Posted: April 4, 2024
Commander Daniel Rice (BEng'05) and Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Brooks (BEng'06) reunited while serving in Baghdad, Iraq, after being classmates nearly 20 years ago. Both are currently deployed on Operation IMPACT, which is part of Canada’s whole-of-government approach to the Middle East to build the military capabilities of Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. Under this operation, both Rice and Brooks work as part of NATO Mission Iraq, whose goal is to strengthen Iraqi security institutions and forces so that they themselves can prevent the return of ISIS/Daesh, fight terrorism and stabilize their country.
Rice works as a defence planning advisor, and Brooks is the head of key leadership engagements. Since graduation, Rice has served as a Naval Warfare Officer in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) on both coasts, conducting operational deployments to the Arctic, the Caribbean, and West Africa, and he commanded HMCS GOOSE BAY from 2019-2022. He most recently worked in the Project Directorate for the Canadian Surface Combatant, the RCN's frigate-replacement project.
Brooks has served as a Combat Engineering Officer in the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers and deployed to Afghanistan in 2009-2010 as part of the Task Force Kandahar 3-09 Engineer Support Unit. In 2012, Brooks completed the Army Officer Technical Staff Program and has since worked on multiple capital equipment acquisition projects in both Project Director and Program Management capacities.
Despite differing paths in the Canadian Armed Forces, Rice and Brooks's shared experience at Dalhousie prepared them well for challenging careers in service. This deployment illustrates the sometimes unpredictable ways Dalhousie graduates impact the world.