The commander of one of Canada’s front-line fighter squadrons has been temporarily suspended from his post, CBC News has learned.
This is part of the findings of a military police investigation into the decision to assign an allegedly derogatory, sexually explicit call sign – a military nickname – to an informal social gathering on 23 June 2022.
The police investigation led to administrative charges being laid against three officers on Thursday, according to a statement from the Canadian Forces Chief Marshal.
lieutenant colonel Cory Musk, who leads 409 Fighter Squadron, attended a gathering at Canadian Forces Base in Cold Lake, Alta. known as the Call Sign Review Board.
According to three sources familiar with the file – who were not authorized to speak publicly – Musk was removed from his post in late August and reassigned.
The move to remove Musk from command was not made public by the military, but was confirmed to CBC News this week by the Department of National Defence.
His reassignment came as the Air Force announced it was postponing a change-of-command ceremony for another senior leader, Col. Colin Marks, who was slated to take command of the country’s other primary fighter base, CFB Bagotville in Quebec.
In a statement Thursday, military police said they charged two senior officers with misconduct for “failing to effectively enforce” anti-sexual conduct regulations.
The statement did not identify the two senior leaders. Sources said Musk and Marks attended the social gathering in the “back of the room” and overheard the inappropriate call sign being given to an unidentified second lieutenant, a man who had recently joined the squadron on a temporary basis after flight training.
CBC does not publish the call sign because it is offensive.
The third person charged with misconduct Thursday was a junior officer accused of “undermining discipline, efficiency or morale.” Military police also did not identify him and said “no further information can be disclosed”.
Chosen for a sex rumor
The sources, who spoke on the background, claimed that the officer, a long-time member of the fighter pilot community, had initiated the inappropriate call during a social function.
Callsigns are usually assigned to established pilots and crew weapons controllers. In that case, the sources said, a young, newly arrived second lieutenant was selected because of a rumor that he had had a sexual relationship during training with another second lieutenant, a woman who was in a committed same-sex relationship.
By tradition, the person assigned the call sign must wait outside the room while other military members vote on it. That’s what happened in this case, but all sources insisted that Musk and Marks were not involved in the vote.
Military police did not charge anyone in the party who may have voted in favor of the inappropriate call sign.
“This is not a joke”
The female second lieutenant was also on temporary duty with the 401st Fighter Squadron, which is stationed with the 409th Squadron at Cold Lake. She heard about the derogatory sign and initiated a complaint that was taken to Musk, the sources said.
The fact that he didn’t immediately intervene or “call out the behavior” upset a number of people on the base, the sources added.
Callsigns can sometimes be acronyms for crude personal references. CBC News obtained screenshots of texts referring to the call sign in question — including one in which Musk orders members to stop using it. The order comes after a complaint by Lt.
A pilot positions a CF-18 Hornet at CFB Cold Lake in Alberta on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)
“I need everyone to be very clear that this is not a joke,” one message read.
Canada’s military is in the midst of a major crisis over inappropriate behavior and sexual misconduct — including episodes of sexist and discriminatory behavior — by senior leaders. However, the Air Force has rarely been singled out in the numerous cases that have come before the public.
When interviewed earlier this week ahead of Thursday’s imposition of the service charges, the commander of the 1st Canadian Airborne Division, Maj.-Gen. Ian Huddleston would not discuss the specifics of the investigation, but said the Air Force needs to do better and learn from the incident.
“I thought we were long past that sort of thing”
He acknowledged Musk’s “suspension” and the fact that the Air Force did not publicly disclose it at the time. He said it was essentially part of the investigation and the postponement of the change of command ceremony was a public event that required disclosure.
He described the call sign as off-putting and noted that the Air Force went through a process several years ago to eliminate potentially offensive nicknames.
“I thought we were way past that kind of thing a few years ago,” he said.
Even after the callsigns were cleared a few years ago, the process of assigning them remained informal, and Huddleston suggested that change.
The administrative charges filed Thursday will be decided by the superiors of each separately, military police said.
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