HMCS Harry DeWolf trials new capabilities at sea

A CH-149 Cormorant helicopter lowers a Search and Rescue Technician aboard HMCS Harry DeWolf on November 18.

By Ryan Melanson

Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Harry DeWolf sailed under Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) command for the first time in early October 2020, and has since been at sea regularly, with the crew conducting training, testing and trials on the new vessel.

The work is part of a normal process to incrementally test Harry DeWolf and its systems, and as sailors gain experience with this first-of-class ship, they’re also making an immediate impact on RCN business, explains the ship’s commanding officer.

“Tests and trials can be a limiting description. The ship is in naval service, and it has been since July 31, 2020,” said Commander Corey Gleason, referencing the official date Harry DeWolf was delivered to the Department of National Defence this past summer. That delivery was followed by an initial alongside work period before heading to sea.

While trials will continue over the next 12 months, they will be taking place alongside naval operations, Cdr Gleason added. During the most recent proficiency sail to Newfoundland and Labrador, for example, the ship contributed to Canada’s maritime domain awareness while also gaining proficiency with the new platform.

“We’re providing sovereignty through presence in Canada’s domestic waterways. As we encountered aircraft and surface vessels, we identified them, tied their broadcasted information with their registry and compared our own recognized maritime domain picture with our maritime command component ashore,” he said, noting the ship is also ready to respond as a backup search and rescue asset locally.

Through the remainder of the fall and winter, Harry DeWolf will conduct both cold-weather and warm-weather trials as it continues building operational capability – the ship will work with Cyclone helicopters and PUMA unmanned aerial vehicles, trial its main 25 millimetre gun, and continue operating its small boats, among other tests. In the spring, the crew plans to conduct their first replenishment-at-sea, which will prove the ability to remain at sea for months at a time.

“Each new step only adds to the ship’s capabilities,” Cdr Gleason said.

Work will continue through the spring, building toward a commissioning ceremony for HMCS Harry DeWolf in the summer of 2021, and a subsequent deployment on Operation NANOOK, Canada’s premier annual northern operation.

Increasing the RCN’s capabilities in the North is one of the key features of the Harry DeWolf class, and HMCS Harry DeWolf and its sister ships will be at the core of an enhanced Canadian Arctic presence over the coming years. The thick-hulled ships can sail in up to 120 centimetres of first-year sea ice, and come with ample space for helicopters, small vehicles and cargo containers, which are particularly useful when operating in remote regions. The ships will also be available to support other government agencies like the Canadian Coast Guard.

In addition to Northern missions, the class will also operate offshore and internationally, complementing the capabilities of other current and future RCN warships – they will be capable of conducting anti-smuggling and piracy operations, contributing to international security and stability, and are also equipped to respond to humanitarian, emergency response and disaster relief situations, both at home and abroad.

With its list of impressive modern operational capabilities, HMCS Harry DeWolf and the rest of the class are designed to meet the needs of a modern Navy and benefit the well-being of sailors, with individual crew accommodations, gender-inclusive washrooms, and flexible common spaces that allow for quiet and privacy to observe various religious or cultural practices.

Cdr Gleason said he and his team were proud to take the ship to sea for the first time, and that pride only continues to build as they put the platform to work.

“My crew and I have worked tirelessly to become subject matter experts in Canada’s newest Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship. Each and every sailor in my crew has contributed in the development of procedures and policies required to safely operate HMCS Harry DeWolf. For all of us, putting our own procedures and policies to work is incredibly satisfying.”

Sailor Profile PO1 Shaunda Lillington: A career in the RCN is like no other

Petty Officer 1st Class Shaunda Lillington

From: http://www.navy-marine.forces.gc.ca/

Petty Officer 1st Class (PO1) Shaunda Lillington, from Isle-Aux-Morts, Nfld., joined the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) 20 years ago and is currently serving in Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Ville de Québec, which is stationed in Halifax. Wearing the RCN uniform is a family tradition in PO1 Lillington’s family.

“I joined the RCN because growing up, I had seen my older brothers join,” she says. “Watching them come home in their uniforms and talking about the experiences they encountered always caught my attention, so at the age of 18 I decided to join the RCN following in their footsteps.”    

PO1 Lillington is a Naval Communicator – also a family tradition, as both of her brothers are also in the same trade. She brings experience to her essential role as the Senior Naval Communicator (SNC) and the manager of the Naval Communication section on a Canadian Halifax-class warship, having previously served as SNC on board HMCS St. John’s. 

When at sea, a ship’s communication capability is key in communicating with other ships on the ocean and relaying information back to home base, including connecting with family members at home.

Ultimately responsible for this capability, PO1 Lillington supervises, supports and mentors “13 Naval Communicators who work to keep the ship’s communications and IT equipment operational 24/7.”

 “It has given me a sense of pride do be able to manage a section and successfully complete all missions put forth on us thus far,” she says when describing how important her job is to her.

Her department is responsible for: radio-teletype, computer networking, satellite, tactical voice and visual communications, classified and unclassified computer networks, computer-based message processing network, radio communication control systems and cryptographic and satellite equipment in support of high speed data and imagery exchanges.

PO1 Lillington notes that one of the best parts of her job is watching her section grow and gel as a team.

“My team has grown so much during the 75 Anniversary of the Battle of the Scheldt, a Great Lakes deployment, de-storing a ship during COVID, a total crew swap to a new unit, ship readiness training, Op NANOOK 20, and most recently, (acting as) flag ship for JOINT WARRIOR 2020.” 

Just as her team has met and overcome their challenges with determination, PO1 Lillington has done the same with her own for which she turned to her colleges and chain of command for advice and support. 

“The biggest challenge I have faced in my military career has been becoming the SNC in charge of my own section.”

On the home front, the separation from her 10-year-old son while she is at sea weighs heavily on her mind and heart. “My parents have also done a great deal for me, looking after my 10-year-old son in my absence at home while I am at sea.”

Though there are challenges, there are also positives, she says.

“I have stayed in the RCN because of the stability of the lifestyle and how it has and will support me and my child through steady paycheck, healthcare, education benefits, and has also given me a sense of purpose.”  

In addition, PO1 Lillington has had moving experiences such as “marching through the streets of Antwerp (Belgium) during the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Scheldt during the Liberation Parade” and teaching the Canadian Forces Aboriginal Entry Program, watching her students “graduate from basic training, which makes me very proud.”

She sees her career choice as amazing, and would advise anyone considering a career in the RCN the same thing.

“The opportunities that are given to you are like no other. By the time I was 22, I had already seen half the world and met so many great people that are still my friends today. The family aspect and camaraderie is like nothing else I have ever experienced.”

Operation CARIBBE during COVID-19

A crew member from HMCS Summerside operates the .50 cal machine gun during Operation CARIBBE, in the Atlantic Ocean on October 29, 2020.

By Lieutenant Sheila Tham

Lt Sheila Tham is a Public Affairs Officer who has spent her five-year career split between the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Army. Believing this deployment with the Royal Canadian Navy on Operation CARIBBE would round out her career experience, she documented the following first impressions of sailing and the reality of operational travel during COVID-19.

Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Summerside departed Halifax on October 26, 2020, headed for the Caribbean Sea as part of Operation (Op) CARIBBE, Canada's participation in U.S.-led enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean. Canada often conducts multiple iterations of Op CARIBBE in a year — the last deployment was with HMC Ships Nanaimo and Whitehorse earlier this year.

On March 18, 2020, Maritime Component Command ordered that HMC Ships Nanaimo and Whitehorse cease activities under Operation CARIBBE and return to Canada earlier than planned due to the worldwide spread of COVID-19. The current deployment of HMCS Summerside, which departed Halifax on October 26, 2020, is the first Op CARIBBE since, and came with a myriad of new considerations and precautions to ensure the safety of personnel.

The members of Summerside were required to adhere to self-isolation measures prior to sailing along with undergoing a COVID-19 test prior to departure. The same conditions were given to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) participants who were picked up enroute in Miami. Due to the precautions in advance of sailing, members were not required to wear masks while at sea or adhere to physical distancing.

Normally, sailors would be able to take some time off in port cities to explore; however, this has not been possible due to the pandemic. Staying onboard the ship fostered a sense of camaraderie amongst the crew as we were required to socialize with each other instead of going our separate ways in a port city. However, it was evident that many of the crew felt that they were missing out by being so close to civilization and yet so far.

The closest we got to mingling with the locals was during resupply. Only the physician assistant, executive officer and chief cook were allowed on the jetty to screen the supplies arriving, dressed in non-medical masks and gloves and required to wash their boots and use hand sanitizer before returning to the ship. The rest of the available personnel mustered at a sanitizing station at the fo’c’sle (the front of the ship) wearing gloves. Personnel who formed a chain on the brow wore non-medical masks and gloves to pass packages up to the members on the fo’c’sle. Each package was passed with an instruction—sanitize the box, leave on the fo’c’sle, wipe down each package, discard the box—repeated as each person passed to the next. Once the ship was resupplied it was considered secure and most of the crew were able to relax.

Keeping spirits up

Since we weren’t allowed off the ship in Miami for our first port visit of the deployment, or for any future port visits, the ship’s captain hosted a sundowner on the back of the ship, called the sweep deck, where the crew watched Miami locals on jet skis and yachts. A few party boats passed with loud music. It was Halloween night and we were hosting our own costume party, cheering on those brave and creative enough to don a costume. There was even modified trick-or-treating as some of the crew had bags of candy and chocolate to pass out.

After two days alongside, the crew was rested and ready to sail to the Caribbean Sea for operations, and integrate with the USCG LEDET that was now onboard. The time alongside was different than usual, so I hear, anyway. Op CARIBBE is my first Navy deployment and Miami was my first port visit. Despite the disappointment of not being able to visit the city, I didn’t hear a single complaint as we sailed away. In fact, one member of the crew told me that this port visit was better because we were all able to spend time together, get to know each other better, and build some team cohesion. I’ll report back on what they’re thinking after a few more weeks at sea!

