CEO Ben Minicucci CMR RMC 1988 named “2025 Executive of the Year” by Puget Sound Business Journal
Alaska Air Group CEO Ben Minicucci was named “2025 Executive of the Year” by the Puget Sound Business Journal in Seattle.
“Minicucci’s bold moves set the airline on an ambitious course,” the story says, highlighting the combination with Hawaiian Airlines and plans for at least 12 new intercontinental flights out of Seattle in the next few years.
The Silver Fox Comes Home
Billie Flynn
I’ve been lucky enough to serve on some incredible fighter squadrons, but nothing shaped me like commanding 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron—the Silver Foxes—in Cold Lake, Alberta. We had it all: extraordinary pilots, true tactical leaders, and a groundcrew and support team that could make miracles happen. In 1999, we went to combat, leading the Royal Canadian Air Force | Aviation royale canadienne Canadian Task Force Aviano (affectionately known as the Balkan Rats) during NATO’s Operation Allied Force. We performed like champions.
At my change of command, our close friends from the 466th Fighter Squadron Diamondbacks—a U.S. Air Force Reserve F-16 squadron out of Hill Air Force Base, Utah—decided to “liberate” our squadron’s stained-glass 441 Squadron crest from our squadron in a ‘daring’ night raid. They took it back to Utah and kept it proudly in their fighter bar. Years rolled by. 441 Squadron was disbanded. Our American friends moved on from Lockheed Martin F-16s to F-35s. But that fragile, beautiful piece of 441 stayed in Utah. How do you get something like that home?
The journey started with me flying from my place near Pax River, Maryland to Salt Lake City to see our old F-16 buddy Mike Brill. We wrapped that stained glass window in what felt like a metric ton of bubble wrap, and I hand-carried it through multiple flights back to Washington DC. God bless every American Airlines employee who saw that package—they all recognized what such a military symbol meant. They let me carry it on board, stored it carefully up front. The captain on my final flight, an United States Air Force vet himself, came back to see the 441 crest and hear its story.
Now, how to get it back to Canada? Here’s the thing about Canadian Armed Forces and RCAF history—it gets lost too easily. Something this important would end up in a dark closet, forgotten. So the Silver Fox is going to its rightful home: with Steve “Swill” Will, 441’s last Commanding Officer, for his soon-to-be-redesigned fighter pilot bar. Swill was a Major on 441 when we flew combat together over Kosovo and Serbia during Allied Force. He commanded the squadron at its end. Nobody deserves to hold that crest more than him. Nobody will honor it better.
The Silver Fox is home. Right where it belongs.
The CAF’s Supply Chain Challenge Pt 2
–https://canadiandefencereview.com/the-cafs-supply-chain-challenge-pt-2/
This Op-Ed is the second in a three-part series examining how to address critical supply chain challenges that directly impact the Canadian Armed Forces’ operational effectiveness and national security interests. Written by Allan McDougall and Dan Doran RMC 2002
Equipping soldiers, sailors, or aircrew requires ensuring that tools, assets, and supplies arrive where they are needed, on time, in acceptable condition, and at a reasonable cost. When these criteria aren’t met, it’s not just a supply chain failure — it creates serious consequences for those on the front lines defending Canada’s sovereignty and protecting its interests.
When we talk about security, we often focus on protecting critical infrastructure — and for good reason. Critical infrastructure underpins national security and sovereignty, enables government functions, military operations, emergency services, and communications. If compromised, a nation’s ability to respond to threats or project power diminishes. It also anchors economic stability: power grids, financial networks, transportation, and telecommunications form the backbone of the economy. A disruption can lead to cascading failures and paralyze supply chains. Finally, it protects public safety through water treatment plants, healthcare systems, emergency services, and food supply chains. Disruptions in these sectors can quickly undermine national resilience.
All three of these domains are interconnected by a single driving requirement: resilience. Resilience is the capacity for critical infrastructure to withstand, adapt to, and recover from disruptions — whether from cyberattacks, physical threats, natural disasters, or geopolitical conflict.
