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Wendy Jocko
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Wendy Jocko (born 1959/1960)[1] is a former chief of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, and a former sergeant of the Canadian Armed Forces.[2]
Early life
Jocko was born in Pembroke, Ontario.[3] to a military family.[4] Her great-grandfather and his sons fought in the War of 1812.[5] Her uncles served in World War I, while her father served in World War II. While in Europe, her father met Jocko's mother, who was a Scottish soldier.[4] While living in Petawawa, at age 4, Jocko decided she wanted to be a soldier.[3][6]
At age 15, Jocko began working for the post office as a sorter for mail and packages.[1]
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Career
In 1979, at age 19, Jocko joined the Canadian Armed Forces, where she served for 23 years.[1][2] She trained at Canadian Forces Recruit School Cornwallis before being posted to CFB Edmonton as a supply technician.[3] She was posted to Calgary in 1986, becoming one of the first women to serve at her base.[6] She served two tours in Bosnia and Croatia in 1993 and 1998,[3] where she worked as a United Nations peacekeeper.[1][2] Her final deployment was in Haiti.[3]
After leaving the military in 2002,[3] Jocko moved to Scotland, where she worked as a funeral director and embalmer. She eventually became a regional director of the British Institute of Funeral Directors.[1]
In 2013, Jocko returned to Canada.[1] She worked in Saskatchewan as a tractor truck driver.[1] In 2015, she reconnected with the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation.[3]
She was elected chief of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation in 2020,[1][4] and helped guide the community through the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] She was defeated in the 2023 tribal elections by Greg Sarazin.[8] In 2024, she joined the board of directors at TriCycle Data Systems.[9]
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Personal life
Jocko has four children;[1] her son, James McMullin, served with 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (1RCR).[3][10]
In 2023, Jocko was awarded an honorary degree from Algonquin College.[1] That same year, Elaine Goble painted a portrait of her as part of a series on Indigenous military veterans.[10]
References
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