Operation CARIBBE is Canada’s contribution to U.S. Enhanced Counter-narcotics Operations under U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATFS). The intent is to conduct international detection, monitoring, and interdiction of illicit trafficking in the Caribbean Sea and off the Pacific coast of Central America. To make this happen, Canadian ships embark a Law Enforcement Detachment from the United States Coast Guard (USCG). The synchronization of capabilities between the RCN and USCG enables greater success in reducing drug trafficking while strengthening international interoperability.

Canada has been conducting Op CARIBBE since 2006 and the Canadian Armed Forces has contributed to the disruption or seizure of approximately 105 metric tonnes of cocaine and more than 6.7 tonnes of marijuana.

HMCS Ville de Québec focused on mental health of crew

Rescue swimmers are all smiles after a successful man overboard drill.

By Ryan Melanson

Before returning to port in Halifax in early June, as one of two ready-duty ships on the East Coast, Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Ville de Québec took extreme measures to ensure its ship’s company remained free of COVID-19, including a two-week hotel isolation period before heading to sea in mid-April.

Keeping sailors physically healthy is crucial to the ship maintaining its readiness, but with crew members separated from their loved ones during a difficult time, taking stock of the morale and mental health on board became increasingly important.

“It’s certainly the biggest concern I had day to day, taking that temperature and trying to find new and innovative ways to negate those negative effects,” said Commander (Cdr) Michael Eelhart, Ville de Québec’s commanding officer.

Sailors were concerned about their family members and loved ones at home during the pandemic. Some members personally knew victims of the shootings in the Portapique, N.S., area, and all were coping with the tragic loss of their colleagues from HMCS Fredericton, as well as the news of the recent Snowbird crash.

While those who required it were given time to grieve, Cdr Eelhart said sticking to routine and keeping up with normal business at sea can be therapeutic for the crew.

They also made efforts to consistently plan fun or interesting activities for people to look forward to. Part of this has been the domestic presence operations the ship conducted over the past month, sailing to and anchoring near a number of communities in the Maritimes, including hometowns of many of their sailors.

Ville de Québec toured through the Bay of Fundy and Minas Bay on the first leg, sailing near Portapique in the days following the tragedy in that area, and proceeded to sail through the Northumberland Strait, making appearances off Prince Edward Island, northern New Brunswick and the Gaspé region of Québec. They used social media to announce their location and engage with communities when they passed by.

“We thought, ‘Let’s try to connect with Canadians as best as we can’,” Cdr Eelhart said.

“It was also a way to keep our sailors interested and engaged, maintain their readiness at the same time, and keep them from getting overly bored doing the same old things each day.”

They also planned some fun when they went alongside. A sports day in early May saw members hold an all-day ball hockey tournament on the jetty, and for the May long weekend they set up propane fireplaces and had a party with barbecue, s’mores, sing-a-longs and karaoke.

“We tried our best to recreate a cottage weekend on the jetty. It was probably one of the best ship parties we’ve ever had.”

The original plan for Ville de Québec was to sail to Québec this summer for a docking work period. Instead, the ship will undergo a full crew change, with the current crew of HMCS St. John’s set to come aboard and continue as the ready-duty ship starting in August.

After the crew came ashore they have been self-isolating like other ship crews who aren’t proceeding to sea for training. Any new crew member must undergo a two-week isolation period and be tested for COVID-19 before coming aboard, and any stores or other items coming from land are kept off the ship for about three days before being sanitized and brought on.

“It’s all part of the preventative measures we’re taking. Our day-to-day running at sea is relatively normal, but our interaction and the interface between the ship and the shore is very different,” Cdr Eelhart said.

Unsinkable Doc SLt Spivey takes care of crew

Sub-Lieutenant Nicole Spivey, HMCS Nanaimo’s physician assistant, provides training to her team.

By Lieutenant Chelsea Dubeau

“Is the Doc in here?” asks a member of the ship’s company as they poke their head into the wardroom.

The Doc is in.

Sub-Lieutenant (SLt) Nicole Spivey, Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Nanaimo’s physician assistant, or Doc as she is known, waves the person in. 

Nanaimo’s Doc is a former medical technician of 13 years who commissioned as a physician assistant in January 2020 after completing her training.

The patient takes a seat while SLt Spivey does a quick examination of what ails: a bump to the head, but it’s not too bad. A quick clean of the wound, a couple Band-Aids, and a few encouraging words and the patient is good to go. Today, it’s a minor head wound; tomorrow, who can say.

The medical needs of a ship’s company can be vast, varied and as complex as the human beings on board. The relationship that forms between individual members and the specialists on board who nurture their welfare is unlike any other, especially with the person who provides medical care.

Physician assistants see the usual bumps and scrapes, coughs and colds, headaches, bellyaches and more; those normal ailments that come from working in tight, close quarters, with disrupted sleep schedules and the unique trials and tribulations that come with the territory in which the crew operates: a ship at sea.

But they are prepared to treat, at least initially, more serious medical events that might occur, everything from urinary tract infections to cardiac events.

Kingston-class ships don’t normally sail with a physician assistant on board unless on deployment or other demanding sails where they are required. The rest of the time it’s the casualty clearing team, led by the chief cook, which responds to the medical needs of the crew.

SLt Spivey has been posted to Nanaimo since the ship’s mission readiness training for Operation CARIBBE, and has continued through the first rotation of Operation LASER, where one of her priorities has been to provide ongoing, critical training to the casualty clearing team. This ensures they are able to respond to a medical emergency in the absence of a physician assistant.

“When I was in Kuwait as a medical technician, one of our doctors was an ER doctor, Major Trevor Jain, a reservist. He taught us the best way to learn was by hands-on training,” says SLt Spivey. “So every week we did some kind of training that way, whether it was wound packing in roast beef, interosseous IVs in sheep legs, or needle decompression with pig ribs plastered to the side of a sharp’s container with lungs made of condoms.”

SLt Spivey trains her casualty clearing team using the same methods, with the chief cook, Petty Officer 2nd Class Dave Manryk, providing the “patient” material on one occasion: a cooked ham bone into which SLt Spivey put an interosseous IV.

Not that the casualty clearing team would ever perform such a procedure, but it’s informative and engaging, and helps give the them a unique depth of knowledge that maybe one day they’ll be called to draw upon in some way.

“Doc has really been a keystone in the ship’s team,” says Lieutenant-Commander Dave Schmidt, Executive Officer of HMCS Nanaimo. “Her primary duty obviously is medical, but on top of that she’s well-integrated into the ship. She’s always running around doing special projects. She really does take care of the crew.”

For SLt Spivey, caring for the crew starts with helping with whatever she can, whenever she can.

She recently led a non-surgical mask-making effort in order to provide members of the crew with personnel protective equipment during their rest period in between Op LASER rotations. During Op CARIBBE, she worked alongside the galley staff to get to know every person on board.

“I think it’s really important to get to know everybody, and not on a patient level, first,” says SLt Spivey. “You have to build that trust, not as a clinician-patient relationship, but as a person-to-person relationship. Then the other trust just happens naturally.”

She is endlessly pragmatic.

“I just do my job to the best of my ability. Whether I’m a clinician sitting behind a desk coaching someone on lifestyle changes for Type 2 diabetes, or I’m sitting in a desert hoping that nothing bad is going to happen, there’s no difference in medicine there. It’s the same thing – you’re there to take care of the patient.”

She has been on seven deployments and racked up 530 days at sea, which has meant being away from her daughter, Caitlin.

“We build Lego every couple days over the phone,” says SLt Spivey. “It’s something to do together even though we’re not together.”

Caitlin has inherited her mother’s considerate nature, putting care packages together for medical staff deployed in other Op LASER-tasked ships, as well as a few crew members in Nanaimo.

“Maybe it’s because she’s an only child she doesn’t want people to feel left out,” says SLt Spivey.

Many members of the crew are reservists who are far from home, and therefore don’t have family nearby to do that for them.

Caitlin wants to be a pharmacist, perhaps even a pharmacist in the military. Imitation is often said to be the sincerest form of flattery. In SLt Spivey’s case, it might just be a sign of how proud Caitlin is of her mother.

SLt Spivey looks wistful as she considers that.

“I hope she’s proud,” she says.

Code breaker Olive Bailey played pivotal role in ending Second World War

Before working at Bletchley Park as a code breaker Olive Bailey worked in a factory that made engines for the Halifax bomber, shown here in a picture she painted.

By Peter Mallett

For decades Olive Bailey kept her work during the Second World War and the pivotal role she played in bringing it to an end a secret.

She was a young woman living through the Blitz (the German bombings on London and Wales), studying mathematics at the University of London and working in a factory making engines for Halifax bombers. She even survived a direct hit on her workplace and was dug out from the rubble.

Then in 1942, British Intelligence assigned her to work at Bletchley Park as a code breaker. It was a top secret project in a Victorian mansion 60 kilometres north of London. She was told never to breathe a word to anyone about her work.

The job was to break the German Enigma, a device used to encode strategic messages. Heading the project was legendary mathematician and computer science pioneer Alan Turing.

 “He had a lovely sense of humour and we got along very well,” remembers Bailey.

As part of a large team, Bailey worked around the clock trying to decipher the more than 84,000 messages intercepted each month sent to German U-boat commanders to locate and attack Allied vessels.

She worked on Turing’s massive computer system, nicknamed Victory, with his invention eventually breaking the Enigma code. She recalls Turing’s invention as an intimidating mass of dials and infinite number of wires hanging down the front of the machine.

Her job was to take the decrypted messages to the office where Turing and the “higher ups and big brains” were located.

She describes him as a person who would talk in bursts and had a desk so cluttered he kept his coffee cup sitting on top of an adjacent radiator.