Vulnerabilities within critical supply chains pose similar risks to national sovereignty and security. These vulnerabilities must be balanced against high consumer demand and price sensitivity. As a result, critical supply chains need to maintain equilibrium between the demands placed on them and their capacity to meet those demands. This brings us back to the fundamental requirement that resources arrive where they are needed — extending beyond military logistics to all critical infrastructure. It’s not enough to achieve mathematical balance; supply and demand must align geographically and operationally to create a workable system.
Colonel (Ret’d) Nishika Jardine (RMC 1986) reappointed as Veterans Ombud
https://www.canada.ca/en/veterans-affairs-canada/news/2025/11/colonel-retd-nishika-jardine-reappointed-as-veterans-ombud.html
The Honourable Jill McKnight, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, is pleased to re-appoint Colonel (Ret’d) Nishika Jardine to the role of Veterans Ombud.
The Veterans Ombud is responsible for reviewing complaints arising from the Veterans Bill of Rights and examining issues related to programs and services administered by Veterans Affairs Canada.
Jardine served almost 37 years as an officer in the Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (RCEME). She enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1982 and graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada with a Bachelor of Science in Math and Physics. She has served as the Veterans Ombud since 23 November 2020. The re-appointment is for a period of three years and is effective 23 November 2025.
From neglect to necessity – Revitalizing Canada’s military reserves: J.L. Granatstein (CMR RMC 1961) for Inside Policy
Canada faces an increasingly dangerous world, yet decades of neglect have left its armed forces perilously weak. As new mobilization plans finally emerge in Ottawa, it’s worth recalling how earlier efforts failed – and what must change now.
In 1995, I was appointed to a Special Commission on the Restructuring of the Canadian Forces Reserves, a Department of National Defence committee established to try to fix the fraught relations between the Army Regular force and the unhappy, understrength, and underfunded Reserves (or Militia).
The three-person commission was led by former Chief Justice of Canada Brian Dickson, with Lieutenant-General Charles Belzile, the former commander of the Canadian Army, as the third member. Together, we brought our combined legal, military, and institutional expertise to bear on the deep structural and cultural challenges facing Canada’s Reserves.
After we had been working for several months, we met with Chief of the Defence Staff General John de Chastelain. I had been at the Royal Military College of Canada two years behind De Chastelain and knew him slightly – and I had some questions. My first was why the Army had killed the Canadian Officers Training Corps three decades ago and whether it might be restored. The COTC had connected the Army to the universities and had been very valuable in the past. There was no need for more officers, De Chastelain replied, pointing to the across-the-board cuts Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s government was imposing as it wrestled with the deficit and the end of the Cold War a few years before.
Meet the Hero’s Ridge honourees for October and November
Every Ottawa Senators’ home game, the Senators partner with Lépine Apartments to pay homage to the brave men and women who serve our country
Fred Lewis RMC 1980 — September 21st, 2025
Fred Lewis served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 36 years as an engineer, paratrooper, combat diver, instructor and commander. Much of his career was spent outside of Canada. He was posted to Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and completed operational tours in Syria, Southern Lebanon, Bosnia, Cambodia and Afghanistan. Fred was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General when serving as Canada’s Task Force Commander in Jerusalem conducting Security Sector Reform for the Palestinians. His final appointment was to command what is now called 4th Canadian Division, responsible for Canadian Army operations in Ontario. General Lewis was awarded the US Army’s Meritorious Service Medal and Canada’s Meritorious Service Medal twice. Lewis, a huge Sens fan, was presented with a jersey by Ottawa native Randy Robitaille, who completed a 10-year NHL career with a stint in his hometown.
