Conni – 08-07-12 WY/Canada Trip – Regina, SK
Regina is the capital city of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province (after Saskatoon) and a cultural and commercial center for southern Saskatchewan.

The reason we came here though was because the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Academy, Depot Division is here. Have you ever noticed my t-shirts? You could say I really like the RCMP!

“The Division, a community of more than 500 employees, strives to be a center of excellence for peace officer training in Canada. Each year, hundreds of RCMP cadets and trainees from outside agencies graduate from this training center. Mounties have trained here for over a century.”



A fire hydrant painted to match
RCMP uniforms

All of the electrical boxes are painted with historic scences

We were fortunate to be there and attend their Sunset-Retreat Ceremony. This included military music, the lowering of the Canadian flag, the March Past as well as displays of cannon, rifle and dismounted cavalry drill performances by cadets dressed in the famous scarlet tunic.
 

Demonstration of restraining a suspect

“The ceremony is an old British military tradition dating back to the 18^th century and is referred to as a “military tattoo”. The term “tattoo”, derived from an old Dutch word meaning “turn off the taps”, comes to us from the 17^th century when a soldier’s life was strictly controlled by his regiment. The daily routine of a military post was signaled by the beat of a drum. At sunset a lone drummer was sent into the streets of town to beat out a tattoo. It was the signal for the tavern owners to close down for the night and for military personnel to return to the post. When the latter were back at the post, the flag was lowered in a ceremony marking the end of another day.”

Lowering of the flag

 

The March Past

The Mounties