Squamish's Russ Robertson is the new president of the Squamish Legion Branch 277, taking over in January from Art McLain.
The Squamish Chief sat down with Robertson in the Legion lounge, at one of the newer shellacked long wooden tables below the chalkboard with bar prices.
Robertson, 50, is unassuming — humble about his new role and his military service.
He says he was surprised at the media attention for his new position and when asked questions, he often deflects to those both in the Legion and the military who came before him or endured more.
Robertson first enlisted with the Canadian Armed Forces in 1990. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, the group sent to help with the floods in Winnipeg in 1997 and the 1998 ice storms in Ontario and Quebec.
He was deployed to Bosnia in 1994 and again in 1996. During his second Bosnia assignment, he was held hostage for several days by Serbian forces as a ploy to stop the U.S. from bombing Serbian positions, according to the military histories compiled by local Ken Ward.
Robertson became an intelligence operator in 2000.
In 2004, he deployed to Afghanistan under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
Robertson retired from the military in 2019 with over 29 years of service.
What follows is an edited version of his hour-long conversation with The Squamish Chief.
Now that you are Legion president, what is your vision for what you want to accomplish?
We have a whole new executive, for the most part, except Neill Gray, who's now the vice-president. I'd like to do a five-year, three-year plan to turn us into a more vibrant membership. I volunteer — doing the Bed Races — for the Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival. It's really upbeat; it has got a really good vibe. I was really, kind of inspired by that, so, I want to bring that kind of energy here now.
Part of that plan, which I've already been slowly working on, is updating the decor of the lounge. For example, these tables we're sitting at. Former president McLain was very instrumental in getting us these nice chairs, through a grant, on top of all the other good things Art did.
I think other things are just a given for the Legion, like Remembrance Day, but it's run by people who are getting in their 80s, late 70s and I think newer people should be coming in to take up that mantle. They've been doing it for years. It's time for them to have a break. And, man, but they come with excellent mentorship.
I would like us to be doing even more positive stuff in the community than we already do.
When people volunteer, I think they want to get something out of that. I think most people want to grow. They want to learn some skills, and they want to grow. That's kind of my vision.
But it's like, OK, if you want to be on the executive, you're just not going sit there and get a T-shirt right? With me, if you want to volunteer for this position, I'm going to make you do it. You're just not going to throw it on your resume.
What do you want folks to know, as restrictions loosen up and you have this lounge a bit updated?
Please come here. Check it out. See what you think of the place. If you walk in the door, nobody is coming with a membership form for you to sign up. Most people are very sociable. Just come in and have a beer. Shut off your phone and talk to people. Our bar manager will be arranging more events. We need live music, I think everybody needs it — they need to get off their social media devices and interact with real people again.
You are born and raised Squamish, was your whole family from here?
My mom is originally from Fruitvale. My father was born in Richmond in 1942. His family moved here probably in the late 1940s. They lived in Cheekye, then Pemberton, then they resided in Alta Lake for quite a long time.
Then my grandfather eventually got a good job with PG — Pacific Great Eastern Railway — and then they eventually moved to Squamish because my grandfather worked in the North Yards as one of the supervisors.
You grew up here, so what are some of your best memories of that smaller-town Squamish?
There was a lot of freedom here for kids. This is like the 1970s and 80s. I grew up in Brackendale. The highway was Government Road. We grew up at the end of Depot Road.
There was no highway there at the time. Even when they did put in the highway, it was just a two-lane highway in the 80s. I could walk up the powerlines with my .22 rifle. All the roads weren't locked, there weren't gates.
And on weekends, you know, it was still pretty quiet. Now it's just a whole different beast.
And here's the weird thing, growing up here, you didn't really see too many wild animals because I think people would have just shot them. People were more aggressive towards predatory animals. And now I see them quite frequently.
Are there things you like about the new Squamish today?
In terms of a service club, the Legion, I have said, all these years, I've moved different places throughout Canada and other places. Sometimes you just see that change happens.
You just got to accept the fact that Squamish is changing. And if you don't change, you're going to get left behind as a service club.
And there are certain things — we've got a really nice trail network, which is amazing. Definitely, a lot more restaurants to choose from.
Going back, you graduated in 1990 from Howe Sound Secondary, how did you end up serving in the military?
I used to go to the recruiting centre in Vancouver twice a year since I was like 15. I would go there all the time and bring back all the pamphlets and think about what trade I was going to go into.
Don’t ask me why.
Might be a little bit of maybe because my grandfather told Second World War stories. Sometimes he'd have his old veteran friends over and I really liked listening to them.
And also, my grandfather was very realistic. There were no rose-coloured glasses versions of his service.
So I graduated in July 1990 and then I was in the military that November.
Back then, you did your basic training in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia. Then my trade after that was an armoured crewman.
You served in Bosnia during the civil war; how did that change your perspective on life and particularly life in Squamish?
You have to go back in time for context. In the 1990s, you know, we were like, basically at the end of the Cold War. The perspective at the time, in the news and that, was kind of saying, Serbs bad. Bosnians, good, right? It was very black and white. But it is more complicated than that.
What I got out of it was, I think what we perceive here in Canada, we're very safe. We have things that we complain about, then being immersed in this basically civil war where you're seeing kids without parents, refugees, people have UNHCR plastic all over their house, because it's been shelled, and corruption, bribery. It is different.
I came back to Canada, for about two weeks; I flew all the way from Bosnia.
I'm kind of jet-lagged and I'm going out to see my friends. And I just realized, like, I'm listening to my friends talk about their problems. My mind has been changed in a way that at that young age, I'm still not really comprehending. I am in a place where somebody has been shooting at me for three months.
Then I come here. It takes some getting used to.
You retired in 2019 after 29 years. You have a family and three kids. How do you psychologically adjust so that you can deal with people's problems that are important to them?
I'm not going to say it's easy, especially when you're in a culture like that for 29 years. It's very alpha, go-go, mission-focused, task-oriented. And then, you know, what I'm dealing with today.
One of the things I actually started teaching my kids was, "What's the word of the day?" And it'd be patience.
That word was for me.
But, I want to say, I know, people who've seen way more than me. And I think sometimes there's a bit of guilt, like, "Oh, why did they go through that? And I didn't.”
You really feel for your brothers and sisters who have been through some really challenging stuff.
To find out more about the Squamish Legion go to: www.squamishlegion.ca.
"About a local" is a regular column that features an interesting Squamish local. Have an idea for someone we should feature? Email [email protected].
*Please note, this story has been corrected since it was first posted. It originally identified Ken Ward as a veteran. He is not. He is a devoted legionnaire.
