Photo by S1 Justin Spinello, AETE IDS
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Two senior officers in the RCAF’s fighter community and one junior officer have been charged with administrative offences in connection with a sexual harassment complaint that arose from a so-called “call-sign review board” at CFB Cold Lake in June. According to the CBC, Lt.-Col. Corey Mask was removed as commander of 409 Fighter Squadron and Col. Colin Marks’s appointment as commander of CFB Bagotville delayed after they attended the informal social event, a fighter squadron tradition, in which a new pilot was assigned a sexually explicit call sign. The junior officer who proposed the name is also being disciplined.
Neither Mask nor Marks took an active role at the gathering but observed it from the back of the room and didn’t take action to stop the proceedings. They have been charged with failing to enforce regulations involving combating sexual misconduct. The unidentified junior officer who proposed the call sign is charged with “undermining discipline, efficiency, or morale.” The call sign related to a rumour of a sexual encounter between the man who was being assigned the name and a female officer. The female officer made the complaint.