SALUTE TO YOUTH: Jules Nokohoo

Page 11

When Jules Nokohoo was young, he would watch as the RCMP officers unload a chopper to visit his reserve in northern Alberta. Something about their uniform intrigued this young man and he would always sit and wait until their next visit just so that he could see them in uniform.

Today, Jules, now 22, doesn't have to look far. In his closet hangs an RCMP uniform...his.

At 17 and still in high school, Jules applied to the RCMP. But because he was only in Grade 10, Jules was determined to complete his high school and hoped that by the time he finished, he would have an answer to train as an RCMP officer.

And it happened that way. When Jules graduated from Grade 12 in Fort McMurray, he was paid a call by the RCMP headquarters and was offered a position to train as a special constable with the force, a position he had applied for about a year and one-half before. This was relieving news to Jules, as he was just out of school and with no definite plans in mind. Jules accepted.

In August 1983 he began his training with the force at their training depot in Regina, Saskatchewan. He trained there for 14 weeks, a normal training period for a special constable.

In December of that same year, Jules graduated and was sent to Fort McMurray in northern Alberta for his first time on duty as a special constable.

As a special constable in the Fort McMurray detachment, Jules patrolled the surrounding reserves of Fort McKay, Anzac and his own reserve, Janvier. He spent appropriately 80 per cent of his duties on the reserve serving as a liaison between the RCMP and the reserves.

Because Jules is Native, and is able to speak his Native tongue, he found his job to be much easier. He also knew the people, and if he didn't know some, he soon got to know them for he spent two and one-half years with that particular detachment.

This soon posed a problem to Jules. He got to know many of the people and this, says Jules, made it difficult to patrol or enforce the law in the area.

Nevertheless, Jules found his experience as special constable in his home area to be very challenging and interesting. But, he needed and wanted something even more challenging, something where he could work with the RCMP and do more, see more and practice more in the profession.

In 1986, after two and one-half years as a special constable, Jules decided to apply for a regular member of the force. This meant six months of training at the depot in Regina, but that was no impediment to Jules' decision to further himself

He began training at depot as a regular on Mach 10, 1986.

Six months later, Jules was out with the force again, but this time he had more responsibilities and indeed more of a challenge ahead.

Since graduating as a regular member of the force in September 8, 1986, Jules has worked with the detachment in Spruce Grove.

His duties as a regular member of the force are now double, if not more, than his previous job. Being a full-fledged officer, he now was faced with duties like patrol, complaints, break-ins, and basically anything a regular in the RCMP force is assigned to do.

This also means that Jules is now eligible for promotion beyond being a constable or even a special constable where he would not have a chance for promotion. Of course, it meant more pay too. As a regular, one is also eligible for transfer from detachment to detachment.

Today, Jules is very content in is new position, and says it is very likely that he will continue his career with the RCMP for some time.

He finds his new position challenging, but says he still has time to find out about his new surroundings and the people.

When I questioned Jules about the many young people are are entering the force as special constables, Jules replied: "This is nice to see, because we know that many of us young people are not sitting back, we are taking life one step ahead."

This young man from Janvier is certainly an aspiring and prominent figure to his people and to those who reognize him for his achievements in his short-lived life. Being this far inasmuch as his future is concerned, we can see that Jules Nokohoo will do good in whatever he chooses or whether he decides to stay in his chosen field, the RCMP force.