Honorary Colonel Captain (retired) Jane Foster CD

Biography / August 5, 2016

Captain Jane Foster CD (retired) was appointed as Honorary Colonel of 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training Squadron (CFFTS), 15 Wing Moose Jaw, SK in September 2018.

Honorary Colonel Foster joined the Canadian Forces in 1982 as a pilot candidate under the umbrella of the SWINTER trial (Service-Women in Non-Traditional Environments and Roles). She obtained her military wings in 1984 and was posted to 2CFFTS Moose Jaw as an instructor. Flying the CT-114 Tutor jet, she taught at the school for four years, obtaining an A2 Instructor category rating.

In 1988, Honorary Colonel Foster was selected be in the first cadre of women CF-18 fighter pilots. In June, she made history as the first of two women to graduate as fighter pilots since the end of World War II.

Honorary Colonel Foster was posted to 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron at 4 Wing Cold Lake. At the time a NORAD squadron, she achieved Combat Ready status after six months, partook in the intercept and escort of the very first Soviet Union fighter aircraft (MiG-29 Fulcrum) to fly through Canadian domestic airspace and participated in a host of military exercises.

Honorary Colonel Foster retired from the Forces in 1992, a temporary arrangement, to help raise two children. In 1999, she accompanied her husband to 3 Wing Bagotville and rejoined the RCAF working at 3 Wing Operations in a part-time reserve position.

In 2006, Honorary Colonel Foster returned to Moose Jaw and was invited to rejoin 2CFFTS once again as an instructor. Refreshing her flying skills on the CT-156 Harvard II, she returned to her alma mater, Apache Flight and ended her forces career doing the job she loved best, helping student pilots achieve their dream of becoming military pilots. Honorary Colonel Foster retired from the CF in 2008.

Since then, Honorary Colonel Foster studied at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and became a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. She is a fitness enthusiast who enjoys a multitude of sports.

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