Col. Dan Coutts, wing commander of 15 Wing Airbase, appreciates Canada’s aviation history and says the air force has created a legacy that started in the First World War and continues today.
“I’m super proud to be a part of the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) and to be in an institution where … (I’m) coming up on 29 years this summer,” said Coutts, who was one of hundreds of base personnel who participated in an RCAF centennial banquet on April 5.
Moose Jaw has a strong connection to the air force, stretching back to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during the Second World War, he continued. Furthermore, the RCAF has a strong effect on Canada today because it trains airmen and women at several bases in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
“So, it’s a lot of fun and … to see that tradition continue and to be part of that ongoing agility of the air force and delivering results for Canadians is truly special,” said Coutts.
The wing commander also highlighted the work of 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, or, the Snowbirds. He noted that they’ll start in Comox, British Columbia, before moving into their summer shows and showcasing their skills across the country, supporting community events, connecting with Canadians and demonstrating their precision and professionalism.
While the RCAF was officially born on April 1, 1924, Coutts pointed to the First World War and the Canadian airmen who fought with Great Britain as evidence of this country’s aviation efforts.
Specifically, he singled out the pilots who became aces — five or more enemy kills — and their efforts that established the tone, agility, innovation and ability of today’s air force to work independently and in small teams with other air forces.
“That’s a really special legacy, I think, that we’ve continued and that’s been rebuilt time and time again and reinvented,” Coutts said.
Besides combat, the RCAF is also engaged in other activities, whether domestically and helping municipalities and provinces handle floods, fires, natural disasters or other emergencies, or internationally and offering support in the United Kingdom and Ukraine and patrolling North Korea.
The air force’s efforts regularly appear in the news, especially since it’s often called on short notice to help with planned events, “all in the names of supporting Canadian values and Canadian interests, both at home and abroad.”
“And that’s really cool to see that happen on short notice,” the base commander stated.
Coutts emphasizes to his students that their training gives them a foundation of skills that will help when they are called to help domestically and internationally.
“Sometimes, (an unexpected event) only happens once or twice in your career, so when that call comes for them, they’re actually able to deliver for Canadians,” he said.
15 Wing is a busy place, not necessarily because of events like the war in Ukraine, but because it must fulfill the chief of the defence staff’s focus of rebuilding the RCAF, the base commander added. In fact, the base was busy during the pandemic, even with decreased capacity, as it still hosted other training programs.
While Coutts was unable to single out any notable past airmen or women because of how many there were, he pointed to current airmen Jeremy Hansen and Josh Kutryk, both colonels and astronauts, and the example they’re showing today.
Coutts added that despite its small population, Saskatchewan has also played a major role in aviation and has had big effects over the past century.