The contributions of Turing and Bletchley Park employees at the codebreaking factory eventually worked. The German U-boats’ deadly attacks on Allied vessels in the North Atlantic declined, with many of them sunk and crews captured.

The work at Bletchley Park also set the stage for the D-Day landings of 1944. Some historians estimate the breaking of Enigma shortened the duration of the Second World War by two to four years, saving millions of lives.

Bailey married her husband Norman after the war in 1946. He had been working as a medical doctor with the Royal Air Force.

She remained silent about her codebreaking activities even after Britain lifted its restrictions about Bletchley Park in its Official Secrets Act in the 1970s. She didn’t tell Norman about the project until 2001, when one of her former colleagues mentioned it in front of both of them.

She was awarded the Bletchley Park Medal for Service and more recently the Queen’s Medal in recognition of her Second World War work.

After the war, the Baileys moved to Prince Albert and later Moose Jaw, Sask., where her husband worked as an eye surgeon. Years later, the couple resettled on Vancouver Island and have remained together ever since.

Canadian Rangers support Alberta flood relief operations

Canadian Rangers Jeremiah Dyke and Ryan Wolfe of the Fort Vermilion Canadian Ranger Patrol move a barricade into place on a road outside the Fort Vermilion Airport in Fort Vermilion, Alberta on April 29, 2020, as part of the Canadian Rangers local flood relief efforts. Photo: Canadian Ranger Sergeant Tom Simpson. ©2020 DND/MDN Canada.

By Lieutenant Natasha Tersigni, 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group Public Affairs Officer

Fort Vermilion, Alberta — When spring flooding forced more than 450 Fort Vermilion, Alberta residents from their homes, members of the local Canadian Ranger Patrol answered a request to support relief operations.

The Rangers worked with municipal officials from April 26 to May 5, 2020 to carry out tasks such as setting up roadblocks and checkpoints, helping residents evacuate, monitoring flood levels and critical infrastructure, assisting with door-to-door evacuation notices, and staffing the community Emergency Operations Centre.

Once the floodwaters began to recede from the community, and the river began to stabilize to normal spring levels, the Rangers assisted with the clean-up and helped evacuated residents return home.

“As Canadian Rangers, we are ready, able and committed to serving our community,” explained Ranger Sergeant Tom Simpson, Patrol Commander for the Fort Vermilion Ranger Patrol. “By assisting municipal officials with a variety of flood relief efforts, we are ensuring that our neighbours and fellow Fort Vermilion residents remain supported during difficult times.”

For their dedication and commitment during the 10-day operation, the Rangers were recognized by the Fort Vermilion RCMP detachment and given RCMP “K” Division commemorative coins.

The Canadian Rangers are a part of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Reserve working in remote, isolated and coastal regions of Canada. They provide lightly equipped, self-sufficient mobile forces to support CAF national security and public safety operations within Canada.

They regularly support domestic disaster and relief operations for floods, wildfires, and other disasters, under the Operation LENTUS banner.

Billy Bishop, Canada’s first Air Force Victoria Cross winner

By Captain Steven Dieter

On June 2, 1917, Captain William Avery “Billy” Bishop took off from Filescamp Farm, his home base with No. 60 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, near Arras in northern France, on a daring early morning mission.

It was a mission planned “after much thought”, according to his own words in Winged Warfare, first published in 1918.

“Dawn was the hour I considered advisable, as there would be very few machines in the air, and I would have a great chance of evading trouble on the way to the aerodrome.”

Captain Bishop was no rookie in terms of combat, although he had only joined No. 60 Squadron in March 1917, and won his first combat victory on March 25. Already credited with 22 aerial victories by the morning of his dawn attack, he was a keen marksman both in the air and on the ground. These skills would prove valuable during his solo adventure.

Flying over the enemy lines, Capt Bishop acknowledged that his original target turned out to be less than ideal. Finally finding a suitable target – the German aerodrome at Estourmel – he realized he had no clue where he was. Nevertheless, he continued with his mission.

He shot up one aircraft as it taxied its way towards take off. The second aircraft “crashed into some trees near the aerodrome” after Captain Bishop had shot at him. The third would be the victim of a dogfight. 

Capt Bishop returned to his aerodrome with his aircraft, a Nieuport 17, which was now riddled with many bullet holes. He recounted the exploits of his mission to his fellow pilots and ground crew; the accolades soon followed.

“Within three or four hours I had received many congratulations upon this stunt, and what I had planned as merely a way of shooting down some more of the Huns I found the authorities considered a very successful expedition,” he said.

Indeed, the authorities considered this expedition so successful that Captain Bishop would be considered for the British Empire’s highest decoration for Valour – The Victoria Cross.

The decision to award Capt Bishop the Victoria Cross was not an impulsive one. Senior officers fully investigated the incident, reviewing combat reports, squadron records, and other supporting documentation.  Near two and a half months later, it was announced that Captain Bishop had been awarded the Victoria Cross – the first Canadian airman to receive this honour.

It would accompany the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross that had been awarded but not yet presented.

King George V presented Capt Bishop his three decorations – the three highest decorations for valour – on August 30, 1917, at Buckingham Palace. 

About Billy Bishop

Billy Bishop, who was born February 8, 1894, in Owen Sound, Ontario, attended Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, and joined the Army when the First World War broke out. After arriving in Britain, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps as an observer and was sent to France. The following year, he successfully applied for pilot training and, in 1917, he joined 60 Squadron.

He retired from the Royal Air Force at the end of 1918, but was appointed honorary air marshal in 1938. He returned to active service in September 1939, when the Second World War broke out, with the substantive rank of air commodore. The Royal Canadian Air Force put him in charge of recruiting, a task at which he was extremely successful.

Although he resigned from his position in 1944 due to ill health – and began working in the oil business – he offered to return to his recruiting post upon the outbreak of the Korean War.

Billy Bishop died on September 11, 1956, at the age of 62, and is buried in Owen Sound. He was inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame in 1974 as one of the inaugural members.

His honours and decorations included the Victoria Cross (VC), Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB), Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and Bar, Military Cross (MC), Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), Mentioned in Despatches (MID), Croix de guerre (CdG) (France) and the Légion d’honneur (Ld’H) (France).

With files from RCAF Public Affairs

Flagship HMCS Haida represents the RCN’s deep bond with the Indigenous peoples of Canada

By Navy Public Affairs

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has a long history of ties to the Indigenous peoples of Canada, as evidenced by the two separate classes of ships named after them – the wartime Tribal-class and the post-war Iroquois-class destroyers – as well as several other vessels, including three Oberon-class submarines.

In fact, Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Haida - named after the seafaring Haida First Nation of British Columbia – was designated flagship of the RCN in 2018 in recognition of the courageous spirit of this legendary destroyer and all those who proudly served in her. The last remaining Second World War Tribal-class destroyer in the world, Haida is moored in Hamilton, Ont., and is a National Historic Site managed by Parks Canada. Visitors are welcomed to the site year-round to learn about Canada’s remarkable naval history.

HMCS Haida is the very embodiment of the RCN’s proud 110 years of service to Canada, as well as the valour and fearless dedication of the women and men who serve Canada at sea. It is a testament to the RCN’s long history as a fighting force and destroyer navy, and now stands as a permanent reminder of the sacrifice, resolve and courage of Canada’s sailors and of our important ties to the Indigenous peoples of Canada.

HMCS Haida served in the RCN from 1943 to 1963, and saw action in both the Second World War and the Korean War. It is the only surviving ship of the 27 Tribal-class destroyers built before and during the Second World War. As exemplified and embodied by HMCS Haida, the RCN is honoured to have the names of the Indigenous peoples of Canada associated with its ships over the past several decades.

Tribal-class destroyers

The Tribals were a class of destroyers built for the Royal Navy, RCN and Royal Australian Navy, and saw service in nearly all theatres of the Second World War. In the RCN, these ships proudly bore the names of several Indigenous groups from across Canada.

HMCS Iroquois: There have been two vessels named Iroquois in the RCN and both were named in honour of the Confederacy of First Nations people. The first Iroquois, commissioned in 1942, was Canada’s first Tribal-class destroyer. It served in Gibraltar and Russian convoy duties, and pre- and post-D-Day operations, and escorted the German cruisers Prinz Eugen and Nürnberg to Kiel, Germany, for their formal surrender. Although paid off in 1946, Iroquois was re-commissioned in 1949, and completed two tours of duty in the Korean theatre. It was paid off in 1962.

HMCS Athabaskan: There have been three destroyers named Athabaskan in the RCN, and all were named for the Canadian First Nations language group. The first Athabaskan was commissioned in 1943, served in the Second World War, and was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel in 1944. The second Athabaskan, the last of the Tribals to be completed, was commissioned in 1948 and served three tours of duty in the Korean War. It was converted to a destroyer escort in 1954 and was paid off in 1966.

HMCS Haida: There has only been one ship named Haida in the RCN, and it is named after the Haida First Nation. Although commissioned in 1943, today it serves as the modern-day flagship of the RCN. Haida is known as Canada's “fightingest ship” for sinking more surface tonnage than any other RCN ship during the Second World War. It later joined the "Trainbusters Club" during the Korean War. Haida’s legacy is steeped in Battle Honours: ‎The Arctic between 1943 and 1945; English Channel, Normandy and Biscay in 1944; and Korea from 1952 to 1953.

HMCS Huron: There have been two ships named Huron in the RCN and both were named in honour of the Huron First Nation. The first Huron, commissioned in 1943, served in the RCN in the Second World War and was present on D-Day. It helped sink torpedo boat T 29 and destroyer Z 32. Huron was paid off in 1946, but was re-commissioned in 1950, serving two tours in the Korean theatre before being paid off in 1963.