Chas Cormier CMR 1975 — October 23rd, 2025
Retired Lieutenant-Colonel Chas Cormier served as a pilot with the Royal Canadian Armed Forces for 23 years. Cormier enlisted in the Reserves at the age of 16, and attended Royal Military College St-Jean from 1970 to 1975. He flew Buffalo aircraft on search and rescue missions and provided air transport to United Nations Peacekeeping in Egypt. He piloted Trackers in coastal patrol, and commanded Sea King helicopters aboard HMCS Protecteur, flying 65 missions in the Gulf War 1991. After the military, he continued to work in the aeronautical field and was twice-elected municipal councillor in Dieppe, New Brunswick. He later founded a company providing air navigation services to 60 small Canadian airports. Inaugural Sens captain Laurie Boschman presented Cormier with a Senators jersey.
William Lerex RMC 1968 — October 27th, 2025
William enrolled in the Royal Military College of Canada and graduated in 1968 as a Lieutenant. He served 33 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, Signals/Communications Branch until retirement in 1996 as a Lieutenant-Colonel. During his career he served in the 1st Canadian Signals Regiment, Kingston, 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery in Hemer, Germany and several tours in Canadian Forces Communication Command. As a Captain he was part of the contingent that participated in quelling the Kingston Penitentiary riots in 1969. He commanded 711 Communications Squadron, Valcartier Quebec and was a Staff Officer at the Canadian High Commission London, England. He was the Senior Staff Officer for the Canadian Military Representative to NATO in Brussels Belgium after which he spent two years at Queen’s University as the Visiting Defence Fellow while obtaining his MBA. Inaugural Sens captain Laurie Boschman presented Cormier with a Senators jersey.
Stéphane Lafaut — November 15th, 2025
Retired Brigadier General Stéphane Lafaut served with the Canadian Forces for thirty-three years. During these years, he held several positions and achieved the rank of Brigadier-General. In addition to serving in Germany, he participated in United Nations missions in Cyprus, the former Yugoslavia, and Iraq. In 2007, he deployed in Afghanistan (Kandahar) as the commandant of the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team. He retired in 2016 to accept a position within the Quebec provincial government.
DND scrambles to figure out how to mobilize and equip a citizens’ army: documents
Supplementary reserve of 300,000 citizens envisioned.
The Department of National Defence is scrambling to figure out how it will clothe, equip and train hundreds of thousands of new reservists envisioned under an ambitious mobilization proposal that Canada’s top military commander describes as a work in progress.
Similarly, in what may be an ominous sign of the times, the department has established a key position dedicated solely to growing the military in the event of a major crisis.
Internal documents obtained by CBC News show the military buildup will, at the moment, proceed slowly because the defence industry is either overwhelmed — or not equipped for the ramp-up.
While Canada had various mobilization schemes during the first and second world wars, the new director general position is — according to a defence expert — the first of its kind and faced with the daunting mission of delivering 100,000 reserve soldiers and an additional 300,000 citizen soldiers in a supplementary reserve, should the need arise. That would be on top of an estimated 85,500 regular — or full-time — force of soldiers, sailors and aircrew.
Existing supply chains, inventories and personnel systems are already at capacity,
says an internal slide deck presentation, dated July 2025, from the Defence Department’s material branch.
Supporting those who serve- Queen’s-based CIMVHR marks 15 years of research advancing the health and well-being of Canada’s military members, veterans, and their families.
https://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/supporting-those-who-serve
For 15 years, the institute has led a national effort to advance understanding of the health and well-being of military members, veterans and their families. Based at Queen’s University in partnership with the Royal Military College of Canada, CIMVHR brings together researchers and organizations across the country who share a goal of improving care and quality of life for those connected to service.
Across Canada, there are more than 60,000 military families, 71,000 regular force members, 30,000 reserve force members, and nearly 640,000 veterans. Addressing the diverse health and social needs of these communities requires research that is collaborative, evidence-based, and sustained over time.
National collaboration and impact
Founded in 2010, CIMVHR has grown into a network of 46 Canadian universities, 15 global affiliates, and more than 1,700 researchers. Together they have completed more than 125 studies on topics such as rehabilitation, mental health, and the transition to civilian life, supported by over $23 million in funding and four annual scholarships that encourage new talent in the field. This growing network continues to strengthen Canada’s capacity for research addressing the physical, psychological, and social challenges that can accompany service life.
