Working Together to Make a Difference
Since 2007, a Canadian general officer has held a leadership position in America’s 18th Airborne Corps stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina as part of our countries’ foreign officer exchange program. The program puts Canadian officers to work in friendly militaries across the globe, offering their expertise and giving them an opportunity to see how other militaries are run. In 2017, Gen. Marc Gagne of the Canadian Armed Forces wrapped up his two-year assignment as the Deputy Commanding General for Operations at Fort Bragg and spoke about his experience working with the American Troops saying, “The aim of the game is to learn from each other.”
When our team was approached about creating a custom coin to celebrate the partnership between the 18th Airborne Corps of the U.S. Army and their Canadian Commanding General for Operations, we were more than happy to help.
The front side of the coin is the traditional 18th Airborne emblem while the reverse side is the seal for the Canadian Deputy Commanding General of Operations. It’s a perfect representation of their partnership. Gagne spoke about how no nation can operate in this world alone, and that opportunities to partner with allied militaries are paving the way for future joint operations, “Just a few Nations have this chance,” he said. “At the end of the day, soldiers are soldiers and want to do soldier stuff. What we have to do is lead them.”
The Canadian Armed Forces are heavily involved with joint operations and coalitions all across the globe, and the challenge coins we help design for them are a reflection of their partnerships with friendly nations.
Celebrating Joint Operations and Partnerships Around the Globe
When Gen. Marc Gagne spoke about first impressions joining the American troops at Fort Bragg, he said that it was a little intimidating at first. “The size of this place, the level of readiness is just second to none,” he said. Fort Bragg alone holds more troops than there are in the entire Canadian Army. While Canada’s military is by no means small, they still benefit from augmenting their number and operational capability by partnering with friendly militaries.
Since they work so closely with other groups, the coins created by the Canadian Armed Forces are oftentimes a celebration of partnerships between nations, coalitions and joint operations like NATO, Multinational Forces and Observers and the Technical Cooperation Program. These coins, for example, were created to celebrate the partnership between Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. Each country is identified on the coin, representing how they have all come together to share defensive research and technical information.
Operation IMPACT in Kuwait is another example of the Canadian Armed Forces working with allied militaries to accomplish common goals. The Canadian military set up a field hospital back in 2014 to support the United States and French troops working to retake Mosul. Now that everything is wrapping up, we were contacted about creating a personalized coin for the members of the Canadian team who have been working in the field hospital.
Both the Canadian and Kuwaiti flags share one side of the coin, while the flip side of the coin has the familiar Canadian Maple Leaf with a caduceus over the center to represent the field hospital. Members of the team had their names or nicknames engraved on the gold strip between the two flags on the back of each coin.
While the red translucent colorfill and beautiful antique gold plating offer incredible contrast to the overall design, the 3D scorpion and caduceus are what really set this coin apart from the rest. The intricate lines of the pincers and ridged back as well as the scalloped design of the scorpion tail wrapping around the coin were only made possible through careful preparation and expert execution. While our team most often recognizes Canadian Armed Forces challenge coins for their connections to allied militaries, there are also coins like this one that show more personality and heritage specific to an individual team of Canadian soldiers.
Partnering Up To Design Custom Challenge Coins
The Canadian military works with allied nations on joint operations more often than most other groups, and this is reflected in the challenge coins they create with our team. While most military challenge coins are crafted to celebrate what makes an individual team great, many of the Canadian Armed Forces coins we help craft are designed to celebrate the relationships between two different military bodies or different nations.
Custom coins are a physical symbol of shared experience and understanding, even between nations. Even more than that, the coins are a celebration of friendship. When preparing to leave the 18th Airborne Corps back in 2017, Gen. Marc Gagne said, “I’m going to miss this place. I’m going to miss the people.” Since he is a part of the Canadian Armed Forces, his duties lie elsewhere. But no matter where he goes, there will always be a custom coin to remember his time at Fort Bragg and the people he served with.
