A police investigation into comments made at a fighter pilot social gathering in June has shined a spotlight on a well-known but little-understood military tradition that some worry is another example of entrenched cultural problems in the Canadian Armed Forces: the awarding of insignia call.
Earlier this week, Royal Canadian Air Force commander Lt.-Gen. Eric Kenny announced that he has delayed a ceremony to install a new commander at one of Canada’s two fighter air bases, 3 Wing in Bagotville, Que.
Kenny attributed the decision to an ongoing military police investigation into statements made during what he described as a “distinctive call review panel” held June 22 at Canada’s other CF-18 base, 4 Wing in Cold Lake, Alta. .
Many people would know the callsigns from the blockbuster movies “Top Gun”, in which Tom Cruise’s character is nicknamed “Maverick”. This token is a reference to the character’s refusal to follow orders and play by the army’s rules.
Canadian fighter pilots also use call signs. Anyone who has been to an air show in Canada and looked up close at a Snowbird or CF-18 may have seen the pilot’s call sign written with his real name near the cockpit.
Although callsigns are not the exclusive domain of pilots, and such nicknames are also often assigned to weapons officers who also fly two-man CF-18s, they are not widely used elsewhere in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The Air Force says call signs help build a sense of team and identity among fighter pilots and break down barriers between different rank levels. They also benefit air communications.
The allocation of call signs “is intended to enhance esprit de corps”, RCAF spokesman Colonel Adam Thomson said. “The call sign serves a practical purpose and is used for brevity and quick identification, while removing some flight leadership barriers that may arise from rank or position.”
While callsigns can appear organically like any other alias, callsign control panels like the one we’re looking at are a basic way to assign them.
Despite their official name, such gatherings are social events where pilots tell stories about each other.
“Callsigns are typically assigned to a unit social gathering in a location such as a mess or social area,” Thomson said in an email.
“Often these stories tell a challenge, an example or a success specific to a member. These stories inspire a person’s call sign. Potential callsigns are suggested by colleagues and voted on by the team.”
Former fighter pilots say such events often involve tossing drinks while sharing stories about new aviators – the funnier or more embarrassing the better.
“And after one, two or three beers, if there was a funny story or a good one, the call sign would be adopted,” said former Air Force commander and retired Lt. Gen. Yvan Blondin, whose call sign is Bad.
Former Chief of Defense Staff and retired General Tom Lawson, call sign Shadow, put it another way: “It’s a mini-roast that is.”
Such events are usually held at the end of major training courses or exercises with senior officers on hand, which Blondin said gives the process a “semi-official twist.” As for the other details, both former pilots said they can often vary from unit to unit.
“When we talk about a process, there’s nothing official, there’s nothing on the books, there’s nothing in our procedures, that says this is the process as a requirement for call signs,” Blondin said. “There is no”.
The results of such gatherings are not always positive. While many call signs refer to mistakes in training or personality quirks, Blondin gave an extreme example of a pilot years ago whose call sign included a crude description of a sexual encounter.
Thomson said the Air Force recently conducted a review of existing call signs to determine their appropriateness “while guiding that future call signs align with our commitment to being an inclusive organization.”
However, it is unclear to what extent that review touched on the process for assigning call signs, including the conduct of review boards — which appears to be at the center of the ongoing Cold Lake military police investigation.
“There’s probably a lot less alcohol than there was in the ’70s and ’80s, which makes it easier for everyone to stay on that side of the line,” Lawson said. “But it looks like someone in one of these reviews wasn’t comfortable with a comment, or a comment was taken too well.”
Lori Buchart, co-chair of It’s Not Just 20K, a support and advocacy group formed by victims of military sexual harassment, said it’s important for the Canadian Armed Forces to have rituals and traditions to build a sense of identity and boost morale.
“The important thing for CAF and its members is to weed out those that cause harm or are questionable and retain those that actually build morale in a healthy way,” he added.
Charlotte Duval-Lantoine of the Canadian Institute of Global Affairs, who recently released a book on military sexual harassment, said the current situation should start a conversation about how Canadian fighter pilots are assigned call signs — and how they might get better
“Call signs and how they’re assigned can reveal a lot about a unit’s culture,” he said. “And as with any culture, it can go too far and take the form of bullying and scolding, especially if the person receiving the call sign doesn’t fit in with the group as well as others.”
At the same time, Duval-Lantoine said the issue highlights some of the difficulties the military faces in rooting out misconduct given the various traditions that exist between different units and positions within the Armed Forces.
While both Lawson and Blondin hope call signs remain stable among Canadian fighter pilots, Blondin acknowledged there may be a need to impose some type of structure or control on the review boards.
“I wouldn’t want to get rid of them,” he said. “But I think we need some formalization. In the days we live in now, some of the things are definitely not acceptable as they are.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 3, 2022.
