Photo courtesy of Lt Simon Grant.

For six years now the Communications and Electronics (C&E) Association has sponsored Op Jimmy Santa, providing small gifts of Branch memorabilia to each member of the C&E Branch deployed over the Christmas season. With the initial assistance of the Signaler’s Club, the partnership expanded to include CJOC, CF Postal Service, the Museum and the Canadian Forces School of Communications & Electronics (CFSCE). The Association’s President Major-General (retired) John Leach says that he feel it is important to do as ”this is a salute to members of our Branch who spend the holiday season on duty away from family. The CAF depends on you!”

During the pandemic and now, members of Mercury Troop from the Canadian Forces School of Communications & Electronics (CFSCE) assisted in Operation Jimmy Santa.  This year, our Museum Administrator Racine Manradge joined Privates Bailey Carter and Brady Jones to pack 153 holiday boxes for multiple missions overseas.  It was a fun afternoon with seasonal songs playing, chocolate mint cookies and festive attire.

Once the small individual parcels were packed, Leala Hampel, Acting Supervisor and Roopinder Singh, Clerk of the Mercury Shop packed them into larger boxes and affixed the appropriate overseas destination labels, Privates Carter and Jones helped to transport the large boxes to the Vimy Post Office.  Many thanks to CFB Kingston MPO 305 Vimy Post Office soldiers for helping us organize and ship all the packages successfully.

MGen (ret’d) John Leach , C&E Assn President 

LCol Bahir Ali, Cmdt CFSCE

Ms. Karen Young, Museum Operations Manager/Director 

Pte B. Jones opening a new package of goodies to insert in the gift box. Photo courtesy of Lt Simon Grant.