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 Esprit de Corps staff have travelled the globe covering the exploits of our men and women in uniform in the Persian Gulf, the Balkans, Cyprus, Somalia, Cambodia, the Western Sahara, and Afghanistan.
 As a result of the trust we have built within the rank and file, our coverage of military activities have been widely acclaimed in the mainstream media. For example, in 1996 Esprit de Corps won the Quill Award for its contribution to Canadian communications. When it comes to military reporting from the troops at the frontline to interviews with the top brass (i.e. former CDS Gen. Hillier, pictured) to the goings-on in the ever-changing world of military procurement, Esprit de Corps has led the way since 1988. Click here to see who else reads Esprit de Corps.)
In the summer of 1988 the idea of an inflight magazine for the Canadian Forces’ five passenger aircraft was born. After Scott and Katherine Taylor submitted their original proposal to the commander of the air force and several weeks of waiting, the air force commander, Lieutenant General Larry Ashley, gave the project a green light.
In the premiere issue, Taylor explained the name and the game of his publication: "By focusing on the past and present accomplishments of the Canadian Forces, it is our aim to contribute to the ‘esprit de corps’ that has made the Canadian military one of the finest professional armed forces in the world today."
Esprit de Corps’ second issue included a congratulatory message from then-Defence Minister Bill McKnight "for producing such a fine and worthwhile publication." The magazine, which has seen a dozen defence ministers come and go, would seldom receive such warm regards from the Canadian Forces’ political leadership.
In May 1991, after eight quarterly issues, the Canadian Forces’ inflight publication came in for a landing as a monthly magazine available by subscription and on newsstands across Canada.
In the second issue of this expansion, E de C featured an exclusive interview with Vice-Admiral Charles Thomas, who that April had resigned as vice-chief of defence staff over policy differences with the government. The Department of Defence had taken the unusual step of releasing Thomas’ letter of resignation, along with a response from Chief of Defence Staff John de Chastelain attacking Thomas’ motives rather than addressing his concerns about the direction of the Canadian Forces.
The government noticed. Not long after publication, Air Canada, which now handled the Canadian Forces’ charter flights, informed the magazine that "due to concerns over editorial content" it would no longer be welcome onboard, on orders from the Department of National Defence.
Esprit de Corps went to the media with this story of censorship, and the PR offensive worked. Esprit de Corps was quickly reinstated on the flights.
Throughout 1992, Esprit de Corps' masthead swelled, with Les Peate, Norm Shannon, Bill Twatio, Colonel Bill Sutherland, Peter Worthington,Roy Thomas, Tricia Brennan, Mike Reyno, Andrew Cline, Doug Nairne, Cathy Hingley, Roger Thompson and Nathan Brown, Keith Davies, Julie Simoneau and Susan Mader, listed among the burgeoning roster of contributing writers, feeding a growing magazine's needs.
Esprit de Corps ocntinued to land increasingly significant interviews with such decision makers as Associate Defence Minister Mary Collins and Chief of Defence Staff John de Chastelain.
Esprit de Corps' globe-trotting continued, with visits to Canadian soldiers in the Northwest Territories, Cambodia, Croatia and the UK. On th eHome front, Esprit de Corps kept a steady eye on the ongoing EH-101 helicopter procurement. Few could have predicted that in 2010 we would still be waiting for the Sea King's replacement, the CH-148 Cyclone.
Esprit de Corps' readers had begun to talk back, and the dialogue resulted in the October 1992 debut of 'Posted In,' the magazine's correspondence section, with letters from Toronto Sun columnist Peter Worthington, General Lewis MacKenzie and Liberal MP Bob Wood.
That Spring, when the news of the beating death of Shidane Arone became public, Taylor, while expressing an ultimately vain expectation that "the military justice system will prevail, in its inimitable, swift, stern fashion," reminded readers that soldiers are in essence trained killers, despite a widespread Canadian desire to see them as peacekeepers. The magazine continued to cover developments in federal politics, including the Federal Court's ruling on gays in the military, and the continuing underfunding of the Canadian Forces even as peacekeeping responsibilities multiplied.
In the December 1992 issue Scott Taylor reported from Croatia on the PPCLI's risky efforts to enforce the peace, to a chorus of indifference from the mainstream Canadian media. A major factor in this lack of coverage, reported Taylor, was DND's reflexive refusal to release information.
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