Hinesh Chauhan recounts joining the Canadian Army as a teenager—learning about army training at 16 and joining at 17—motivated by opportunity and an unsettled home life. He trained in Chilliwack, British Columbia as a combat engineer, was later sent to Petawawa, volunteered for the NATO mission in Kosovo where he performed landmine clearance and infrastructure rebuilding (schools, bridges, roads), and used military leadership experience to pursue higher education (an economics degree followed by a master's in management completed at night while working full time).
Questions this video answers
He learned about it at 16 and joined at 17.
Chilliwack, British Columbia.
Combat engineer (explosives use).
Petawawa.
The NATO mission in Kosovo; he performed landmine clearance and helped rebuild schools, bridges, and roads.
Chapters
I know that you spoke of a lot of not for profit things but you went into the army very young. So tell me, tell me a little bit about that. Yeah, absolutely. And what's interesting about my, the motivation that caused me to join the army was I was 16, I joined at 17, but 16 I learned that the Canadian army would send me to this beautiful place in Canada called Chilliwack, British Columbia, teach me how to, how to use explosives as a combat engineer, train me, feed me, house me, pay me. And I just thought hey, this is a great opportunity and, and home life wasn't the greatest. I, I thought it would just be this great escape and have all these other advantages. And then what came of it was I was thinking I'd do it for two to four years on a part time basis and I turned into a full time gig. After doing two years of engineering my heart not really into it at university and after my second year going, being sent on my junior leadership course which I didn't want, I was, I was forced into it because I, I had already lined up at the different gig that summer working at a, a CAD in, in Ottawa and instead I was sent to Petawawa and at the end of it they, the army was looking for reservists to volunteer to go to Kosovo. We had just joined the NATO mission in Kosovo and thought hey, I'm going to throw my hand up and go over. And ended up doing a lot of landmine clearance, rebuilt schools, rebuilt bridges, roads and just saw this really devastated place and it was really, really fulfilling to be able you that way and, and that drove me to, to other things to, to really taking advantage of what the army provides in terms of leadership training as, as the years went on and doing a master's in management after an economics degree, doing it at night while working full time. I was using the army as my, my testing ground for leadership as a lab. But it gave me so much, so much in terms of understanding people and work ethic and planning, risk management, so many skills that I could just keep going on about.