Through collaborations with organizations such as The Royal Canadian Legion, The War Amps, True Patriot Love Foundation, Perley Health and EHN Canada, CIMVHR supports studies that translate research into programs and services improving care across Canada.
Queen’s researchers are playing a leading role in CIMVHR’s mission, advancing projects that address the complex realities of military and veteran life.
Commander of 2 Canadian Air Division – Brigadier-General D.S. Coutts RMC 1999
https://www.canada.ca/en/air-force/corporate/who-we-are/organizational-structure/2-canadian-air-division/commander-2-cad.html
Brigadier-General (BGen) D.S. Coutts joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1995. In 1999, he completed his studies from the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario, and after receiving his Pilot Wings as a helicopter pilot, he started his career with 427 Squadron in Petawawa, Ontario.
After several rewarding years with 427 Squadron and deployments to Bosnia and Afghanistan, he was promoted to Major and worked in Army Collective Training in Kingston, Ontario. His flying supervisory tour with 400 Squadron in Borden, Ontario, was followed by the Joint Command and Staff Program at Canadian Forces College (CFC) in Toronto, Ontario.
As Commanding Officer (CO) of 2 Expeditionary Readiness Centre and CO of 2 Air Expeditionary Squadron under 2 Wing in Bagotville, Quebec, BGen Coutts deployed to Operation PROVISION as the Air Component Coordination Element Director in Beirut, Lebanon. In 2016, he assumed the role as the Deputy Commander of the Canadian Aerospace Warfare Centre in Trenton, Ontario, followed by Acting Commander 1 Wing in Kingston, Ontario, from January to May 2019.
Following his Developmental Period 4 (DP 4) education at the United States Air Force (USAF) Air War College in Alabama, United States of America, he assumed the role of Combined Air Operations Center Director, managing the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) domestic and global operations for over two years. In 2022-2023, he became Director, A5 Strategic Plans and Modernization/A7 Mission Support at 1 Canadian Air Division Headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba. BGen Coutts assumed command of 15 Wing Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, the centre of the RCAF aircrew training on July 14, 2023, and he was promoted to his current rank on June 5, 2025. He took command of 2 Canadian Air Division, as the Training Authority for all RCAF training on June 24, 2025.
BGen Coutts holds an Air Transport Pilot License – Helicopter License, as well as numerous qualifications and certificates: a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English and a Master of Security, Defence, Management and Policy from RMC; a Master of Defence Studies from CFC; a Master of Strategic Studies from the USAF Air University; and a Doctorate of Social Sciences at Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, specializing in workplace culture change.
Command Chief Warrant Officer for the Royal Canadian Air Force -Chief Warrant Officer Renee J. Hansen, MMM, CD
https://www.canada.ca/en/air-force/corporate/who-we-are/command-team/royal-canadian-air-force-chief-warrant-officer.html
A proud wife, mom, step-mom, and grandmother, Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Renee Hansen was born and raised in Brandon, Manitoba, and joined the Primary Reserve in 1992 as an administration clerk. In 2001, CWO Hansen component transferred to the Regular Force where she was subsequently posted to the Armour School at Combat Training Centre (CTC) Gagetown.
In 2004, she was appointed to the rank of Master Corporal and was posted to the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) in Shilo, Manitoba, where she would spend the next five years. CWO Hansen deployed twice to Afghanistan—in 2006 as the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team Chief Clerk, and again in 2008 with Task Force 1-08 as the Battle Group Orderly Room Sergeant where her efforts earned her a Commander Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM) Commendation.
In 2009, CWO Hansen was posted to the Canadian Army Headquarters in Ottawa. Then, in 2010, after a short nine months in the position of Headquarters Chief Clerk, she was promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer and posted to Director Military Career Support Services Personnel Evaluation Report (PER) Processing. In 2013, she was posted to Director Senior Appointments as Director Senior Appointments Coordinator.
