There are countless and overlapping reasons that an individual may choose to enlist to the Canadian Armed Forces. In the context of this project, seven interviewees share their experiences with enlisting in or becoming employed to work for the Royal Canadian Air Force. The interviewees share a diverse range of experiences, influences, and reasons for joining.
Lynn Doucette- First backseat ride in a T-33.
Lynn Doucette found her way into the Canadian Armed Forces in an interesting way.1 Growing up, her childhood home was located across the street from the RCMP Headquarters at the time in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. This led Lynn to aspire to join the RCMP. However, after applying to become an RCMP officer, Lynn was turned down. It turns out she did not meet their height requirement. She was a quarter of an inch too short. Based on her interest in the RCMP and having always been fit and active, she completed a physical education degree with a minor in criminology. In July 1979, after hearing about her brother's incredible experience joining the Navy, she decided to enlist in the Canadian Armed Forces. Without any knowledge about the military and full of naivety, she went to the recruitment center to enlist, and as Lynn said, “the rest was history.” |
Ross Brewer
Ross details in his interview that he always had a passion for flying.2 Joining the Air Cadets at a young age allowed Ross to travel internationally, as well as learn from Second World War veterans within the various courses deepening his passion for the air. He achieved his private pilot license at 17, flying during his spare time. After Ross had finished his educational journey he knew that the next place for him was the sky. Originally partially deterred from the idea of being a pilot due to having prescription glasses, Ross was medically cleared for duty in the sky resulting in him gaining his position as a backseater. The idea to join the RCAF was not a hard one for Ross as he discusses within his interview, he felt it was natural for him to join, and states that overall he truly enjoyed his years within the service. |
Peter Growen was raised by his father and mother, the former of whom had a history of working in the forces.3 His father, born and raised in Norway, spent some time in the Norwegian Army. Upon immigrating to Canada, his father joined the Canadian Army in which he acted as an instructor, teaching soldiers how to ski and how to partake in winter warfare. As such, Peter had been exposed to the military lifestyle quite expansively throughout his youth. It comes as no surprise, then, that once Peter graduated from high school at the age of 17, his father prompted him to enlist with the Canadian Forces. While his father’s military history can somewhat explain why he prompted his son to enlist, financial strains also seem to have played a part. As Peter reflects, his father didn't have enough money to send him to a post-secondary institution, but thought that by working for the government, he could still find a job that would pay the bills. It just so happened that the Canadian Air Force was implementing a program, around the same time that Peter graduated from high school, in which they aimed to recruit men right out of high school instead of requesting that they had a post-secondary degree. Since Peter was particularly interested in airplanes at the time, he decided to go to the recruiting services offered by the Air Force to try his chances at becoming a pilot. In his words, the interaction went as follows: “I walked down to the recruiting people and said “Hi”. They said “What do you want to be?”, and I said “I want to be a pilot.”, and the rest is history.” 
Wilbert Neal at the Senate
Wilbert “Wib” Neal had no prior strong familial connection to the military before his enlistment.6 While in high school, a mobile recruitment unit for the Canadian Military came through recruiting for the Korean War (1950-1953). While Wib was out of town when the recruiters passed through, his guidance teacher was urging students to join. In 1951, at the age of 17 Wib and many of his peers enlisted to the Army, Navy, or Air Force. However, Wib attributes the most influence on his choice to enlist to the RCAF to the encouragement of his older brother’s friend who served in the Air Force during the Second World War. On his first day reporting for duty in Saint-Jean, Quebec in August 1951, Wib met a friend. This friend was a veteran of the Second World War serving as an electrician in the Navy but transferred to the Air Force. He advised Wib to do the same trade. At this time, Wib’s father worked as an electrical contractor. This led to a plan where Wib would get his trade’s training in electrical and work for around five years before moving on to work for his father. Of course, this plan did not pan out. By the time his five years were over and it was time to decide whether to continue in the military, Wib was serving in France and he signed on again. This was the beginning of a 32 year career in uniform. 