HMCS Micmac: There has been only one vessel named Micmac in the RCN, and it was named in honour of the First Nations of Nova Scotia. It served from 1945 to 1964, and was the first sophisticated modern warship built in Canada and the first of four Tribal-class destroyers built at the Halifax Shipyard.

HMCS Nootka: There have been two ships named Nootka in the Royal Canadian Navy, with the Tribal-class destroyer (second of name) specifically named after the First Nations from British Columbia (the first was a Fundy-class minesweeper named after B.C.’s Nootka Sound). The second Nootka was commissioned in 1946, converted to a destroyer escort in 1949-50, and sailed for two tours of duty in the Korean War. It was paid off in 1964.

HMCS Cayuga: Named after the Cayuga peoples from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, there has been only one ship named Cayuga in the RCN. It served from 1946 until 1964 and saw three tours of duty in the Korean War.

Iroquois-class destroyers

The Iroquois class included four helicopter-carrying, guided missile destroyers. Like the wartime Tribal-class ships before them, these ships were named to honour the Indigenous peoples of Canada. Launched in the 1970s, they were originally fitted out for anti-submarine warfare, using two CH-124 Sea King helicopters and other weapons.

HMCS Iroquois was the lead ship of the Iroquois-class destroyers. The second vessel to carry the name, it entered service in 1972 and was based in Halifax. Highlights of its career include serving with the blockading force of the ex-Yugoslavia in 1993-94, and supporting coalitions against international terrorism in both 2001 and 2008 in the Arabian Sea. It was paid off in 2015.

HMCS Huron served in the RCN from 1972 to 2000. It was the second vessel to use the designation HMCS Huron. Career highlights include, in 1990, being one of three Canadian warships to visit Vladivostok, Russia, for the first time since the Second World War. In 1991, it relieved her sister-ship Athabaskan in the Persian Gulf, and was deployed to the Adriatic Sea in 1993 in support of the United Nations naval embargo of the former Yugoslavia. After decommissioning, its hull was stripped and used in a live-fire exercise, and was eventually sunk by gunfire from its sister ship, HMCS Algonquin.

HMCS Athabaskan served in the RCN from 1972 until 2017. It was the third vessel to use the designation HMCS Athabaskan. Highlights of its career include participating in the Persian Gulf War in 1990, and delivering humanitarian aid supplies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2006.

HMCS Algonquin served in the RCN from 1973 to 2015. Named after the First Nations peoples, it was the second vessel to use the designation HMCS Algonquin (the first was a V-class destroyer that served the RCN between 1944 and 1970). In 1977, it was the first of its class to cross the equator. Other career highlights included joining NATO vessels in the Adriatic enforcing the blockade of the former Yugoslavia in 1993, and deploying to the Gulf of Oman in 2002 as part of Canada’s contribution to the campaign against terrorism.

Oberon-class submarines

HMC Submarines Ojibwa, Okanagan and Onondaga were built in England and commissioned between 1965 and 1968. These were Canada’s first truly operational submarines, also named for Indigenous peoples of Canada.

HMCS Ojibwa: Named after the Nishnaabe peoples, there has been only one vessel named Ojibwa in the RCN. It was originally intended for service with the British Royal Navy, but transferred to Canadian ownership and entered RCN service in 1965. Ojibwa operated primarily with Maritime Forces Atlantic until her decommissioning in 1998. In 2010, Ojibwa was laid up in Halifax awaiting disposal, with the Elgin Military Museum planning to preserve her as a museum vessel. The submarine was towed to Port Burwell, Ont., in 2012, and was opened to the public in 2013.

HMCS Okanagan: Named after the First Nation Alliance, there has been only one vessel named Okanagan in the RCN. It entered service in 1968 and spent the majority of its career on the East Coast. The boat was paid off in 1998 and sold for scrap in 2011.

HMCS Onondaga: Named after the First Nation Confederacy, there has been only one vessel named Onondaga in the RCN. It was built in the mid-1960s and operated primarily on the East Coast until its decommissioning in 2000 as the last Canadian Oberon. The Museum of Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père in Rimouski, Que., purchased the boat for preservation as a museum vessel. The submarine was moved into location in 2008 and is open to the public.

Other ships and units

The names of other RCN ships – including several River-class destroyers, Bangor-class minesweepers and Flower-class corvettes, as well as shore-based units including Naval Reserve Divisions – have also been based on Indigenous culture throughout the decades. This tradition carries on into today’s fleet, with ships such as HMCS Yellowknife and HMCS Toronto. These ships were all named after Canadian geographic locations, such as cities and rivers. The names of these locations were all derived from their local Indigenous languages. Explore the rich history the RCN has with Canada’s Indigenous peoples by visiting the list of historical ships that served in the RCN since its inception in 1910.

From radar tech to unmanned aircraft pilot

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Detachment Commander Leading Seaman (LS) Myles Hunter holds one of the Royal Canadian Navy’s new Puma unmanned aircraft as Mission LS Meghan Heal helps him conduct pre-flight checks on the sweep deck of HMCS Whitehorse.

By Navy Public Affairs

Leading Seaman (LS) Myles Hunter joined the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) as a radar technician because he wanted to work with cutting edge technology. Little did he know that his choice and passion would bring him to the exciting frontier of naval innovation as one of the fleet’s first Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operators.

The RCN has only been using unmanned aircraft (UA) for about two years and much of that time has been spent testing and observing its capabilities, said LS Hunter.

The navy is currently using Puma-model drones which are 1.5 metres long, ghost grey and model plane-like in appearance. The Puma can be hand-launched by operators off a ship deck and then retrieved by scooping them out of the water.

LS Hunter said that the unmanned aircraft were used to scout and locate potential drug smuggling ships by Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Goose Bay in 2019 and more recently on HMCS Whitehorse on Operation CARIBBE. When out on patrols they used Pumas to sweep an extended area around the ship, helping it stay below the horizon line and out of the line of sight of suspicious ships.

During these ‘creeping line searches’, the Puma’s altitude extends the ship’s field of view, and it can cover a 176 square km area in just two hours, said LS Hunter.

Working with intelligence often gathered from US Coast Guard partners, a ship’s command team can use the unmanned aircraft to observe details of other ships — for example how much fuel or how many passengers or engines another ship is carrying — and use that information to determine if that ship is of interest.

With screens set up on the bridge and operations room of the ship, the technology allows different teams to monitor what the Puma sees via real-time streaming video while the operations of the aircraft itself are managed by only two people.

With this technology, instead of weaving around waters hunting smugglers, a patrolling ship can drive a relatively straight path and all the weaving is done by the unmanned aircraft. This saves fuel and increases operational time because the ship doesn’t need to go back to port as often. The Puma’s batteries can be recharged by just plugging them in on board.

If in extended operations and the Puma’s batteries run out (it has a two to three hour flight time), it can be landed in a safe area of water and left for up to four hours before being retrieved while another Puma can continue operations, said LS Hunter

Traditionally, once it was actually decided to dispatch a boarding team, the ship’s command would monitor the boarding operations from a distance via radio. The Pumas now allow visual monitoring from the sky, providing greater situational awareness to the command suite. The units also have infrared capability, and in non-operational tests with divers have proven to be useful locating people who have fallen in the water at night, said LS Hunter.

“Luckily we haven’t had the opportunity to test that in real life,” he said.

LS Hunter spoke about how he got into the forefront of navy unmanned system operations.

A few years ago, “there were rumours going around that the navy was purchasing [unmanned aircraft] and that we were starting this new era of technology. Being an engineer and technician, and this being the latest greatest thing, I wanted to be a part of it so bad. So, I got in touch unofficially with the team setting it up and just got them to know my face and showed them how ambitious I was,” he said.

LS Hunter spent the first part of this naval career as a radar technician serving aboard HMC Ships Athabaskan and Montreal, choosing that path because he wanted to get his hands on the most advanced technology possible.

Luckily for him, when the navy started looking within its ranks for UAS operators they decided that, along with naval combat information operators, they’d use radar technicians.

In 2017, LS Hunter and the other first wave of navy UAS operators began their initial training. After a year of operating the Pumas and becoming experienced with them at sea, he was moved to commanding the ship’s team as an unmanned aircraft systems detachment commander. Here he’s found himself in a working environment that he’d never dreamed of being in when he first enrolled in the forces.

“Usually I was always the nerd behind the scenes fixing the equipment. It was a crazy change,” he said.

LS Hunter said he went from being a rather regular shift worker on the ship to having to be ready 24/7 as operational needs work on schedules not necessarily aligned with a person’s gym, meal, or sleep times.

His new role finds him directly involved with daily ship operations. He often reports in person to the captain and has to create mission scenarios on demand and on the fly, completely from scratch. He said his new role has given him a greater appreciation for why things are done on a ship ­­— things that seemed odd before when he wasn’t so intimately involved in command decisions.

“(Operations) can be more chaotic, but I love it. You have to adapt and change to the situation, but we always seem to get the job done,” he said.

LS Hunter said that he is currently part of a team that has developed and is running a new navy-specific UAS course.

“I think in the future you will see the [RCN] using unmanned aircraft systems more and more, and different types. I’m really excited about this technology,” he said.

RCN ships tried to capture U-boat after prison break

By Navy Public Affairs Canada

You might think the following events took place in an elaborate spy novel.

But they actually happened.

In the fall of 1943, German U-boat captains attempting to escape from a prisoner of war (POW) camp in Ontario led the RCMP directly to a rendezvous site on the northern shore of New Brunswick.

Warships of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), under the command of Lieutenant-Commander (LCdr) Desmond Piers, waited quietly nearby for a U-boat to surface and attempt rescue of its compatriots.

German U-boats were the scourge of the ocean. As the Battle of the Atlantic raged during the Second World War over 75 years ago, they prowled the depths, attempting to sink Allied convoys bound for Europe with supplies.

Four German U-boat captains had been captured after battles, including the ace of the U-boat fleet, Otto Kretschmer, who had sunk more than 208,000 tons of allied shipping.

