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| Duncan "Dusty" Miller. |
You might say it was a tight spot.
Throughout his distinguished naval career, Vice-Admiral Duncan鈥淒usty鈥� Miller has always made time for his firstlove鈥攖he stage鈥攅ven when it鈥檚 raised a feweyebrows among sailors and the navy brass.
On one occasion, when he served as the defence advisor to thePrivy Council Office, he found himself taking a call from PrimeMinister Brian Mulroney between acts of TheGondoliers.
鈥淎s the PM鈥檚 advisor, you had to be prepared to takea call no matter where, no matter when,鈥� he explains,recalling that he was backstage changing out of a pair of whitetights and into beige. 鈥淪o, I got this call and I tell thePM, 鈥榶ou鈥檙e never going to believe where I am.鈥橝fter I explained, there was a great burst of laughter at the otherend.鈥�
Retired from the Canadian Navy in 2003 after 38 years ofservice, the Vice-Admiral finds himself again donning the鈥渇ore and aft鈥� hat to play the 鈥渞uler of theNavee鈥� in Gilbert & Sullivan鈥檚 HMSPinafore.
The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Nova Scotia is actuallycalling its production HMCS Pinafore鈥攖he鈥榗鈥� is added鈥攊n recognition of the 100thanniversary of the Canadian Navy.
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After playing Halifax, HMCS Pinafore sets sail fortheatres throughout Nova Scotia, docking at the Marigold Theatre inTruro on May 8, the DeCoste Centre in Pictou on May 15 andKing鈥檚 Theatre in Annapolis Royal on May 29.
鈥淭he sound is glorious and the choreography isdaunting,鈥� says the Vice-Admiral, who in his retirement,serves as a research fellow with AV俱乐部鈥檚 Centre forForeign Policy Centre and chases after his six grandchildren.鈥淚 always find it a challenge to think, chew bubblegum andput your feet in the right place. You really do have to keep yourwits about you.鈥�
There are more than 40 people in the cast. Vice-Admiral Millershares his role with Brian King and plays an 鈥渙rdinarysoldier with a mop鈥� on alternate nights.
鈥淭hat was me at one time,鈥� he says proudly,informing that he enlisted in the Canadian Navy when he was 16years old. 鈥淚 lived in the mess deck and remember what it waslike to be below deck when the ship was heaving. Your stomach wouldbe up on the ceiling when the rest of you was already on the waydown.鈥�
Born in England, he recalls a few trans-Atlantic journeys byCunard Liner when he was a boy. Later, his family moved to Canadaand he grew up in Saint-Lambert, located opposite Montreal on thesouth shore of the St. Lawrence. He always loved the sea, and triedto enlist at the age of 15. Compelled to wait a year, the navy paidfor his university education and set him up for a lifetime ofadventure.
He has commanded a minesweeper, a helicopter destroyer, theFirst Canadian Destroyer Squadron and the Canadian Forces MaritimeWarfare Centre. During the Gulf War in 1990-1991, he commandedCanada's Naval Task Group and the 60-ship Allied Combat LogisticsForce. His last job was as Chief of Staff for the Supreme AlliedCommander's NATO Headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. He served forthree years as head of Canada's East Coast Navy in Halifax from1997-2000.
As he made his way through the ranks, he says it was importantthat 鈥淚 stuck to who I was.鈥� And that meant approachingthe job with a sense of humor and a relaxed professionalism.Throughout, the former boy soprano nurtured his artisticside鈥斺�淎nd that鈥檚 what made me comfortable in myown skin.鈥澛