Air Force's 440 Squadron changes command
New officer takes over during official military ceremony
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
It was military pomp and ceremony of the highest order last Friday as a change of command ceremony was held for the Royal Canadian Air Force's 440 Transport Squadron.
Lt.-Col. Vince Wawryk, right, signs off last Friday as he steps down after three years as commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force's 440 Squadron. He has been replaced by Lt.-Col Adam Carlson, left. Between them is Col. Andrew Cook, the reviewing officer, who presided over the change of command ceremony held at the squadron's hangar at the Yellowknife airport. - John McFadden/NNSL photo |
Military brass, rank and file soldiers, military families and dignitaries were on hand to say goodbye to one commander and hello to another.
The ceremony was held at the airport hangar 440 Squadron shares with the RCMP. The new commanding officer is Lt.-Col. Adam Carlson who replaces the outgoing Lt.-Col Vince Wawryk.
It is Carlson's second posting to Yellowknife - after receiving his wings in 1997 he joined the 440 Squadron and was with it until 2001 when he joined Maritime Helicopter to fly Sea Kings. He saw duty in both the Arabian Gulf and the Horn of Africa.
"It really is an honour to be here and take command the squadron - the squadron where I started," Carlson said.
"They say that less than three per cent of all Canadians will ever see the Arctic. A lot less than that will ever get the chance to work with such a unit in the NWT."
It was a bittersweet day for Wawryk. Like Carlson, his first tour of duty was with 440 Squadron flying de Havilland Twin Otters in the mid-1990s. He served as an operations, flight safety and maintenance officer eventually qualifying to be a gloat plane instructor in the Canadian Forces. In 2000, Wawryk served as a pilot for NORAD based in Oklahoma and was deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. He also did tours overseas in the Netherlands and southwest Asia. Wawryk took over as commander of 440 Squadron in 2013. He again flew Twin Otters from what local soldiers call the "Bat Cave."
"The origin of the bat is from Cold War days when 440 Squadron was an all-weather, fighter-interecptor squadron," Wawryk said. "We started using radar to see through clouds and see through the dark - same way a bat uses sonar to see in the dark - and the symbol stuck."
Wawryk said that he is really going to miss the people who he has worked with in Yellowknife.
"We all acknowledge that we work in an isolated place. Team North is what we refer to as the commander's headquarters downtown. The Area Support Unit (ASU), the Rangers. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment of the Reserves and the squadron - having all those folks working together really makes everything work a lot better," Wawryk said.
He added he is going to miss snowmobiling to work, something he will not be able to do when he takes over his new role as Chief of Staff to the Commander of the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont.
Among those taking part in the ceremony was former Yellowknife mayor Gord Van Tighem who is an honourary colonel for the squadron.
"I provide orientation on the squadron side as to what the community is about and on the other side interact with the community so that they are aware of who the squadron is and what happens here," he said. "Their contribution to Yellowknife is important. A lot of our hockey coaches come out of this squadron."
There are currently about 55 personnel serving at 440 Squadron. Its mission is to conduct operations in the NWT, Yukon and Nunavut. The unit is responsible for airlifts in support of the Canadian Forces in the North. It can also conduct search and rescue missions but has no dedicated search and rescue capability, according to the squadron's website.