Called the “Atlantic Wolf” for his successes, his reign of terror came to an end in March 1941 when his U-boat was sunk southeast of Iceland.

Three other submarine captains, Horst Elfe, Hans Ey and Hans Joachim Knebel-Döberitz, were also captured, and all four were sent to Camp 30, a POW camp in Bowmanville, Ont.

Camp 30, unlike most prison camps, was not really a hardship. It had lots of things that others lacked such as an indoor pool, athletic complex, soccer and football fields. Meals were good and prisoners had access to medical and dental care. They could send and receive mail from home, and they were paid by Germany as usual.

But they were still locked up. Kretschmer began to formulate a plan to escape.

Before proceeding though, he needed permission from the senior submarine commander in the German Navy, Karl Donitz. This was accomplished by sending coded letters via Red Cross packages. He proposed that a U-boat be sent to pick up the escapees, and suggested a location near Pointe de Maissonette in Chaleur Bay, N.B.

The escape attempt was approved and shortly afterwards preparations began.

Kretschmer intended to burrow under the camp in a tunnel. To throw off camp guards, three tunnels were created. Over 150 prisoners took part in the digging. The intended escape route would extend beyond the camp and the barbed wire that surrounded it. At the same time, others prepared false identification papers, civilian clothes and dummies to be used as substitutes for the escapees.

While the work was being carried out, coded letters with progress reports and updates were sent to Germany.

In August 1943, through a coded letter and radio transmission, the date was set for the break out and Kretschmer was advised that U-536 would surface every night for two weeks beginning on September 23, 1943.

Kretschmer and his men would have 14 days after their escape to make it to the rendezvous location.

Unbeknownst to Kretschmer, his coded messages had been intercepted by Canadian military intelligence and the RCMP, who were screening all prisoner communications.

Charles Herbert Little, Commander of Canadian Military Intelligence during the Second World War, tells how they discovered the escape plan: “A suspicious parcel was sent to one of the German prisoners at the Bowmanville camp. After opening it cautiously, we found a map for a rescue operation in the Chaleur Bay. Alerted of this, I went to see Admiral (Percy) Nelles [Chief of the Canadian Naval Staff], as well as the Army officer responsible for the prisoner of war camps, to explain the situation to them and to propose a plan.”

Part of the plan allowed the prisoners to begin their efforts to escape.

The military, RCMP and camp guards monitored the prisoners as they began to dig several tunnels. The prisoners had created a crude railway to haul the soil out of the tunnel. The weight of the excavated soil collapsed part of the ceiling in the building where they were hiding it.

The camp guards, aware of what was going on, let the tunnelling continue.

When the prisoners attempted their escape, the RCMP moved in and seized them. In the confusion, one of the German officers, Wolfgang Heyda, also interred at the camp, managed to escape over the walls using a crude zip-wire on electrical cables.

Heyda eluded search parties and the massive police response and somehow made his way on Canadian National Railway passenger trains from southern Ontario to Pointe de Maisonnette. He arrived at the location at the appointed time to meet the U-boat, only to be arrested by the RCMP and naval personnel already there.

LCdr Piers, after questioning him, unmasked Heyda, despite his initial denials.

Recollecting the event after the war, LCdr Piers remarked, “I offered my regrets, but I had to return him to detention. I telephoned the RCMP. They came in a car and, a few moments later, I handed him over to them.”

Now authorities set their sights on capturing the U-boat.

The RCN and the Canadian Army established a portable surface radar array on shore at the Pointe de Maisonnette lighthouse, which would be used to locate the submarine by the naval task force, led by His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Rimouski.

Rimouski, under the command of Lieutenant (Lt) John Pickford, was outfitted with an experimental diffused lighting system that was considered revolutionary at the time.

The camouflage used light projectors to make a ship nearly invisible to enemy vessels after dark. It rendered the ship invisible from a distance, difficult to see and identify when closer.

Lt Pickford described Rimouski’s role in the operation: “They had installed a radar station and observation posts on the beach, and when they received an indication of the presence of a U-boat, HMCS Rimouski with its luminous camouflage was to abandon the patrol and enter the bay on its own. Sailing slowly with its navigation lights and its luminous camouflage, it would create the illusion of being a small ship until it was able to capture the submarine.”

The rest of naval task force, including HMC Ships Chelsea, Agassiz, Shawinigan and Lethbridge, waited nearby in Caraquet Harbour, obscured by Caraquet Island.

On the night of September 26, 1943, U-536 arrived off Pointe de Maisonnette for its scheduled nightly rendezvous.

The RCN and Canadian Army personnel on shore signaled with a light that the escapees were to have used. An English officer who spoke German also attempted to contact U-536, but was unsuccessful.The U-boat commander was now suspicious, particularly after his hydrophones picked up the sound of the Canadian task force nearby.

He opted to remain submerged and began to evade the Canadian warships, which searched throughout the night and attempted unsuccessfully to attack it with depth charges.

Despite evading the Canadians’ trap that night, U-536 was sunk the following month northeast of the Azores by HMC Ships Calgary and Snowberry, along with His Majesty’s Ship Nene, claiming 38 lives.

While it may read like a gripping spy novel, it was the skill, determination, ingenuity and teamwork of combined military and civilian forces that caught the POW escapees, and almost ended U-536’s reign at sea.

Canadian Army takes top honour in New Zealand resilience challenge

“Tired, sore and hungry.” Aumangea volunteers extracted from a gruelling patrol by Photo: WO1 Mark Mortiboy

By Steven Fouchard, Army Public Affairs

Warrant Officer Etienne Guerin, with 1st Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment, not only completed the Aumangea Programme this past February, but was named Top Volunteer - a title given by both program staff and the other soldiers participating.

Aumangea events have been held three times a year for the past decade, explained Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2) Johno Stevens, who coordinates the program for the New Zealand Army.

Aumangea is an adjective in the language of New Zealand’s Maori people, meaning strong, brave, persistent, determined, forceful, plucky, resilient, resolute, steadfast and tenacious.

Canadians have won the Top Volunteer title on five occasions, Stevens added. There were just 24 spots in the latest program, and organizers received 45 nominations from Canada and the New Zealand Defence Force. Four Canadians took part.

The program places participants in difficult environments for 33 days, with limited tools to test their physical and mental resilience, and familiarizes them with aspects of Maori warrior culture.

This, explained WO2 Stevens, can include everything from long pack-marches to close-quarters combat and amphibious operations.

“The Aumangea Programme is built on the unknown for the candidates so that they never understand what is coming next,” he added.

Organizers are vague about many of the details in order to ensure participants are always challenged, WO2 Stevens noted.

“They will not know for how far, or how long. And no course is ever the same. Throughout all phases of the program, food and sleep are limited and monitored -- all designed to build a more resilient warrior.”

WO Guerin and the other successful participants were given congratulations during a ceremony in which they received Aumangea tabs for their uniforms.

“Your growth in character is measured by what you do after graduation and wearing the Aumangea Tab,” said Warrant Officer Class One (WO1) Clive Douglas, Sergeant Major of the New Zealand Army. “I know you will inspire others to continue to grow in the profession of arms.”

Female Chief Petty Officers hope to inspire younger women

CPO1 Lucie Simpson talks to three women on parade.

By Navy Public Affairs

“To see a woman in a senior leadership position is a celebration, a testimony that it is possible.”

These words from Chief Petty Officer 1st Class (CPO1) Lucie Simpson highlight the changes that have taken place in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) over the past few years.

As more women join the navy, those trailblazers currently in senior positions have learned how crucial it is to engage, empower and mentor their younger colleagues.

“Leadership starts by its own actions, so we need to lead and teach women by showing them the best example and impacting them early on in their careers,” says CPO1 Simpson, Canadian Forces Health Services Group Chief Warrant Officer. “Being honest right from the beginning – that joining the RCN will be hard work – but just as rewarding. In recent years, breaking the barriers, women have been highly successful in leadership team roles both ashore and on board ships.”

In fact, nine current female CPO1s, the navy’s highest rank of non-commissioned officer, have a total of 263 years of service and 10,050 sea days in the RCN. Their careers are long and varied. They have served as coxswains aboard maritime coastal defence vessels and Canadian patrol frigates, worked in both the Regular and Reserve Force in wide-ranging trades, and have held leadership positions in shore-based establishments.

CPO1 Simpson is the first woman in her trade to serve beyond the formation level. A communicator research operator, she joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1989. She was posted to Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Huron and Algonquin as a cryptologic direct support element operator, and deployed in HMCS Ottawa for a six-month deployment to Southwest Asia. Her current job is her second senior appointment position; she also served as the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Chief Warrant Officer.

While serving in Huron in 1996, the number of women on board was so small they lived in a single mess with six to eight bunks.

“At that time, the culture was already changing,” CPO1 Simpson says. “The navy leadership was making the decision to bring sailors in, regardless of their gender. That same year we moved over to a mess big enough to host 30 women.”

She is constantly amazed that the younger generation of sailors doesn’t care about women in traditionally male roles. “Whereas my generation of women judged each other, competed and tried to mimic what we thought were the expectations for women at that time. Reflecting back, perhaps this was a standard we imposed on ourselves to fit in.”

Her advice to younger women is to find the right mentors, especially other women, who can inspire and bring diversity to their roles in the navy.

“They are very receptive to advice,” she says. “I speak to them regarding work opportunities, deployments, second language training, managing deadlines and expectations, and I also share my own experiences.”

CPO1 Ginette Seguin, currently in charge of the RCN’s Honours and Recognition Program, agrees that mentoring women is vital, allowing them to observe the kind of career progression that is now available.

Having served in the RCN for 23 years, she knows just how far the navy has come in providing equal opportunities for men and women. Over 14 years she served in 11 ships, including coxswain in HMC Ships Shawinigan and Kingston, and deployed on several operational tours.

