Maze, Randall A.: my naval experiences (November 22, 2006)
Interviewer: Perry, Marie
Interviewee: Maze, Randall A.
Rank: Commander.
ABSTRACT: Commander Randall Maze Commander Maze Interview.mp3 (0:00) Received university education through Regular Training Program, UVIC. His father was in the navy. Trained during summers through Venture, learning to become an officer of the watch. (1:36) Talents navy brings to warfare is that it is self-contained and moves quickly. Describes exercises and routine duties. (6:13) Left for East Timor with 10 days notice, he had only been in command for 2 weeks. Original mission was to play the role of HQ for Canadian Joint Forces, but swell came in and Protecteur ended up being the replenishment ship for all the ships in the area. (8:12) East Timor on fire when CJF arrived. Goes into history of East Timor. Describes chaotic environment in East Timor, including gutted buildings. (14:24) Duty was to replenish ships within the INTERFET operation, including supplying American, New Zealand, and Australian ships. (19:41) Training prepared him to be flexible. Describes refueling. (23:03) Describes ships shortcomings including old equipment that was sensitive to heat. Also describes medical unit. (27:57) Claims there was no aggressive danger, except for poor charting in the waters. They had to make their own charts. (30:05) carried appx 304 men of mixed gender crew. The crew had excellent morale. The crew played role of cooks, ran fuel operations, etc. Helped with reconstruction efforts. RCMP training police, put together packaged of necessities for people of East Timor. Held Christmas Eve mass. Also roofed a school. (40:25) Communication with Canada through HQ. Ability to communicate with anybody. Could communicate with home using the internet and even cell phones. (49:06) Claims it was a big thing for the Canadian public. Forces went prepared for combat because a military goes in harms way. Thoughts on Afghanistan. Comparisons with Somalia. (54:53) Internationally Canada stayed in East Timor longer than any other vessel by a month. Gained respect for that. Lots of local and Australian press, but not as much Canadian national press as he expected. Received the INTERFET medal. (58:20) Saw operation in East Timor as a rewarding experience. What they did made a difference. There were roofs on houses when they left. Still talks about it when he meets people in Costco. (1:01:52)
An interview/narrative of Commander Randall Maze's experiences whilst serving with the International Force for East Timor. Interview took place on November 22, 2006.
- In Collection:
- 1 sound recording (MP3)
- 2.03711, 45.34375
- 33, 66
- Original recording (MP3) on compact disc (CD) in Special Collections.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- MRA_499
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection
- November 22, 2006
- Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 112 kbps and 44 kHz. Digitized by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2006. Migration metadata by KD and MT.
- 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
