Shilo Stag

During the COVID-19 pandemic, PMC Maj Melissa Marshall made sure officers enjoyed a tasty meal at the Officers’ Mess by operating a Friday lunch hour drive-thru.

It did not matter if it was winter or summer, she was there every Friday around 11:30 a.m. to set up her tables. If it was too frigid, she would move inside to the mess entranceway.

Or if happened to be raining cats and dogs that morning, which meant hungry officers had to depart their vehicles momentarily to pick up their meal from Brandon venues like Dairy Queen, Mary Browns, Wok Box, East Side Marios, QDoba or Pizza Pizza, she would seek shelter inside the closed building. Her preference, however, was being outdoors. She brought many a smile to those officers who drove up in trucks and cars, some on bikes, while even a few walked up from the nearby officers’ quarters.

During the pandemic she was with 1RCHA’s HQ, where she worked hard and relished the opportunity to be one of Canada’s second female Battery Commanders (BCs). She enjoyed that challenge, as she has with all of her military postings, including working alongside former 3 Div Comd then BGen Trevor Cadieu as his executive assistant. Then LGen Cadieu, now retired, presented her with a special coin for her drive-thru initiative.

Today, Maj Marshall is celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD) as the OC with 3 Cdn Div TC C Coy Det Shilo, where she enjoyed running DBMQs, and artillery and infantry DP1s using the Base’s RTA.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) was one of the first militaries in the world to open all of its positions, including combat arms roles, to women. Introducing women into the combat arms in 1989 increased the recruiting pool by about 100 per cent.

The combat arms are the four combat-focused branches of the Canadian Army (CA): armour, artillery, infantry, and engineering. Each now has a small, but powerful contingent of women, including artillery officer Maj Melissa Marshall.

Immediately after graduating from St. Thomas University in 2007 with a political science degree, Maj Marshall enlisted. She completed artillery officer training the following year and was posted to the Canadian Artillery School in Gagetown, New Brunswick.

It was there, on the large military Base in the small maritime province, that Maj Marshall received her Forward Observation Officer (FOO) qualification. Thereafter, she could work within a combat team, advising in offensive and defensive maneuvers to ensure safe and tactical firing of artillery.

In a field that’s less than 10 per cent female, old misconceptions can make work challenging for a woman. She offered they inspired her to go the extra mile to “prove” herself physically. She began weight training and became passionate about fitness, exercise and nutrition.

“I am constantly pushing myself to be stronger, to be faster, and to be better,” she explained. “Fitness teaches me to focus my mind and push myself well beyond perceived limitations.”

Like her friend Maj Lindsay Jackson, you can often see her around the Base or Sprucewoods out running with her dog, Gunner. She’s up before the sun rises and hits the GSH gym to lift weights and work on her cardio. Then it’s off to the office following a Gunner walk back at home.

Maj Marshall continues pushing her body to extremes, from breaking trail through waist-high snow while carrying a 150-pound rucksack to completing the 26-mile Bataan Memorial Death March across New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range.

You have to be physically fit to accomplish these feats, but Maj Marshall believes mental resilience is equally important. Strategies like positive self-talk, setting specific goals for each workout, and focusing on how amazing the human body is when properly fuelled and trained have helped propel her over any hurdle in her path.

“As long as your heart and mind are always a part of the journey, your body will follow suit,” she said.

She’s also passionate about playing sports, especially slo-pitch. Twice while posted to Garrison Edmonton, and since returning to CFB Shilo for her new job, she’s won gold playing in the outfield for the Garrison Edmonton Warriors at the national slo-pitch championships. She also competed as a captain when now 1RCHA CO LCol Joe O’Donnell introduced Ex HEAVY LOADER as a weightlifting competition.

Meanwhile, in 2013, Maj Marshall deployed on Op ATTENTION Roto 3 in Kabul. This was the CAF contribution to the NATO Training Mission–Afghanistan (NTM-A), which delivered training and professional development to the national security forces of Afghanistan.

As Task Force adjutant, she co-ordinated administration, while also providing administrative and disciplinary advice to the commanding officer of the National Command Support Element, the command-and-control centre for CAF members in Afghanistan.

