Chief Warrant Officer, 431 Air Demonstration Squadron

Chief Warrant Officer Cheryl Abernethy

Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Cheryl Abernethy was born in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. With her father being a millwright, she moved extensively as a young child. In 1974, they moved to South Africa, and in 1980 they moved to Canada, where they lived in mining towns in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. CWO Abernethy became a Canadian citizen on July 4, 1990, and enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces a few days later as an Airframe Technician.

Upon completion of her trade training, CWO Abernethy was posted to 419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron in Cold Lake, Alberta, as a first line CF-5 Freedom Fighter technician. Following retirement of the CF-5 fleet in 1995, CWO Abernethy moved across the airfield to 416 Tactical Fighter Squadron to work on the CF-188 Hornet. During her time with 416 Squadron, she deployed numerous times as an Aviation Technician, and completed her first deployment as an Air Weapons System Technician at Aviano Air Base, Italy, in 1997. After 14 years working first line in Cold Lake, she was promoted to Master Corporal in 2005 and posted to 14 Air Maintenance Squadron, in Greenwood, Nova Scotia, where she worked in the Employment and Training (ETO) section.

In 2009, she was promoted to Sergeant and posted back to first line as the Propeller Crew Sergeant, deploying numerous times with the CP-140 Aurora. In 2011, she completed her second deployment in Italy as a Crew Chief in support of Operation MOBILE. Promoted to Warrant Officer in 2013, she was selected to stand up the ETO section at 405 Long Range Patrol Squadron. In 2016, she was once again assigned to the flightline, but as a Crew Warrant Officer.

In 2017, after attaining Limited Senior Maintenance Manager (L/SMM) qualifications and serving as Senior Aircraft Maintenance Superintendent (SAMS), she was posted to 404 Long Range Patrol Squadron where she held the roles of Training Management and school SAMS.

In 2018, following her promotion to Master Warrant Officer, she was posted to Ottawa, Ontario, as the Air Maintenance Branch Occupation Manager within Chief of the Air Force, where she contributed to numerous changes within the Maintenance Branch Occupations.

In May 2022, she was promoted to her current rank and selected to assume the position of Chief Warrant Officer of 431 Air Demonstration Squadron. She feels highly privileged to be in this position and is fully committed to the well-being of the squadron and its personnel.