“I spent the first 10 years of my career trying to be a man because I thought it would help me fit in,” she says. “But what it did was disconnect me from who I am and who I wanted to be.”

“As a 20-something-year-old, I did not appreciate what the trailblazers had to go through for me to feel treated fairly and to be seen as part of the team,” she acknowledges. “There were instances where I did encounter gender discrimination; however, I did not feel it was systemic. I sincerely believe that diversity and inclusion is now the norm and that those who do not embrace it are getting fewer every year. Being inclusive is not always easy, but being informed and educating yourself is key.”

Now at a senior rank, she also realizes the profound importance of being a role model.

“I recognize the significance of my reaching important milestones as a woman, especially when I reached the rank of Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class. The higher the rank, the fewer women role models there are; therefore, all the more important for us to be present and open when interacting with younger female sailors.”

She says that sometimes it’s the most basic thing, like walking through the dockyard and initiating a conversation with another woman in uniform.

“By doing that, I hope to give them a sense of belonging, showing them that they are supported and opening the door for them to reach out if they need to. Of course I do the same thing for men, but I believe what the women get out of it may be different coming from another woman.”

She recalls a moment earlier in her career when she was sitting in a planning meeting for a major exercise that was coming up. “I said to a friend of mine who was sitting next to me, ‘I feel like a little girl in a big man’s world.’ He laughed. Although I was making a joke, part of me wondered if I did have the credentials to be there. It is my belief that one of the challenges women in the RCN still face is their ability to silence negative thoughts about themselves. It’s human nature to have insecurities, but we need to ensure those insecurities do not hinder our confidence in ourselves.”

She says that the RCN can overcome this challenge by continuing to do what it has been doing: encouraging, motivating and providing positive reinforcement, as well as ensuring the right female leaders are in positions that enable younger women to observe and interact with them.

Both CPO1s Simpson and Seguin want to make it clear that while they know their higher rank is an achievement they hope other women will strive to emulate, they also want both men and women to know they are valued and relevant.

“No matter the rank, no matter the gender, we are all a piece of the puzzle required to achieve the mission,” stresses CPO1 Seguin.

CPO1 Simpson adds that she is proud the RCN “is an organization where both women and men receive equal salary, are offered the same training and education opportunities, have access to an Honours and Award system that recognizes members based on their individual accomplishments, and are able to work in an environment that is harassment-free and safe.”

“Reflecting back over my last 30 years, I am amazed at all the life-long friendships, grateful for the opportunities that made me a better leader and therefore a better person, and the acquisition of skills and values that will continue to serve me for the rest of my life.”

As women continue to join the navy, they can see clearly that other women are attaining senior leadership roles, both as officers and non-commissioned members, that they are being listened to, and that they are valued as individuals and as part of the greater navy team.

HMCS Victoria undergoes crucial dive testing

HMCS Victoria conducts tests to prepare for submarine operations.

By Peter Mallett

Her Majesty’s Canadian Submarine (HMCS) Victoria and crew have completed a critical step in the submarine’s workups in preparation for 2020 submarine operations.

The submarine conducted a camber dive at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, B.C., where it submerged to verify the integrity of water tightness, as well as the functionality of several key submarine systems.

In order to ensure fitness before returning to operational service, a submarine must be certified following the successful completion of harbour acceptance and sea trials. Once certified, the submarine must be manned with a qualified and experienced crew and be deemed safe to sail, enabling it to conduct trials and execute operations.

Throughout a combined 20-hour period, HMCS Victoria’s 48-person crew successfully completed three dives to depths of 11 metres.

“It was the fourth camber dive in which I have participated throughout my career, and I can say from my experience that the submarine, and most importantly its crew, performed outstandingly well throughout the whole evolution,” said Lieutenant-Commander (LCdr) Eric Isabelle, Victoria’s Commanding Officer. “A variety of systems were tested to ensure the submarine is safe to operate in dived condition.”

Subject matter experts from Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Breton and the Directorate of Maritime Equipment Programs Management Submarines were part of an 11-person rider crew that recorded data and analytics in support of all submarine testing functions.

Among the systems evaluated during the camber dive were the submarine’s trim and ballast systems.

The ballast system enables the submarine to dive or surface through tanks that store the proper proportion of air or water via main blows, emergency blows and the low pressure blower. Meanwhile, the trim system compensates for depth changes when the submarine is dived. This process, known as trim and incline, is a highly sensitive testing process where even the slightest movements on board can have a dramatic impact on the recording of data. Precision and care is crucial to ensure the accuracy of the test, as the slightest movement of personnel in the submarine causes a sufficient disturbance, resulting in changing the submarine’s attitude.

“Any sort of movement can have a noticeable impact on the submarine’s trim, and in this case, the ordered movement of five people from the centre line of the vessel to the engine room was sufficient to deliberately change the position of the submarine by 2.5 degrees, despite not using any water compensation to do so,” said LCdr Isabelle.

HMCS Victoria and crew are preparing to participate in the multinational RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific) event this summer off the coast of Hawaii.

“RIMPAC is expected to be in Victoria’s future, with my crew’s immediate priority being to successfully conduct workups and sea trials to ensure Victoria can be employed to the best of its newly upgraded capabilities, as required both at home and abroad,” said LCdr Isabelle.

Royal Canadian Navy Update - Ongoing COVID-19 Response

Members of the Royal Canadian Navy act as lookout and continually track the CU-175 PUMA during an operational flight on Op CARIBBE onboard HMCS Whitehorse at sea, on February 25, 2020.

By RCN Public Affairs

Two weeks since we began taking extraordinary measures to combat COVID-19, the health, safety and welfare of our Regular and Reserve Force sailors, civilian members of the defence team, and our families remains a top priority. It is a responsibility that we have always and will always carefully balance with the requirement to maintain readiness and to complete the tasks and missions assigned to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF)/Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) by the Government of Canada (GC).

As you know, the situation regarding the impact of COVID-19 continues to evolve. Thank you all for being so agile in tracking and adhering to the evolving direction and guidance. Your alertness has allowed you to track that in response to direction received by DND/CAF, late last week, the RCN has taken several steps to mitigate the risk to the entire naval team while ensuring we remain steadfastly “Ready to Help, Ready to Lead, Ready to Fight.”

As you would expect, RCN leadership is actively engaged, monitoring the situation in collaboration with partners across the entire DND/CAF and GC. As a result, the RCN has provided amplifying direction and guidance to you, our naval family, and will continue to monitor and adjust our posture and the subsequent orders/info we provide as the situation evolves.

The RCN has and will continue to carefully review all of our commitments, including ceremonial and outreach events, both ashore and at sea. When appropriate, as you have seen, we will not hesitate to cancel or postpone tasks, events and training – that under this new paradigm – unduly place the health, safety and wellness of the naval team, their families and the greater community at risk.

Core services are being maintained at all units across the RCN but the physical presence of personnel both sailors and civilian employees in our corporate workplaces and aboard ships alongside, has been minimized to the greatest extent possible – although essential work at Her Majesty’s Canadian Dockyards in Esquimalt and Halifax, such as the technical preparation of next deployers, is being progressed with all possible health-risk mitigations (i.e.; minimum staffing; tele-working; and social-distancing of workers where possible) incorporated appropriately. We expect this situation to persist for at least the next three weeks, during which time we’ll continue to keep you advised of the situation and our mitigations.

From the beginning, units on international operations (i.e.; Op REASSURANCE (Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Fredericton); Op PROJECTION (HMC Ships Glace Bay and Shawinigan); and Op CARIBBE (HMC Ships Nanaimo and Whitehorse) as well as those at home engaged in essential work (i.e.; related to maintaining readiness/deployment commitments) have adopted measures that enable them to continue to support the critical tasks assigned to them for as long as required.

As a result of our early efforts to ensure our operational units remained at the highest level of personnel readiness, given the emerging COVID-19 situation, Fleet leadership quickly adjusted sailing schedules when deemed necessary and implemented enhanced shipboard procedures.

In early March, HMCS Ville de Québec was set to sail to New York City with a number of prominent Canadian Women as part of International Women’s Day. The decision to cancel this engagement was not made lightly but was necessary to safeguard the health and wellness of our personnel. Instead, the ship conducted training off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Fleets on both coasts have also taken steps to implement additional precautions aimed at safeguarding the operational effectiveness and health of our sailors. Ships alongside have reduced the number of duty personnel onboard where possible to the duty watch and those personnel essential for priority tasks such as storing ship. Prior to sailing personnel are being screened by the ship’s medical team. This screening includes a review of recent travel history, for symptoms associated with COVD-19 and a review on any potential known contacts with COVID-19. Ships have also been provided guidance to assist in contingency planning.

Reserve Divisions have cancelled all non-essential activities, including parade nights, routine training and attractions activities for the next three weeks. The Naval Reserve is maintaining situational awareness and remains ready to respond to CAF/RCN taskings as required by GC. These are just some of the ways, the RCN is adapting to a dynamic and evolving situation.

Meanwhile, as sailors and individual members of the Defence Team, we recognize that the RCN’s response thus far has and will remain aligned with direction issued by DND/CAF and guidance provided by Public Health Authorities. Our goal is to reinforce the importance of hygiene, social distancing, and self-isolation for individuals who have symptoms or who may have come into contact with COVID-19 as a result of travel, work or personal interactions.

As we continue to fight COVID-19 together, we will provide additional direction and guidance as appropriate to the evolving situation as well as periodic updates such as this one in order to keep you appraised of the steps the RCN/CAF/DND continues to take to combat and mitigate the impact of COIVD-19 to our community and its readiness.

So far, shipmates and families, I share with you that while COVID-19 has indeed broadly impacted our daily routines and activities, we have succeeded in ensuring that it has had minimal impact on our essential outputs and operations. You can be proud that your immediate actions have had the results we are seeking. Take confidence from this. However, recall too that you must continue to lend this effort your personal and careful attention – YOUR health, our HEALTH, and our READINESS depends on it – DEPENDS ON YOU!

