Command of 19 Wing Comox, one of the busiest wings in the Royal Canadian Air Force, changed hands Wednesday, August 6. To celebrate, the Canadian Armed Forces held a parade.
Colonel Tom Dunne has taken over command of the unit from Colonel Jim Benninger, who led the base the last three years.
A change of command ceremony was held and included local politicians, representatives from K’omok’s First Nations, community representatives, former Wing commanders, leaders of veterans groups as well as military top brass led by Major General David Wheeler, commander 1 Canadian Air Division and Canadian NORAD region.
The parade of almost 300 Canadian Armed Forces members representing all units, squadrons and branches of 19 Wing, also included a CP-140 Aurora flyby from 407 Long Range Patrol Squadron.
Dunne has served five operational search and rescue tours, including an exchange posting with the United States Coast Guard in North Carolina and postings with 413 Squadron, Greenwood, Nova Scotia and 424 Squadron, Trenton, Ontario.
He has over 5,000 flying hours, primarily as a CC-130 Hercules pilot.
He earned a Chief of the Air Staff Commendation for a search and rescue mission in Labrador in 2004 and a United States Coast Guard Achievement Medal for a counter-narcotics patrol in the Caribbean in 2001.
The mission of 19 Wing is to be operationally ready to conduct surface, subsurface and aerospace surveillance, search and rescue, transport, combat support and contingency operations, as well as to provide core training in support.