Promoted to the rank of Master Warrant Officer in 2015, and named a member of the Order of Military Merit, CWO Hansen was posted to 8 Wing Trenton as the Wing Superintendent Clerk. Then, in 2017, she eagerly accepted the challenge of fulfilling the Station Warrant Officer position in CFS Alert, and upon her return from Alert was posted to Ottawa as part of the Director Air Staff Coordination team.
Promoted to her current rank in 2019, she was selected as the Squadron Chief Warrant Officer at 426 Transport Training Squadron at 8 Wing Trenton, followed by a year at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) where she would earn a Certificate in Advanced Military Studies. In July 2022, CWO Hansen was privileged to serve as the 8 Wing Chief Warrant Officer.
CWO Hansen was appointed to her current position as the 7th Command Chief Warrant Officer of the Royal Canadian Air Force on 21 August 2024.
Commander of 3 Canadian Space Division – Brigadier-General C.J. Horner, OMM, CD RMC 2002 (Also serves as Joint Force Space Component Commander)
Brigadier-General (BGen) Christopher Horner joined the Canadian Armed Forces as an Aerospace Controller on 20 Jun 1998. After graduating from the Royal Military College of Canada and completing his initial training at Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control Operations in 2003, he began his career as an Air Battle Manager.
Over the course of the next decade, BGen Horner held various operational positions from deep within NORAD’s underground complex of Canadian Air Defence Sector, served as an Air Weapons Officer and Evaluator Senior Director with the United States Air Force E-3 AWACS Program, and finally as Mission Crew Commander and Director of Operations within 21 Aerospace Control and Warning Squadron, North Bay. Operating with Joint and Allied forces around the globe, BGen Horner amassed nearly 1,300 hours on the E-3 AWACS including over 430 combat flight hours supporting Operations ENDURING and IRAQI FREEDOM, in counter-narcotics missions supporting Operation CARRIBE, and both in the air and on the ground throughout the United States and Canada actively supporting Operation NOBLE EAGLE counter-terrorism missions.
Prior to assuming command of the Canadian Joint Warfare Centre in July 2022, BGen Horner was fortunate enough to command 51 Aerospace Control and Warning Squadron (2013-15) and later serve as Commandant of the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control Operations (2017-19).
Apart from his operational focus and command appointments, BGen Horner filled various staff roles at 1 Canadian Air Division Headquarters, the Strategic Joint Staff at National Defence Headquarters, and within CAF Strategic Response Team on Sexual Misconduct. Having admitted to once owning a Commodore 64, he returned to operations and was appointed Deputy Joint Force Cyber Component Commander in 2019 where he remained until his selection as Special Advisor to the Commander Canadian Joint Operations Command in 2021.
BGen Horner was promoted to his current rank and assumed the role of Commander 3 Canadian Space Division in 2024.
BGen Horner holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economics and Political Science, a Master of Arts in Defence Management and a Master of Science in Leadership. He is a graduate of the Canadian Forces College Joint Command and Staff Program and the United States Air Force Air War College.
Together with his spouse and their three boys, BGen Horner tries hard to find balance between hobbies that won’t be fatal and life experiences that make great memories. Of all his adventures, those he shares with his family remain his greatest passion.
Gervais CARPENTIER, BA, MDS, CD. 37 années dans la profession des armes
🔷 Leadership stratégique et institutionnel dans les FAC et le MDN
🔷 Service avec l’OTAN en Belgique (SHAPE) et en Italie (JFC Naples)
🔷 Commandement des Forces régulières et Forces de réserve du Québec
🔷 Gouvernance universitaire, développement de leaders
🔷 Opérateur des forces spéciales
🔷 Directorat des besoins opérationnels des forces spéciales, capacités de pointes et C4ISR
🔷 Missions des Nations Unies en Bosnie, Croatie et Haiti. Déploiements en Afghanistan.
🔷 Bilingue français / anglais
Xpertise Défense Inc. offre une expertise intégrée et multidisciplinaire alliant connaissances pointues en géopolitique, stratégie militaire, processus d’acquisitions et de soutien de capacités militaires, mesures d’urgence, gestion des risques et résilience pour fournir à nos clients des solutions pragmatiques, innovantes et parfaitement adaptées à leurs besoins spécifiques dans un environnement de sécurité complexe et en constante évolution.