This element was a hub for security, mentoring sessions between Canadian and Afghan soldiers and police forces, and governance efforts in Kabul. One day she would be advising the commanding officer when misbehaving soldiers were brought to a summary trial; the next day she’d be the Master of Ceremonies for an American-led Sept. 11 memorial parade; and the day after that she was conducting live fire ranges with Canadian Special Operations Forces members mentoring their Afghan counterparts.

The best part, Maj Marshall offered, was interacting with Afghan civilians. NTM-A forces were there to lend support and security to the Afghans, and meeting with locals allowed soldiers to get to know the people who most benefit from improved stability. Regular contact also allowed citizens to maintain friendly relations with the military personnel.

Camp Phoenix, the NATO military base where she worked, held a monthly market set up by Afghan women and children. During the course of her nearly seven-month tour, her “desire changed from wanting to buy scarves to giving something back to them, even if it was little.”

Maj Marshall began collecting some of the bulk items which came in from overseas, including shampoo, deodorant and toothpaste. She also started taking snacks from the dining hall to give to the children.

“One day I asked a woman if I could give her daughter a Popsicle. She said yes, hugged me, and cried. She didn’t speak English, but her daughter translated that she was emotional because she would have never been able to give her daughter something like that,” she recalled.

Maj Marshall didn’t really sleep that night.

“I found it incredibly sad to think there were children in the world who would never be able to enjoy something as simple as a Popsicle on a warm day. That always stood out to me, because you never actually realize how good your life is until you see what life is like ‘on the other side.’”

Following her 3 Div job, and return to CFB Shilo as one of one of two female battery commanders in Canada, Maj Marshall said she was humbled by the opportunity to set an example of leadership which soldiers can emulate.

“Whether it’s in terms of their physical or mental resilience, I want to show the people I’m responsible for I absolutely want to be a part of their lives,” she said. “I will celebrate their achievements and also support them through hardships.”

She’s doing the same again, but in a different role as OC for 3 Cdn Div TC C Coy Det Shilo.

And while the Officers’ Mess drive-thrus are no longer happening every Friday, as the pandemic subsided and society returned some form of normalcy again, Maj Marshall reflected, “I actually really enjoyed it.”

Interacting with her fellow officers from a distance using COVID-19 safety protocols to deliver delicious lunches was fun despite being masked and wearing surgical gloves. Her favourite lunch? Mary Browns. Leftovers she would distribute to the duty staff back at 1RCHA once the last officer stopped by to grab a pasta dish from East Side Marios, or beef and rice from Wok Box.

With files from Ashley Materi

Local women held a market every month at Camp Phoenix, the NATO military base where Maj Melissa Marshall worked during her deployment to Afghanistan in 2013. These events provided an opportunity for military members to interact with civilian women and children and gain a deeper appreciation for the important security and stability work they were doing. Photo supplied

Maj Melissa Marshall has always been passionate about fitness and challenging herself physically and mentally. Here, she is completing a 10-kilometre race during the 10th annual Canada Army Run in 2017. Photo supplied

Op ATTENTION was Canada’s participation in the NATO Training Mission–Afghanistan (NTM-A), which delivered training and professional development support to the national security forces of Afghanistan: the Afghan National Army (ANA), the Afghan Air Force (AAF), and the Afghan National Police (ANP). Maj Melissa Marshall was part of Roto 3, and worked as the Task Force adjutant while in Kabul. Photo supplied

As an artillery officer, Maj Melissa Marshall had an opportunity to work with a broad range of weapons, such as the C6 machine gun. She said her time working as a Forward Observation Officer (FOO) was one of the highlights of her career, and she loved the “new and encouraging challenges” that working with different units presented. Photo supplied

Alongside friends and colleagues at Garrison Edmonton playing women’s slo-pitch, Maj Melissa Marshall was ecstatic when her team won gold during the championship tilt at the 2018 national tournament, as well as a second gold in the summer of 2022. Photo supplied

Every Friday just before noon, you would find Officers’ Mess PMC Maj Melissa Marshall handing out lunches provided by Brandon and area restaurants, from rice and beef from Wok Box, to a delicious pasta dish from East Side Marios. As a captain, she tested her mettle during Ex HEAVY LOADER lifting weights. She badged her DBMQ recruits during a special ceremony at the MPTF. She walked Gunner during the fall Army Run held on Base. Photos Jules Xavier/Shilo Stag