HMCS Saskatoon makes high seas drug bust

Saskatoon sits quietly, surrounded by flat farmland in a semi-arid climate, more than 15 hundred kilometres from the west coast.

I fell in love with the ocean.-Lieutenant-Commander Jason Bergen

The ship that bears the city's name, however, is out on the Pacific Ocean, taking part in the war on drugs. Lieutenant-Commander Jason Bergen is second in command on Her Majesty's Canadian Ship Saskatoon.

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"We actually detect, track and approach suspect vessels."

Bergen is at home at the ship's helm.

"I absolutely lucked out," he told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.

Bergen wasborn and raised in Saskatoon. The Walter Murray Collegiate and University of Saskatchewan graduate didn't think much about life at sea until having a conversation with a friend who had recently been through military training.

Enticed by his mate's adventures, Bergen marched right into Saskatoon's naval reserve headquarters and asked simply what they had to offer. The next thing he knew, Bergen was being loaded onto a military airplane to be shipped out for training.

"I fell in love with the ocean and with the job."

The job, right now is Operation Caribbe, a multinational effort aimed at stemming the flow of drugs, weapons and cash from the Caribbean and Central America.

On March 19, the crew of HMCS Saskatoon intercepted a fishing boat that jettisoned its cargo and fled at high speed.

Ten bales of cocaine were later retrieved from the water.

Despite the obvious danger, Bergen had no complaints about the mission, or time at sea.

"I always say that life is simpler at sea. You work, you sleep on the ship, your family is out here, and it is a very close knit family that we have on the ship."