Military family inspires some young Canadians to enlist, despite recruitment hurdles
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/caf-students-recruits-9.6993565
For Grade 12 student Olivia Vernelli, military service is a family tradition she’s eager to continue, following the footsteps of her great-grandfather, grandpa, her mother and her father, who died in Afghanistan when she was six months old.
“Carrying on that legacy and honouring my dad’s memory is a huge reason why I want to follow this path,” said the high school senior and Royal Canadian Army cadet from the military base community of Petawawa, Ont. An open house at the Royal Military College — where Vernelli saw thousands of similarly minded peers — sealed the deal. “Everyone’s there to [study] different things,” she said, “but everyone’s there for the same reason: they wanna fight for the freedom of Canada and they want to serve. Having now applied to the Kingston, Ont., school, she encourages teens consider the CAF. “Talking to current members, visiting bases or even joining cadets can give you a taste of the military life and help you decide if that’s the right path for you.”
With a father who served in South Korea’s Marine Corps and a childhood of barbecues with his dad’s veteran buddies, Adam Yeo’s interest in military life was piqued early on.
Later, being a Royal Canadian Sea Cadet introduced “the cadence of the military lifestyle” to the University of Waterloo mathematics student, while corporate sector co-op placements helped him realize “an office job is just not for me.”
Youth unemployment is on Yeo’s mind, given many recent-graduate friends “struggling to find jobs — and it kind of sucks to see that most of them … aren’t even aware that military service is an option,” he said in Toronto.
An event introducing women to roles within the CAF cemented Ariane Lehoux’s plan to join the military, bolstering the influence of the Quebec student’s grandfather, who was in the Navy, plus family and friends already in the armed forces.
She’s had stops and starts so far — including an interruption to her application when she moved — but Lehoux remains motivated by a drive to serve Canada and help others. Once she finishes law studies at Université de Sherbrooke, she plans to become a military lawyer.
“People have this view of the army that’s like all soldiers and tanks and stuff like that,” Lehoux said, noting that there are military roles for engineers, social workers, psychologists and doctors.
She says the CAF should be more present in spaces where young people spend time, whether it’s TikTok or high school fairs where they learn about art schools, vocational institutes, police and firefighter training, and college and university programs.
“Why should they consider [the CAF] among all the other choices and things that they can do in their lives?” she points out. “How can they be interested in something that they don’t know?”
Denmark sets a military tripwire. It’s a message to Trump more than Russia or China
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/denmark-greenland-trump-annexation-nato-9.7045838
In military deterrence lingo, what we’re witnessing in Greenland is sometimes referred to as the “glass plate” or the “tripwire.” It’s a metaphor for breaking the glass — or crossing the threshold — between peace and war. Denmark announced Wednesday that it is bolstering its troop, naval and air presence in the Arctic island in conjunction with NATO allies.
The attack on Venezuela, which many defence analysts believe has emboldened the Trump administration, was much more straightforward than any possible action against Danish territory.
“Venezuela is not Greenland,” said Sean Maloney, a professor of history at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston.
Beyond Isolationism: Trump, MAGA, and the Strategic Logic of Confrontation
Dr Pierre Pahlavi is a full professor at the Royal Military College of Canada in the Department of Defence Studies, co-located with the Canadian Forces College, Canada’s Staff and War College. His research focuses on Iran and its asymmetric strategies, public diplomacy, and the use of force in the international system. He has published in various journals in strategic and security studies and has recently published a book in French on the Iranian revolution, Le Marécage des Ayatollahs, prized by the Académie française. He has a PhD in political science from McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Is Trump abandoning America First isolationism for neoconservative interventionism? The reality is far more calculated: beneath the apparent chaos of military posturing and diplomatic ruptures lies a deliberate strategy to counter China’s rise by tearing down the very international order America once built.