David Pipke
Captain Pipke had 3 main reasons for enlisting in the Canadian Armed Forces.8 First was to become a pilot. This was a childhood dream of his. As he puts it, “you know, [...] every young child wants to be either a firefighter or a pilot, I wanted to be a pilot.” His second reason was free university education, which would have let him start a career in which he wouldn’t be saddled with debt. And his third reason was the certainty that he would have a job, and wouldn’t be left needing to spend time finding one. When Captain Pipke was in high school, he “like every high school student started to stress about [his] future and career.” Soon enough, he “became aware of the Canadian Armed Forces, as a career and opportunity,” and he took a particular interest in “the Regular Officer Training Program which is the university funded program that the Canadian Forces offer,” and he saw that this was a “very good opportunity”. It essentially would allow him to study through and complete university for free, “with a guaranteed career afterwards.” Unfortunately, difficulties in university led to him switching programs to the “Officer Candidate Training Program,” which was essentially a “direct entry for applicants to go directly into an operational field”. He started his enrollment in the Canadian Forces aiming to become a pilot. This effort was unsuccessful, and he “Re-Classified, or started [his] training as [...] what was then called an ‘air weapons controller.’” That effort was successful, and he’s had a long career with the Canadian Forces since. In the end, while he didn’t manage to become a pilot, he did become something just as important. Without the air weapons controllers, there’s little to stop pilot casualties occuring on a weekly basis, there would be poor or non-existent navigational direction for pilots, and there would be no organized defence of the country’s airspace. He also avoided needing to start his adult life with a large sum of debt to pay off, and got a guaranteed job as he was promised. In the end, he still fulfilled most of the goals that he was aiming to accomplish by enlisting. |
Carol Norman
Carol Norman had no former connections to the military. In high school, Carol was enrolled in a program focusing on the commercial field.4 With that experience, she found that there were a variety of jobs available. She had stated, “When I graduated grade 12, it was easy to, you know, put your name out there and get a job offer.” She applied for a civilian job in an application pool for stenographic or secretarial work at the Air Base in 1971. She and her friend from high school were hired that summer. Carol was asked if there was any influence to work with the Air Base at that time. Carol had stated that because she had just graduated from high school, she was looking for a full-time job. The Base had a variety of civilian positions available at that time. Carol found it to be a great opportunity because of the full-time hours and benefits. Carol was later asked if she thought she would have stayed employed at CFB North Bay for as long as she did. Carol had stated, “No, not really. I thought that once I got my foot in the door of a federal government job that it could be a stepping stone to something more exotic in other departments such as Foreign Affairs and getting posted to different parts of the world. But I really liked the environment, meeting new people, understanding the importance and roles of the base and the headquarters so I decided to stay on. Then, of course, I met my future husband.” Overall, Carol has several fond memories of being employed with CFB North Bay. Starting in 1994, the Federal Budget was released and enforced a 45 percent reduction of defence activities in North Bay.5 In the following years, several cuts ultimately led to the closing of the Underground Complex and its move to Winnipeg. She did state that she wished the Underground Complex would have stayed in North Bay and expanded its operations rather than moving to Winnipeg. Carol stated that she was anticipating the closing of the Underground Complex. She was not ready to leave her position and the people she worked with. But she was very proud of the work she was able to accomplish during her time there. 
Loranne Arboleya
Loranne enlisted in the military primarily to further her education and career options.7 Since she left school at the age of 16 to work, Loranne found herself fairly limited in terms of what jobs she could get and grew tired of working as an office administrative assistant. Therefore, in 1981, at 20 years old, she joined the military, figuring she would build a broad range of skills and qualifications with a military career; all while being paid to do so. Her logic paid off, and over her career developed skills in many different roles, for which she remains grateful. Loranne has always loved learning, and her military career enabled her to constantly learn new skills and roles which would not have been possible otherwise. Another significant motivating factor for Loranne was the prospect of leaving home and the travelling that came with the RCAF. As someone who has always loved to travel, this aspect of military life drew Loranne in, as she would be able to move fairly often and explore different cities. In that way, military life presented the opportunity to fulfil two of her dreams: to learn constantly and to travel. Her father’s encouragement also contributed to her enlisting in the military. Her family has a military history, with her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather having had military careers. Her father saw that Loranne would make a good fit for the military and encouraged what he said was a good idea. He did, however, warn her before she left that she needed to take care and be resilient, as women were not treated very well in the military. |
Footnotes
1. Lynn Doucette, interview with Kassandra McLellan and Sarah Tipping, Sharing Stories of 22 Wing Collection, Canadian Forces Museum of Aerospace Defence, February 28, 2024. Unless otherwise noted all interviews are archived in this collection.
All information in this section pertaining to Lynn Doucette comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
2. Ross Brewer, interview with Taylor Davis, March 1, 2024.
All information in the section pertaining to Ross Brewer comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
3. Peter Growen, interview with Asha Joseph, February 21, 2024.
All information in the section pertaining to Peter Growen comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
4. Carol Norman, interview with Christine Kipper, February 14, 2024.
All information in the section pertaining to Carol Norman comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
5. Colonel Koch, “Farewell to 22 Wing from Colonel Koch,” Canadian Forces Museum of Aerospace Defence Archives, The Shield, July 15, 1997, 1.
6. Wilbert Neal, interview with Nelaya Boyd, February 20, 2024.
All information in this section pertaining to Wilbert Neal comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
7. Loranne Arboleya, interview with Denver Prevost and Jordan Wilson, no.1, February 12, 2024.
All information in this section pertaining to Loranne Arboleya comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
8. David Pipke, interview with Dr. Srigley and Paul Rimmer, Sharing Stories of 22 Wing Collection, Canadian Forces Museum of Aerospace Defence, March 7, 2024.
All information in this section pertaining to David Pipke comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
All information in this section pertaining to Lynn Doucette comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
2. Ross Brewer, interview with Taylor Davis, March 1, 2024.
All information in the section pertaining to Ross Brewer comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
3. Peter Growen, interview with Asha Joseph, February 21, 2024.
All information in the section pertaining to Peter Growen comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
4. Carol Norman, interview with Christine Kipper, February 14, 2024.
All information in the section pertaining to Carol Norman comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
5. Colonel Koch, “Farewell to 22 Wing from Colonel Koch,” Canadian Forces Museum of Aerospace Defence Archives, The Shield, July 15, 1997, 1.
6. Wilbert Neal, interview with Nelaya Boyd, February 20, 2024.
All information in this section pertaining to Wilbert Neal comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
7. Loranne Arboleya, interview with Denver Prevost and Jordan Wilson, no.1, February 12, 2024.
All information in this section pertaining to Loranne Arboleya comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
8. David Pipke, interview with Dr. Srigley and Paul Rimmer, Sharing Stories of 22 Wing Collection, Canadian Forces Museum of Aerospace Defence, March 7, 2024.
All information in this section pertaining to David Pipke comes from the above interview unless otherwise stated.
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