Association Nationale du Monument de la Réserve Navale
L'Association du Monument National de la Réserve Navale (ANMRN) est une association bénévole des réservistes marine, anciens et actuels, et de leurs partisans. Elle a été fondée à l'automne 2021 pour superviser la revitalisation du Monument Nationale de la Réserve Navale en prévision du 100e anniversaire de la Réserve Navale.
Executive Committee
Sheyla Dussault, Chairperson
Ms. Dussault spent her teenage volunteering with the Air Cadets, later serving in the Cadet Instructor Corps before transferring to the Naval Reserves in 1993. She serves as an Intelligence officer.
Her military career has always been part time. In 2007, she deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan as the Deputy Commander of the Support Group at Headquarters ISAF, a service battalion of 400 persons from 40 different countries. She finished her tour as an intelligence analyst with the Regional Command South desk. From 2018 to 2021, she took command of HMCS CARLETON. She was appointed Intelligence Branch Senior Advisor for the Naval Reserves in 2021, her current position.
Ms Dussault’s career has been with the federal government, managing international military cooperation programs, improving equipment and doctrinal interoperability. In 2017, she moved to the Canadian Coast Guard where she managed the maritime Search and Rescue Program, contributing to saving lives in Canadian waters. She now works at Public Safety, in addition to volunteering with the Navy League, and now the Monument revitalization project.
Thomas DeWolf
Thomas brings to the NNRMA fund raising team a unique background in leadership and business development, combining both public and private sector careers over the past 45 years. Tom began his career as an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy with regular and reserve service. In 1981, Thomas joined the External Affairs Department with postings in The Hague, Hong Kong and Singapore. Thomas then joined a private firm based back in Hong Kong in 1990 and spent 10 years in Hong Kong, France and The Netherlands, focused on trade between Europe and Asia.
Returning to Canada in 2000, Thomas joined the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a federal crown corporation. Thomas led the business development team in various executive positions over the next 17 years.
Before and after retirement in 2017, Thomas has maintained his connections with the RCN through volunteering on the Board of the Naval Association of Canada-Ottawa branch, leading the efforts to highlight naval veterans at the Battle of the Atlantic Dinners, and being a mentor to young businesspeople in Canada and around the world.
Andrew Higdon
Andrew joined the Naval Reserve in 2007 at HMCS CATARAQUI as a Naval Warfare Officer. He completed his training while attending Queens and McGill Universities and has served as Deck Officer and Navigation Officer on Canadian warships at sea. He is a current member of HMCS Carleton.
In his civilian life, he is a lawyer with a national law firm practicing in the area of trusts & estates and corporate & commercial law. He is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the County of Carleton Law Association, the Ontario Bar Association, the Canadian Bar Association and the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Andrew was a founding member of the Cornerstone Housing for Women Young Professionals Advisory Board and has served as a board member of Odyssey Theatre. He was the founding chairperson of the NNRMA.
He lives in Ottawa with his wife and young son.
Yvonne Olszewski
Most of Ms. Olszewski’s civilian career was in humanitarian work with the Red Cross. There she worked in the Secretary General’s Office, then moved to International Services where she used her language skills and derived great satisfaction in reuniting family members separated by war or disaster. With the birth of her daughter, she became a stay-at-home mom, continuing her part-time career with the Naval Reserve. Throughout her almost 40 years with the Reserves, she has enjoyed a variety of diverse and challenging roles.
She is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, recognizing her contribution with the Reserves and volunteer work within the community, including over 25 years as a volunteer Spotter in Civil Air Search and Rescue, membership/chair of school council, and working with children with learning disabilities,
Family and friends are most important in her life. Other loves include travel (a highlight being climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania), dancing, and keeping fit by hiking, outdoor work and kickboxing. As a thrill seeker, she loves experiencing new adventures and challenges.
Howie Smith
Howie Smith (BA, OMM, CD1) is a member of the Naval Association of Canada having served as Vice-President and President of the Ottawa Branch. He was a Surface Ship Officer in the RCN serving in seagoing positions on both coasts and in staff assignments.
Service at sea included command of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships TERRA NOVA and FRASER (1991-1995). He graduated from the Canadian Forces Command and Staff Course, the Advanced Strategic Studies Programme, and the Defence Resources Management Course. Within the Navy, Mr. Smith served as a Director-General and Director on the Maritime Staff, and as a Project Director in several Major Crown Projects.
Following naval service, he joined an Ottawa-based firm (Lansdowne Technologies) and has subsequently been engaged in providing project management and strategic planning consulting services.
Steering Committee
The NNRMA is grateful for the expert advice of its steering committee.
À propos de la Réserve navale
Des milliers de Canadiens de partout au pays servent dans les Forces armées canadiennes comme réservistes pour la Marine en temps de crise et de paix, tout en continuant leur vie civile.
Fondée en 1923, la Réserve navale du Canada était la vision du Contre-amiral Walter Hose qui, en tant que directeur du service naval pendant les années instables de l'entre-deux-guerres, autorise la création d'une « marine citoyenne » pour former des marins de villes non côtières et renforcer le soutien pancanadien à la marine royale canadienne naissante.
Avec des divisions dans les grandes villes du Canada, la Réserve navale est devenue essentielle aux efforts de mobilisation pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale (1939-1945). À la fin de la guerre, la Marine canadienne était parmi les plus importantes au monde, principalement grâce aux réservistes de la Marine qui représentaient plus de 80 % du service naval au plus haut niveau de leur effectif.
Après la guerre, de nouvelles générations de marins ont continué d'être recrutées et formées comme réservistes. Peu à peu, le rôle de la Réserve navale est passé d'une force d'augmentation de la Force régulière pour relever les défis mondiaux à une force « Une seule Marine » intégrée sur le plan opérationnel.
Les réservistes navals d'aujourd'hui se déploient à l'échelle internationale pour participer à des opérations et à des exercices. Ils sont également des membres actifs de la communauté, fournissant des services d'urgence vitaux et participant à des événements locaux.
Français du Canada 
English (Canada)