Recalibration, Not Rupture
At first glance, the foreign-policy posture adopted by the Trump administration in its second term appears to mark a clear departure from the isolationist ethos that has defined the MAGA movement since President Trump’s inaugural address in 2017. As the administration moves deeper into its renewed mandate, a series of statements and actions—ranging from military engagement in Venezuela to assertive rhetoric regarding Greenland—seem, on the surface, to contradict the original America First worldview. That worldview deliberately alienated NATO allies, adopted a transactional approach to partnerships, displayed rhetorical restraint toward Russia, and rejected sustained overseas engagement.
This apparent shift did not go unnoticed during the formation of the new administration. The appointment of Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State was widely interpreted as an early signal of a more classical—some would say neoconservative—turn in what commentators quickly labelled “Trump 2.0.” This interpretation gained further traction despite the president surrounding himself with ardent MAGA loyalists, including Vice President J.D. Vance, whose ideological credentials remain firmly rooted in non-interventionism. Recent American initiatives in Nigeria and Venezuela, coupled with confrontational posturing toward Greenland, have reinforced the prevailing diagnosis of an increasingly interventionist presidency.
Runway to the stars: How an RCAF engineering officer is shattering expectations and plotting a path to space
The heart of the Eagle Nebula is nicknamed the Pillars of Creation—three wispy columns of gas and cosmic dust in a distant patch of the Milky Way, roughly 5,700 light years from Earth.
In the Pillars, oxygen, sulphur, nitrogen and hydrogen mingle with space particles bathed in ultraviolet light from young stars. Astronomers have known about the nebula since the mid-1700s, and modern stargazers can see it from a distance with binoculars. But most people first saw the Pillars in vivid photos from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995.
Those photos inspired a generation of school children to aspire to become astronauts, including Capt Amanda Ales RMC 2021, an Aerospace Engineering Officer (AERE) in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
“It blew my mind that we could actually see that for ourselves,” said Ales, who grew up near Pearson Airport in Mississauga, Ont. Her interest extended beyond scientific curiosity; it prompted the same fundamental queries that gave rise to philosophy and religions.
“Space is the closest thing we have to understanding where we came from, what is the meaning of life, all these existential questions,” she told Skies.
Germany Awards Top Aces 10-Year Contract for Advanced Air Combat Training
Top Aces Inc. (“Top Aces” or the “Company”), a global leader in advanced operational training for military forces, proudly announces the award of a 10-year contract worth up to €420 Million by the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr). Building on a decade of trusted service, this new agreement – officially titled “Contracted Fast Adversary Air” (Vertrag Schnelle Flugzieldarstellung) – will deliver mission-critical operational training across Germany’s Air Force, Army, and Navy.
“This contract marks a significant milestone in our long-standing partnership with the Bundeswehr,” said Thomas Beringer, Vice-President Europe, Top Aces. “We are honoured to continue supporting Germany’s operational readiness – an imperative in today’s complex global landscape – with world-class training solutions tailored to the evolving needs of its armed forces.”
Under this landmark agreement, Top Aces will provide a comprehensive suite of training capabilities designed to strengthen operational readiness across all branches of the Bundeswehr. Training will be conducted using Top Aces’ diverse fleet, featuring A-4N Skyhawk aircraft equipped with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar and highly upgraded Alpha Jets. Leveraging an open architecture design, Top Aces’ proprietary ‘Advanced Aggressor Mission System’ (AAMS) enables the A-4Ns to integrate advanced sensors, effectively replicating the threats posed by modern adversary fighter aircraft.
Didier Toussaint RMC 1990, Group President and Co-Founder of Top Aces, added: “We are deeply grateful for the continued trust placed in us by the German Armed Forces. This contract reflects the strength of our partnership and the consistent value our team strives to deliver. As we grow internationally, our focus remains on supporting our customers with reliable, innovative training solutions that enhance mission readiness and operational effectiveness.”
7324. William Yerex not Lerex Heros Ridge
Nominated by Renfrew ON Legion