Rest assured, shipmates, that the RCN is committed, as always, to appropriately prioritizing your health – you: our sailors, civilian employees, and, of course, your families – as a key element of our successful maintenance of the highest levels of operational readiness to carry out the missions assigned to us by the Government of Canada.

#StayHealthyStaySafeStayReady

Art McDonald
Vice-Admiral
Commander Royal Canadian Navy

Our people: Lieutenant Jenson Gilby

On January 30, 2019, Lieutenant Jenson Gilby stands with his rig at 12 Wing Shearwater, Nova Scotia. PHOTO: Courtesy of Lieutenant Jenson Gilby

By Corporal Nick Betts and Second Lieutenant Leo Zhou

Lieutenant Jenson Gilby is a Construction Engineering Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). He is currently undergoing on-the-job training at Real Property Operations Section Halifax, Nova Scotia. Before commissioning from the ranks in 2019, Lieutenant Gilby had been a military firefighter since 2007.

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Lieutenant Gilby had an interest in firefighting that was fostered by his grandmother when he was 18 years old. She told him about a new program at Holland College, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, called Basic Firefighting, which would teach him the elementary skills required to work in the field. He was selected to be one of the first students to undergo training in the program. From the moment he took part in his first live fire training exercise, he was hooked.

Lieutenant Gilby knew he was meant to be a firefighter from his very first call, which happened during an on-the-job training portion of his course at the Halifax Regional Fire Department’s Station 3 on West Street. “I was able to put what I had learned in to action and help a person having the worst day of their lives,” he says. “That was when I knew this is what I was going to do for a career.”

After completing the Basic Military Qualification course in 2007, he spent a short time at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden, Ontario, before attending his Qualification Level 3 Training in Stephenville, Newfoundland, at the Safety and Emergency Response Training Centre. After finishing the course in 2008, Lieutenant Gilby was posted to 12 Wing Shearwater, Nova Scotia, until 2012. After six years at 17 Wing Winnipeg, Manitoba, he was posted back to 12 Wing in May 2018.

Lieutenant Gilby served as the Platoon Chief for the 12 Wing Fire Department, where he led a team of talented firefighters. He was responsible for facilitating training so that his crew had the capability to respond to any scenario. They practised scenarios such as flipped cars and structure fires. During this time, his on-scene role was Incident Commander, implementing strategies and tactics in order to solve the problem while coordinating with the Military Police and Emergency Health Services.

“Firefighting is more than simply putting water on a fire,” he says. “From the modernization of construction materials of homes, to electric cars, the science behind firefighting operations is consistently evolving. With that, we have to be prepared for whatever problem is presented to us.”

Lieutenant Gilby says the driving force behind his passion for firefighting is the people he works with, with whom there is a bond words can’t describe. No matter what happens, they support each other through the good and the bad in order to get the job done.

He has been fortunate to spend some time at sea on board HMCS Fredericton and HMCS Toronto. While sailing, he was impressed with the capabilities of the ships’ helicopter air detachment and the operational capability of the Navy. Acting as Flight Control Officer, he gained a profound respect for Maritime Helicopter aviators, especially when witnessing the importance of teamwork and communication.

Lieutenant Gilby deployed to Canadian Forces Station Alert, in Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, for four months in 2019, and returned to 12 Wing in April 2019.

“CFS Alert was an incredible experience full of amazing professionals, wildlife and a surreal experience of watching the sun rise for the first time in months,” he says. “Many of my firefighters were heavily involved in the wood shop on site, and presented me a Fire Axe Plaque the day before their departure at their farewell ceremony.

“It was an honour and privilege to spend the time I did there and, if given the opportunity, I would return in a heartbeat.”

Firefighting has taken Lieutenant Gilby to various taskings in northern Canada and around the world; everywhere from the frigid North Atlantic to the turquoise waters of the South.

Shortly after his return to 12 Wing in 2019, he received an offer for the Commission from the Ranks program. In September 2020, Lieutenant Gilby will go to CFB Gagetown to complete his Construction Engineering Officer Course. Becoming a Construction Engineering Officer was a natural career choice for Lieutenant Gilby.

“The Firefighter trade is typically governed by a Construction Engineer in the capacity of Fire Chief all the way through the ranks of the Fire Marshal’s Office,” he says, “so for me it was a logical decision to invest in this avenue of career progression and goal development.”

Third Arctic Air Power Seminar welcomes international attendees

Members of the Arctic Air Power Seminar (3rd edition) gather for a group photo at 5 Wing Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador on January 21, 2020. PHOTO: Submitted

1 Canadian Air Division Public Affairs

Members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), the United States Department of Defense and other partners met at 5 Wing Goose Bay, Labrador, from January 20 to  22, 2020, to discuss the challenges of operating in extreme cold weather conditions.

The meeting, known as the Arctic Air Power Seminar, was the third in a series, and focused on runways and on landing strips maintained for aircraft on skis, as well as techniques to rapidly repair unforeseen damage to an airfield, and enable smooth and continuous air operations in the unforgiving Arctic environment.

“We are seeking enhanced cold-weather capabilities that can be used when needed to support Canadian priorities,” said United States Air Force Brigadier General Ed Vaughan, Deputy Commander Canadian NORAD Region and deputy Combined/Joint Forces Air Component commander for 1 Canadian Air Division. “Our goal is to build relationships, share ideas, and catalyze innovation with our partners.”

“These seminars help fill in gaps in knowledge and connections that result in accelerating solutions to practical problems,” he said. “Some of the most talented people I’ve met are involved in shaping our solutions.”

The challenges to which Brigadier General Vaughan alludes relate to factors such as climate change; fostering better alignment with indigenous community priorities; supporting and enabling a sparse population and work force; and logistical hurdles, including fuel, communications, food, supplies, and more.

Under the Government of Canada’s “Strong, Secure, Engaged” mandate, continental defence and an enduring presence in the Arctic are key priorities. In order for 1 Canadian Air Division to support northern operations such as continental defence and early warning, Search and Rescue, disaster relief support to Provincial and Territorial authorities (when requested), and a response to other emergencies, it will require unique solutions to a variety of unique challenges.

But the military has only part of the equation. Solutions will require a whole of government approach, which includes industry representation.

One notable organization overcoming many of the Arctic’s operational challenges is the US government’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), based in Hanover, New Hampshire. Representatives from CRREL attended the seminar and shared many invaluable observations and experiences.

A United States Army Corps of Engineers research facility, CRREL is the national resource for cold regions science and engineering. They solve scientific and engineering challenges in cold and complex environments through development and application of effective, interdisciplinary solutions. One notable achievement of CRREL’s predecessor was the design and construction of the AL-CAN highway, built in 1942.

“Our goal is to develop solutions, in order to enable capabilities,” said Jason Weale, Associate Technical Director for Cold Regions Science and Engineering. “But it isn’t easy. When an organization approaches us with a problem, it is usually because their biggest and best minds have yet to come up with a viable, sustainable solution… which is why taking the time to understand and define the problem is such a vital part of the process we undertake to develop solutions and enable capabilities.”

A ground-breaking project Mr. Weale and his colleague, Dr. Martin Jeffries, shared during the seminar was the development of a sled-based fuel bladder delivery system, which is employed annually to safely transport large quantities of heating and aviation fuel across vast distances in Antarctica, from McMurdo Station to the National Science Foundation’s South Pole Station.

The fuel bladder sled system, as well as many other developmental technologies, have applications throughout the high Arctic, to remote communities and research stations in extreme cold weather environments.

The seminar also heard from airfield operations personnel from Serco, the contractor that has provided support services to 5 Wing Goose Bay for more than 20 years. These defence team partners are well versed in extreme cold weather airfield operations, and provided invaluable insight toward the challenges of operating heavy equipment in the extreme cold, as well as deal with snow and ice control in an area that routinely receives more than four metres of snow each year.

“5 Wing Goose Bay is proud to be involved in cold weather planning and collaboration initiatives like the Arctic Air Power Seminar,” said 5 Wing Goose Bay commander Colonel Stephane Racle. “Goose Bay is the North. Many of the challenges that we overcome here during the winter months are the same or extremely similar to those one would encounter in the Arctic, which makes this an ideal place to discuss and develop solutions.”

Finally, members from the 123d Contingency Response Group shared their operating capabilities. Based out of Louisville, Kentucky, the personnel at the 123d are able to deploy a scalable airfield assessment and activation team to nearly anywhere on the globe.

CAF engineers, logisticians, planners and representatives of a host of other disciplines came away from the seminar with a newly expanded network of knowledge and expertise.

Previous Arctic Air Power seminars focused on power production in remote areas, as well as Arctic airlift capabilities, such as the cooperation we saw between the US Air Force (109th Airlift Wing) and Canada when we executed Operation Boxtop, the annual replenishment mission to CFS Alert.

Future seminars will focus on fuel distribution, snow and ice removal at remote Arctic airfields, communications in the north, and how we can align our goals with those of remote northern communities and industry partners.

Henry J. Langdon: An RCAF, industry and union pioneer

Henry Langdon (left) and Ernie Hunter view radiographic X-ray inspection results in 1957. Trans Canada Airlines (later Air Canada) hired Henry Langdon in 1945 as an aero engine mechanic and he later became an aircraft inspector with the company. PHOTO: L1985-13_018_019_002, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Photograph Collection, Southern Labor Archives. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University

By Major Mathias Joost

During the Second World War, the Royal Canadian Air Force maintained high standards for those it enlisted during the conflict. This is reflected in the achievements of many of the Black-Canadians who served in the RCAF during the war – for instance, four became lawyers post-war.

To cite another example, one with a post-war RCAF tie, Henry Langdon had an outstanding career in the civil aviation maintenance field.

