16 Wing Commander - Biography

Colonel J.W. Cunningham, CD

Colonel (Col) Wesley Cunningham joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1993 as an infantry soldier in the Algonquin Regiment. In 1995, he attended the Royal Military College of Canada, in Kingston, Ontario, where he was commissioned as an Aerospace Engineering officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1999. His first posting was to 427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron where he worked on the CH-146 Griffon helicopter as the Deputy Squadron Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Officer. His next posting was to 1 Wing Headquarters in Kingston, Ontario, as the A4 Maintenance Operations officer. This was followed by a tour at the National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario, where he served as the Executive Assistant to the Director General of the Aerospace Engineering Program Management Division.

Following a quick succession of postings to 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron in Edmonton, Alberta, and 1 Canadian Air Division, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he attended the Joint Command and Staff Program at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto, Ontario, in 2012-2013. Upon promotion to Lieutenant-Colonel, he was selected as the first Weapon System Manager for Canada’s CH-147F Chinook helicopter, where he oversaw the technical airworthiness of the fleet’s Initial Operational Capability declaration and the disposal of the CH-147D Chinook fleet.

After concluding a tour as the Executive Assistant to the Commander of the RCAF, he spent a year as a student at the University of Ottawa, and another year at the Air Staff as the Director of Air Plans. This was followed by a subsequent posting as the Director of Aerospace Equipment Program Management (Tactical Aviation and Simulation). He is currently serving as the Director of A4 Maintenance at 1 Canadian Air Division.

Over the course of his career, Colonel Cunningham served as the Deputy Maintenance Flight Commander for the 2002 G8 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta; the Maintenance Flight Commander for the Griffon Helicopter Detachment in Bosnia; and a senior Plans Officer for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s Regional Command (South) Divisional Headquarters in Kandahar, Afghanistan. In addition, he was the Maintenance Company Commander of the Canadian Helicopter Force in Afghanistan for ten months in 2009-2010, where he was responsible for the mission readiness of the Task Force’s eight Griffons and six CH-147D Chinook helicopters.

He has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Materials Engineering, as well as Master’s degrees in Business Administration, Military Studies, and Complex Project Leadership. In July of 2025, he assumed command of 16 Wing Borden.

Col Cunningham was born in New Brunswick, the son of a veteran infantry officer. He and his wife have two daughters. He enjoys competitive shooting, hunting, and geopolitics.