CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — TC MEDIA - A Charlottetown veteran says his thoughts will be with the friends he has lost this week. Maj. Trevor Jain, 45, says Remembrance Day holds special meaning for him.
Jain, who grew up in the Annapolis Valley and attended Acadia University, will remember Sgt. George Miok, a friend who was killed when the armoured vehicle he was travelling in hit an improvised explosive devise (IED) in Afghanistan. He remembers Lt.-Col. Dan Bobbitt, a friend who was killed when the light armoured vehicle he was travelling in overturned during a training exercise in Alberta last year.
Nov. 8, Jain was one of nine people honoured by the City of Charlottetown for their military service at the veterans recognition awards. The ceremony was initiated in 2005 to mark the Year of the Veteran. Since then, the city has continued to honour veterans every year with the private recognition ceremony.
"You don't come away unscarred, but it's how you deal with it,'' Jain said. "There are coping mechanisms you develop but, at the end of the day, that's what we signed up for.''
Mayor Clifford Lee said veterans are not just those who sacrificed their lives in past wars.
"We are talking about all of those brave men and women who have served or are currently serving,'' Lee said. "They are the reason we are able to continue to live in a peaceful, democratic society. They are the reason we feel safe in our country and we thank them for everything they have done and continue to do.''
Those eligible for nomination include men and women living within the Prince Edward Island capital city’s limits who served in the Canadian Forces during the Second World War, Korean War, a special duty area such as peacekeeping, Afghanistan or service as a reservist.
Capt. Rev. Tom Hamilton, padre for the P.E.I. Regiment who helped compile the biographies on each of the nine award recipients, said it's impossible to serve and not come back with scars.
"I don't want people to think soldiers who go to war are mentally debilitated. That's not the case at all, but you see and experience things that you have to deal with and I see that on a regular basis,'' Hamilton said.
Jain said serving is all about the Canadian flag on his uniform and having the back of the man or woman standing next to him.
"We live in an amazing country with amazing opportunities. Our freedoms have to be protected,'' he said.
Maj. Trevor Jain
Maj. Trevor Jain was born in London, Ont., and grew up in Annapolis Valley,
In 1987, he enlisted and served as an infantry officer with the West Nova Scotia Regiment.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Acadia University, he began medical studies at Dalhousie University.
While still a student he was called upon to set up and supervise the morgue for the Swissair disaster in September 1998. In recognition of his devoted and unprecedented actions to provide dignity to the victims of this tragic disaster, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor General.
A year later, he graduated as doctor of medicine. After completing family residency program in Ottawa he transferred to the regular force as a medical officer where he soon deployed as the resuscitation officer at a Role 3 field hospital in Bosnia.
He has done multiple domestic operations including the G8 summit. He returned to university in 2005 where he graduated from the Royal College Emergency Medicine specialty at Queens University.
He has served for many years as an ER doctor at Charlottetown’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Major Jain’s numerous military qualifications are extensive. Some of his certifications include infantry company commander, explosive ordnance disposal, armoured driver, dive medicine officer, flight surgeon and an emergency medicine specialist .
In 2014, he graduated with a Master of Science degree in disaster medicine from the University of Brussels, Belgium, and the University of Avogadro Piedmont in Novara, Italy.
His research was recently chosen and was presented to NATO in Paris, France.
Jain is the medical director of the paramedicine program at Holland College and recently has implemented a Bachelors of Science of paramedicine program at UPEI.
Over the years he has served with the Governor General Foot Guards in Ottawa and as a medical specialist in Kingston, Ont., Fort Pickett, Virginia, Goose Bay, Labrador, and numerous exercises at CFB Gagetown.
Presently, he is a member of the 33 Field Ambulance Unit serving as the brigade surgeon for 36 Canadian Brigade Group. He also works tirelessly at the Prince Edward Island Regiment as the 2IC (second-in-command).
Jain is married to Kara and they have two twin daughters, Sydney and Natasha.
Major Trevor Jain wears the Meritorious Service Medal, the Canadian Forces peacekeeping medal, Bosnia medal, Queens’s Diamond Jubilee medal, the Canadian Forces Decoration medal, the United States Army Achievement medal and the Canadian Forces Flight surgeon wings.
-Compiled by Capt. Rev. Tom Hamilton
