrolled at Royal Roads University in Victoria. She graduated in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in justice studies. A year later she published a book, Eye of the Storm; Personal Commitment to Managing Symptoms of PTSD, which talks about how stress can manifest in our lives after trauma and create an unhealthy storm.
Recently, Buckley has worked within the justice system and as a crisis counsellor with victims of domestic violence. She also became a certified HeartMath coach in 2014 and trainer in 2018.
"HeartMath is techniques we teach to be able to gain strength and become more resilient," she said. "It's about recognizing your emotions and your feelings."
Buckley is currently completing her master's degree in counselling psychology online from Yorkville University in Nova Scotia.
"I'd like to continue to work with or maybe volunteer with an organization to go in and do psychological first aid when disasters happen," she said. "I'm also taking another course to become a clinical traumatologist to focus on trauma."
Using the HearthMath program and other training, Buckley is making it her mission to help firefighters, police officers, EMS and other crisis workers develop the techniques to assist in the prevention of the long-term effects of daily stress.
Buckley has a son currently serving in the military. He served in Afghanistan and she has been able to help him in his transition back to Canadian soil.
"He had some problems coming back but mom was right there to say, 'Go in and get some help,'" she said. 'Forget what everyone else says. Take care of yourself.'"
Buckley is also involved with The Memory Project, an organization run by Historica Canada that books speakers for events such as Remembrance Day.
"This time of year going into the schools is probably my highlight," she said. "One of the things I do when I go in to the schools is I speak on the past history but I lead it into today's history."
Buckley said she makes sure to talk about the roles women played during the wars.
"Being here at home raising the families, working in the factories -- being in that support role," she said. "Which is very similar to the roles I played in the military, which is a support role. So I talk a bit about that and the current role we fight.
"Even though we're not in Afghanistan, we're still fighting the war with psychological injuries a lot of the guys have come back with. It's not just (the soldiers) who are affected but it's also the families."
