Interview with Desmond James
Narrator: Commander (Ret.) Desmond James Interviewer: Interviewed by Nick Jordan. Interview Date and Location: 24 February 2025 - Zoom Synopsis: 0:57 – 5:28: Early life, career, and education recruitment experience; perceptions of NCMs vs officers and early skills building. 5:28 - 7:30: First ship and path towards Public Affairs. 7:30 – 15:52: Re-aligning from MARS training to public affairs; the difference between the two experiences. South Deployment: interacting with the Mexican Navy. Early lessons from the Navy: Vessel in distress, scope of impact on US-Canadian relationships; purpose of Public Affairs for operational deployments. 15:53 – 18:20: First years as a PAO; Middle Eastern focus during J5 assignment; Operation Snow Goose interview; Judge Advocate assignment; Clayton Machee & Matt Stepford. 18:20 – 29:00: early signs of trauma; exposure to traumatic events through Public Affairs; The adversarial nature of Public Affairs. 29:01 – 33:00: Volunteering for Afghanistan deployment; pre-deployment experience; first impressions of Kabul. 33:23 – 39:00: Relevance of PAOs in operational zones and fighting for relevancy. Pressures of PA in operation. 39:20 – 46:10: Deaths of Canadian LAV crewmembers; disinterest of media in non-operational stories and resulting frustration. 46:19 – 50:23: Personal blog. near-miss with a donkey; pink carpets at the governor’s palace and blog shut down by command. 50:24 – 1:03:50: Experience as a Pakistani ex-pat interacting with Afghani allies and locals. 1:03:50 – 1:06:52: Reflections on impact of local interactions. 1:06:52 – 1:11:55: First symptoms of PTSD; flashback on Halloween; emotional dysregulation; first assignment after Afghanistan. 1:11:55 – 1:15:37: 2017 – 2018: friends encourage treatment a decade after deployment; ‘sub-threshold’ PTSD. Experience with a base hospital doctor, delaying treatment to pursue French courses. 1:15:37 – 1:17:03: Official diagnosis and early support. 1:17:21 – 1:18:58: A comparison of American and Canadian mental health systems. 1:18:58 – 1:20:40: Reflecting on the scope of PTSD in the service and perceptions within the military. 1:20:40 – 1:22:56: Impressions of mental health programs; lack of personal resonance. 1:22:57 – 1:28:00: Reflections on current experience with PTSD, sources of trauma, indirect exposure to trauma; everyday exposures to triggers. 1:28:18 – 1:32:36: Personal trauma; potential suicide bomber; differentiating between personal and secondary trauma; medical release from CF. 1:32:36 – 1:35:40: Transition from the forces to veteran advocacy. 1:35:40 – 1:42:31: Reflections, direction of the CF, and closing remarks.
- In Collection:
- Interview #SC141_JD_942
- 01:42:33
- “The National Treasure of Blood”: The CAF’s Early Approaches to Mental Health
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- Accession Number: 2026-0008; Series: VI; Item: 942
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://search.archives.uvic.ca/military-oral-history-collection
- 2025
- 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