12 Wing team wins at international competition

“We got the ‘W’!”- 12 Air Maintenance Squadron Team

The Aerospace Maintenance Competition held in Dallas, Texas from April 26-28, 2022 is an opportunity to celebrate technicians working in aviation maintenance and raise awareness of the knowledge and skills it takes to do this type of work. 12 Wing Shearwater’s team from 12 Air Maintenance Squadron (AMS) was led by Warrant Officer (WO) Anthony Hirtle and included: Master Corporal (MCpl) Gordon Power, Master Corporal (MCpl) Chris Rodusek, Corporal (Cpl) Tyler Doucet, Corporal (Cpl) Matthew VanDusen, and Corporal (Cpl) Stéphane Perreault.

Before heading to the competition, the team was “excited to showcase our skills and travel internationally to do so” said Cpl Doucet. Teams from across the globe attend this competition and compete in a series of events that highlight technical expertise in aviation maintenance. “We will have the chance to see how other organizations are doing things and bring that knowledge back to 12 Wing” said Cpl Van Dusen. “The biggest challenge will be getting outside our comfort zone and sometimes going outside of our trade skills.” The team from 12 Wing included three aviation maintenance trades: Avionics Systems Technicians (AVS) who are responsible for maintaining electronic systems for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) aircraft; Aviation Systems Technicians (AVN) who handle, service, and maintain CAF aircraft and ground equipment; and Aircraft Structures Technicians (ACS) who handle, service, and maintain CAF aircraft and associated equipment.

The team from 12 Wing was extremely successful in the various challenges they faced at the international competition. The team won best international team and placed first in the military division. “Surprise! You don’t know any scores before the award day at the end of the competition. It feels great that 12 Wing Air Maintenance Technicians could rival other countries” said Cpl Perreault.

The team learned a lot from the competition and were able to showcase their skillset. “Team work, cohesion, and communication are more important than ever” said Cpl Perreault. MCpl Rodusek added, “It was an incredible opportunity to show case my skills as a technician as well as compete against some of the best technicians in the industry.”

The team was led by Air Maintenance Superintendent, WO Hirtle who said “This has to be a high point in the career of the members. They got to showcase their knowledge and abilities and work under time constraints. They were successful against a number of good competitors.”

The team had a few final reflections from their time at the competition. “Competitions like this are important to participate in. It puts us on the map and gives us a chance to show what we can do. This gave us a chance to do this and highlight our technician trades” said MCpl Power.

“Representing the Wing was an outstanding opportunity to showcase the technicians of the maritime helicopter community,” WO Hirtle said. “Opportunities like these are rare and this was a once in a career opportunity for them to go against other military teams in a maintenance competition.” Cpl Perreault added “I wish everybody could participate in these events. I enjoyed meeting passionate technicians that remind me of the importance of my job.”

Congratulations to the team on an incredible accomplishment!