Henry Johnson Langdon was born in Trinidad in 1911 and came to Canada in 1923. Growing up in the Little Burgundy district of Montreal, he had a desire to be a writer, but was working in a gas station at the outbreak of war. At this time he was married, had one daughter and a son on the way. Such was his desire to serve that he was willing to leave them behind, enlisting in the RCAF on November 1, 1939.

At this time the RCAF regulations prohibited the enlistment of anybody whose skin was not white, so somebody in the RCAF recruiting system obviously turned a blind eye to the regulations. Perhaps Langdon’s course in aero engine mechanics helped.

After training at the Technical Training School at St. Thomas, Ontario, he served at No. 1 Service Flying Training School at Camp Borden, Ontario, No. 9 Repair Depot at St. Jean, Quebec, No. 9 Bombing and Gunnery School, Mont Joli, Quebec, and No. 6 Repair Depot, Trenton, Ontario. As well as being an excellent tradesman, he was also a very good leader.

In May 1943, an evaluation records that he is “one of the finest airmen I have ever seen” and had potential as aircrew. In September 1941, Group Captain Roy Grandy indicated that Langdon would make an excellent non-commissioned officer. Leading Aircraftman Langdon would reach the rank of flight sergeant in October 1944 and was at this rank when he was released on September 7, 1945.

Perhaps because of his wartime experience and the number of former RCAF aircrew in its service, Trans Canada Airlines (later Air Canada) hired Henry Langdon in 1945 as an aero engine mechanic. He would later become an aircraft inspector with the company.

Mr. Langdon also became active in the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), Lodge 1751, in Montreal. He was one of the first Black mechanics to serve on an IAMAW lodge executive and was elected to the Montreal lodge's executive for 25 years, serving as recording secretary as well as secretary of the workers' education committee.

Henry Langdon was also the Canadian High Commissioner of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, working towards improving race relations with this organization and in his civilian and military careers.

In March 1955, Mr. Langdon re-enlisted, this time in the RCAF Auxiliary. With his experience at Trans-Canada Airlines it was natural that he would become the aero engine technical instructor at 3001 Technical Training Unit in Montreal. He served there until February 1961, spending one year with No. 104 Composite Unit at St. Hubert, Quebec, on special duty. Flight Sergeant Langdon then served a year with 438 Squadron before spending his remaining service with 401 Squadron where he was a flight line supervisor. He retired in January 1967, having reached career retirement age.

Henry Langdon was a pioneer with Air Canada, the RCAF and his union. Working in predominantly white environments in all three work places, he was highly respected not only for his abilities, but in his efforts towards improving race relations.

Henry Langdon had come a long way from his desire for a literary career – his long service in the civil aviation maintenance field was exemplary, and the RCAF played a role in setting him on his way.

HMCS Cabot sailors help neighbours in storm-ravaged St. John’s

Sailors from HMCS Cabot, the Naval Reserve Division in St. John’s, Nfld, have been knee-deep in snow this past week, helping their neighbours dig out from the record-setting blizzard that hit the region on January 17.

By Navy Public Affairs

Sailors from HMCS Cabot, the Naval Reserve Division in St. John’s, Nfld, have been knee-deep in snow this past week, helping their neighbours dig out from the record-setting blizzard that hit the region on January 17.

The 18 Naval Reservists are part of Operation LENTUS, the Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) response to natural disasters in Canada. As of January 21, nearly 425 CAF members have been deployed to the area.

The reservists were spread out across the city and removed snow to assist area residents, particularly seniors and those requiring medical or other critical services. Some have done around 30 calls over the past few days.

“The kindness of the people in the community has been absolutely incredible,” said Leading Seaman (LS) Megan Benoit. “People have been honking their horns to show their support. We have been given more hot drinks and cookies than we could ever eat. It’s a beautiful thing to see how receptive everyone has been and it makes me very proud to be a member of the Royal Canadian Navy.”

“One of my most memorable moments of helping people was a 94-year-old veteran from the Merchant Marine who was so grateful and lighted up once he realized I was part of the Naval Reserve,” said LS Lawrence Hammond. “He returned into his house to come back with his service photo of when he was serving.”

LS Benoit explained how the sailors helped a widow from Portugal Cove, located west of St. John’s, whose husband had died the year before. The woman had been stuck in her house since the storm hit on Friday. Her neighbours attempted to help, but due to the steepness of her driveway, were unable to get her cleared out.

“We came in with a snow blower and a bunch of shovels, freed her car, which was in a bank of ice, and salted her very slippery, very steep driveway,” said LS Benoit. “Her neighbour came with a quad with a plow mounted and helped us out. Through tears she explained that she didn’t have many people around to do things for her anymore. I explained that was exactly the point of this operation and we were happy to help.”

Given the amount of snow that fell on the region – 76 centimetres in less than 24 hours – the provincial government declared a state of emergency that was still in effect as of January 22. The dig-out has been challenging for everyone.  

“Our biggest challenge was from our time over on Bell Island where we were tasked with a wellness check,” said LS Hammond. “We found the address and at first sight we couldn’t find a driveway. A local contractor stopped and said that we would be there for days if we shovelled to the door. He asked us to move our vehicles and he cleared all the snow for us leaving us with a small path to finish.”

Both LS Hammond and LS Benoit hail from Bell Island, which is located just off the coast of Portugal Cove.

The sailors have found ways to help people in need, even when the residents are not on their official list of duties.

“While on Bell Island on Tuesday, an older woman, about 75, ran over to us and explained that her walkway was completely snowed in and that she couldn’t open her gate. She had to crawl through her neighbours’ fence in order to get out of her house,” said LS Benoit. “Though that tasking wasn’t on our list, we decided to split our crew and go over to her house and help her clear the massive snow drift out of her front door so she could walk out her driveway for the first time since the storm.”

LS Benoit noted that the team shovelled close to 30 driveways in three days, and how long it took depended on what was required.

“Some people needed access to their cars to get to medical appointments, some people just required foot paths to their doors or access to their fuel tanks,” she said. “The timings varied from 20 minutes to a couple of hours.”

http://www.navy-marine.forces.gc.ca/en/news-operations

RCAF Appoints new Reserve Chief Warrant Officer

The RCAF Reserve welcomed its newly appointed Chief Warrant Officer, Chief Warrant Officer Jim McKenzie (left), in a ceremony held at 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario, on January 21, 2020. Brigadier-General Michael Rafter (right), Director General Air Reserve, presided and made official the appointment with the signing of the scrolls. PHOTO: Corporal Kenneth Beliwicz

By Major Holly Brown

The Royal Canadian Air Force Reserve welcomed its newly appointed Chief Warrant Officer in a ceremony held at 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario, on January 21, 2020.

During the ceremony, Chief Warrant Officer Jim McKenzie discussed a number of positive changes to the RCAF Reserve, including the creation of a new Air Operations Support Technician occupation; the establishment of a guaranteed four months of full-time employment (for captains and below, and master corporals and below) in their first four years of reserve employment; and the success the RCAF Reserve has achieved in hiring brand new members (known as ab-initios) in numbers “never seen before,” he said.

Presiding over the ceremony was the RCAF Director General Air Reserve Brigadier-General Michael Rafter. “The RCAF Reserve Chief Warrant Officer is a position of prominence and importance in the RCAF,” he said, “and the role of this senior appointment, in leading the RCAF Reserve, is all the more crucial as we, the Air Force, develop, refine and implement personnel and reserve policies.

“I cannot think of a better choice than Chief Warrant Officer Jim McKenzie for this key position, at this critical time. Congratulations, Chief Warrant Officer McKenzie, and I look forward to working with you as we usher in change and evolve the RCAF Reserve.” 

The RCAF Chief Warrant Officer works closely with the Director of the RCAF Reserve, Colonel Shawn Marley, who was also present for the ceremony. “Jim, welcome to the team,” Colonel Marley said. “You are an ideal fit for this position, and I look forward to working with you to advance RCAF Reserve goals.”

Chief Warrant Officer McKenzie joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in 1985 as an Aero Engine Technician, serving at 14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia. In 1993, he re-mustered into the Flight Engineer occupation and was posted to 427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, Ontario, where he started a career accrual of more than 2300 flying hours, including time on the CH-135 Twin Huey and CH-146 Griffon helicopters, as well as on the CC-130H Hercules aircraft. A deployment to Haiti followed. In 1999, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and posted to 444 Squadron at Goose Bay, Labrador, as the Lead Flight Engineer.

In 2002, Chief Warrant Officer McKenzie was promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer  and posted to a new position at 8 Wing Trenton, where he filled the duties of Flight Engineer in charge of Combat Support in the Transport and Rescue Standards and Evaluation Team.

In 2005, he was posted to Trenton’s 436 Transport Squadron. Shortly after upgrading on the CC-130H Hercules, he was promoted to the rank of Master Warrant Officer in 2006 and posted to 1 Canadian Air Division Headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to assume the new post of Air Tasking Order Production Master Warrant Officer in the Directorate of Plans.

In the summer of 2009, following his promotion to Chief Warrant Officer, he returned to 436 Squadron in Trenton, where he assumed the duties of Squadron Chief Warrant Officer. In 2012, Chief Warrant Officer McKenzie retired from the Regular Force and joined the RCAF Reserve, staying in Trenton, where was appointed as the 8 Air Reserve Flight Squadron Warrant Officer, a position that included the additional responsibility of overseeing 8 Wing Reserve recruitment.

In 2018, he was promoted once again to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer and appointed the newly created Canadian Forces Liaison Counsel Chief Warrant Officer for Ontario. He also was assigned as a Special Projects Officer for Director Air Reserve, helping to establish the newly created Air Operations Support Technician occupation for Air Force reservists. He also received recognition as a Member of the Order of Military Merit (MMM) that year.