Interview with Paul Seguna

Narrator: Retired Lieutenant Commander Paul Seguna, 1957- Interviewer: Interviewed by Matthew Bacon Interview Date and Location: 03 March 2025, Victoria, BC. Synopsis: Retired Lieutenant Commander Paul Seguna discusses his experiences in the Canadian military, with a particular focus on his time at NATO Maritime HQ in Northwood, London. The first half of the interview delves into Seguna’s background information, Cold War experiences, and his time with the Canadian military as it transitioned into a post-Cold War era. The second half of the interview explores Seguna’s experiences in NATO operations and his time in NATO’s maritime HQ. Specifically, Seguna deployed overseas to Rwanda, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the latter two under the auspices of NATO-led forces. The interview goes on to explore his time at NATO’s maritime HQ, wherein he expressed a renewed interest among NATO member states in the Atlantic. Furthermore, during his time there, Seguna explored his experiences regarding states participating in the Partnership for Peace program. 00:00-01:00—Introduction. 01:00-15:00—Background Information. 15:00-20:40—Cold War Service. 24:40-32:30—Cold War to Post-Cold War Experience. 32:30-48:20—NATO Operation Experience. 48:20-01:14:49—NATO Maritime Command HQ Northwood (London, UK). 01:14:49-01:23:23—NATO Missions V.S. HQ Experiences. 01:23:23-01:24:57—Concluding Remarks.

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Seguna, Paul, 1957-
• Bacon, Matthew

Subject

• Military history
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• Partnership for Peace
• Cold War (1945-1989)

Identifier

• Interview #SC141_SP_934

Keyword

• Post-Cold War
• Canada in NATO
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO
• Canada
• HMCS Athabaskan
• Partnership for Peace, PFP
• Stabilization Force, SFOR
• NATO Staff School Oberammergau, Germany
• Cold War
• Public Affairs Officer, PAO
• NATO Maritime Command HQ Northwood London, UK

Date created

• March 3, 2025

Relation

• Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews (HIST 426, 2025).

Resource type

• Moving Image

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 01:24:57

Alternative title

• The Scholarly Obsession with Canadian Influence: Exploring the Historical and Contemporary Literature Regarding Canada in NATO

Geographic Coverage

• England--London--Northwood

Coordinates

• 51.61162, -0.42454

Physical Repository

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Collection

• Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Provider

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Genre

• video recordings (physical artifacts)
• reminiscences
• oral histories (literary genre)
• interviews

Archival item identifier

• Accession Number: 2026-0008; Series: II; Item: 934

Fonds title

• Military oral history collection

Fonds identifier

• SC141

Is referenced by

• Special Collections Finding Aid: https://search.archives.uvic.ca/military-oral-history-collection

Date digitized

• 2025

Technical note

• Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in Spring 2025. Recorded in digital format by interviewer. Keywords supplied by interviewer. Metadata by KD.

Rights

• This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca

DOI

•  https://doi.org/10.58066/ghax-nb83