RCMP officer to receive prestigious award from Government of France

OTTAWA - May 25, 2009—RCMP Assistant Commissioner Gerry Lynch, Commanding Officer of RCMP “B” Division in Newfoundland and Labrador today will be presented with the Medaille d'or de la Defense Nationale avec agrafe "Gendarmerie Nationale" (National Defence Medal, Gold Echelon with Clasp Gendarmerie) by the Government of France.

A/ Commr. Lynch will receive the award from French Ambassador to Canada, His Excellency Francois Delattre at a ceremony  at the French Embassy in Ottawa.

The awarding of this medal is normally reserved for long serving members of the French Armed Forces and the National Gendarmerie, and is rarely awarded extra-territorially. It may be awarded with the Bronze, Silver or Gold Echelon. The Gold echelon is typically reserved for those deserving of the highest honours. A/Commr. Lynch is only the second member of the RCMP to receive this honour.

With this medal, Assistant Commissioner Lynch is being recognized for  over a decade of commitment to fortifying the relationship between the RCMP in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Government of France and the Gendarmerie Nationale in St. Pierre and Miquelon. Highlights of the past decade include personnel exchanges between the two police forces, secondments for language training, joint training initiatives between the Patrol Vessel MV Murray and the Gendarmerie Maritime Vessel "Fulmar", and making the Gendarmerie Nationale  affiliate members of the Criminal Intelligence Service of Newfoundland and Labrador, along with numerous other initiatives.

The relationship was bolstered by the RCMP Patrol Vessel Murray assisting in the recovery of the crew of the French Vessel Cap Blanc in December 2008 which sank off the coast of Marystown, Newfoundland and Labrador, while in transit to the French Islands with a load of salt. The French government represented by Jean Pierre Berçot, the Prefect for the Islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, recently bestowed an honor on the vessel and the crew for its assistance.

Assistant Commissioner Lynch is quick to share credit for success in building  understanding and a strong relationship with the police officers of both the RCMP and  the Gendarmerie Nationale, the current Prefect Berçot and his predecessors, and the current and past Commandants of the Gendarmerie Nationale and the Gendarmerie Maritime.

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