Swelling with pride…Tinker visit proves memorable for Canada’s Governor General and Commander-in-Chief

Published June 3, 2016
By Darren D. Heusel
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Pride.

That's the one word used most by the Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, to describe the 60-year partnership with North American Aerospace Defense Command during his visit to Tinker Air Force Base last weekend.

Governor General Johnston visited the base on May 28, as part of a working visit to the states of Georgia, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado to discuss and promote innovation, education, trade and philanthropy.

Since 1979, Canadians have served alongside U.S. military personnel at Tinker to support Airborne Warning and Control System operations worldwide.

Today, this partnership continues with the presence of more than 40 members of the Royal Canadian Air Force and some members of the Canadian Army, along with their families, stationed here at Tinker.

"There's very substantial pride in the people and what they're doing here and how they're doing it," Governor General Johnston said. "The competitive spirit shows up every now and then in the hockey rink in that it's fiercely contended.

"But, before the game they shake hands and after the game they shake hands and they get on with their jobs together," added the Governor General, referring to the annual Can/Am Cup hockey game played between members of the 552nd Air Control Wing and its Canadian Detachment.

The U.S. team reclaimed the cup on May 20 with a hard-fought, 9-5, victory.

"I'm told our Canadian team needs a few 21-year-old ringers, who can skate a little faster, but you can expect that we'll retaliate accordingly," Governor General Johnston quipped. "I'm just wonderfully impressed with the leadership and the pride and that feeling of when you work together some very good things can happen.

"It's a story that I'll tell back in Canada that we are seeing something that's showcased here. It's collaboration at its best," he continued.

Last weekend's visit by Governor General Johnston was his sixth to the U.S. since he was sworn in as Governor General and Commander-in-Chief 5½ years ago. In addition to Oklahoma City, His Excellency also visited Atlanta, Miami, Dallas and NORAD headquarters in Colorado Springs.

"I'm particularly anxious to be here in Oklahoma City to see Tinker Air Force Base and honor the 43 members of the Canadian Air Force who are stationed here and this remarkable partnership that exists with the U.S. military," the Governor General said. "Whenever I can, I enjoy very much the opportunity to meet the men and women of our Armed Forces, particularly the families, as a way of saying thank you for what you do every day.

"We're lucky with the quality of people that we attract in our Armed Forces," he continued. "I was saying to my colleagues over lunch today that our men and women in uniform are regarded as either No. 1 or No. 2 in terms of professional trades, or callings, in Canada. At the moment, I think they're No. 1, pharmacists are second, nurses are third, doctors are fourth and on we go from there."

His Excellency went on to say there's a reason why Canadian uniformed service members are so highly regarded.

"It's the quality of people who choose to voluntarily enter our Armed Forces and how well they perform to those old fashioned, precious virtues that are synonymous with our Armed Services," he said. "We're very proud of the people who wear the Canadian uniform. Whenever I get a chance to say that, I do so quite loudly."

On Saturday, Governor General Johnston toured an E-3 "Sentry" AWACS aircraft to see how Canadian Armed Forces members are working closely with U.S. military personnel to fulfill the NORAD mission.

He also had the opportunity to discuss U.S.-Canadian security cooperation with Lt. Col. Don "Boc" Saunders, commanding officer of the 552nd ACW's Canadian Detachment.

"This is [part of] a 60-year partnership with NORAD," the Governor General said. "It's certainly the longest standing partnership in our collective histories. We believe it's quite unique in the world. I think what's unique about it is how it's shared throughout the two countries. In my travels, it's apparent it works very well and there's a commonality that's very clear and a great deal of mutual respect that I think grows as the exposure continues.

"I think that's a model for some of the other parts of our security effort in that when you put those two groups of people together, very good things happen," he added.
The Governor General's visit concluded with remarks to Canadian Armed Forces members and their families during a luncheon.

Following his visit to Tinker, the Governor General traveled to Oklahoma City to meet with government, industry, education and nonprofit stakeholders for the purpose of highlighting the Canada-Oklahoma partnership. He then participated in a roundtable discussion on innovation at the State Capitol hosted by Chris Benge, Oklahoma Secretary of State and Native American Affairs.

"We choose to have multi-purpose features to these visits, and paying respects to our military of course is key here," the Governor General said. "A challenge that faces us in Canada is how one moves beyond a single large resource like energy, oil and gas in particular, into a much broader diversification."

His Excellency went on to say innovation is a very key characteristic and "anything you can do to promote technological innovation, business innovation, social innovation, military innovation and how we can be more effective, the better."

"You can learn an awful lot by sharing," he said. "God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. Americans are very sharing people. I quote John Kennedy's famous statement that, 'Geography has made us neighbors and economics has made us partners.' I would say security has made us allies, but history has made us friends."
When it comes to the U.S.-Canadian partnership, Governor General Johnston said he doesn't think there's another one you can compare it to in the world.

"There's an enormous mutual respect in regard to Canadians and Americans," he said. "From that comes extraordinary collaboration between our two forces. The 43 men and women of our Air Forces group working in a joint command with our American counterparts is a great example of that collaboration."

Asked if he had any ideas or suggestions on how to improve the U.S.-Canadian relationship, Governor General Johnston simply said to "tell the story."

"This is such a success story and 60 years of success, so it deserves to be told widely," he said. "Certainly in defense arrangements, but in so many different spheres where Canada and the U.S. can come together and look at the example of good things that happen every day on the ground with two different streams coming together to build a mighty river.

"When I think of innovation and the good things that come from collaboration of putting different strengths together, this is a great story to tell and one that I think is quite inspiring to our countrymen in Canada and here in the United States," he added.

It also was no accident that His Excellency visited Tinker AFB over Memorial Day Weekend. He said he has "a great affinity with the people here in the U.S." and went on to tell a story about his uncle, whom he never knew, serving in World War II.

"He was in a bomber command over Europe from 1943 on," the Governor General recalled. "Bomber command, as you know, is a bit of a chancy business and he had been on quite a few flights.

"Seven days before the end of WWII, he had been shot down over Germany," he added. "So, he was one who almost made it, but didn't. But, he was one who served his country very well and I remember my uncle on occasions like this."