Getting to know the new RCAF Command Chief Warrant Officer – CWO Renee Hansen

October 16, 2024 – Royal Canadian Air Force

After graduating high school and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Renee Hansen wasn’t sure which direction to take in terms of a career, and her father suggested the Army Reserves. “My dad told me to go join the Army Reserves,” she recalled. “I thought that since I was aging out of the cadet program, joining the Reserves would be something to do while I figured my future out.”

That was in 1992, and she’s never looked back. The part-time job became a full-time job in 1995. She met her husband Steve, got married, and had children – the flexibility of her Reserve Force employment made a significant difference for the young family.

As a military couple, they experienced many challenges and CWO Hansen shared that the keys to surviving were open and honest communication, mutual support, and being there for their children. She admits that they both had busy careers – at times missing birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and many other meaningful moments.

“We needed to have honest conversations and do what was best for the family as we tried to support two careers,” she explained. “We did our best to ensure that one parent was always home for the kids and to take care of business.”

In 2001, she found herself working as a clerk in the Orderly Room at CFB Gagetown – a job she genuinely enjoyed because she got to help people. Realizing that she had found what she was meant to do in life, combined with the uncertainty of Reserve Force funding each year and no pension made her rethink things. Following a discussion with her husband, she decided to apply for a component transfer.

In 2004, when she was appointed to the rank of Master Corporal, things began to change. “I will always remember that feeling,” CWO Hansen shared. “The significance of being made a junior level leader was not lost on me. Being responsible for leading others…it was a key moment in my career.”

The progression of roles and opportunities associated with the rank of Warrant Officer and Master Warrant Officer came naturally to CWO Hansen. In 2019, Lieutenant General Al Meinzinger, then Commander of the RCAF, promoted her to CWO and once again things changed. “I had to take a step back and assess what this meant,” CWO Hansen noted. “I had never chased this… I simply worked to give my best and enable others to do their best.”

Now she is the first woman to hold the prestigious position of top-ranking senior non-commissioned officer with the RCAF. It is something that was never ‘planned’ but became a reality as she sought to expand her knowledge and experience over her 30+ year military career. It is one of many firsts for her – she is returning to Ottawa after being appointed as the first woman to hold the position of Wing CWO at 8 Wing Trenton.

“Everything I’ve done has prepared me for where I am today,” she said. “I didn’t do things that were comfortable or “easy”. I learned to embrace the unknown and accept those opportunities and use them to grow professionally and personally.”

With a focus on personal growth, emotional intelligence, and core values, CWO Hansen credits this time of her career as one where she has grown exponentially as a human. “There have been challenges along with way,” she says. “But I can be incredibly stubborn, and I don’t back down. I also know that is it okay to fail – just always get back up, take the time to learn from the failure, and move forward.”

Throughout her career, she studied the leaders she worked for and the leaders around her to understand their approaches to leadership and decision making. This allowed her to develop her own leadership style and emulate the aspects of others that were “right fits” for her personality and did not contradict her core values.

She is an avid reader of autobiographies as she is interested in knowing and understanding people. “Everyone has a story, and we are all on our own unique life journey” she stated. “It’s a new military from the one I joined in 1992, and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is evolving. We need to create space to allow people to bring their authentic selves to the workspace, all while living our ethos. I understand this concept because I had to learn how to comfortably occupy my own space.”

It is this mindset she brings to her new position: investing in the well-being and morale of RCAF members. By listening and connecting with people, she is continuing to do what a Chief does best – apply the human perspective with an ear to the ground, always keen to understand the issues that concern the troops.

When asked about the challenges of being the seventh RCAF Command CWO amid massive modernization and reconstitution initiatives, CWO Hansen acknowledged that it’s going to be an incredibly busy time, and there will be challenges along the way. “There is so much happening for the RCAF right now, and so many competing priorities. It is touching on all the things from platforms to people…which makes it an exciting time to be a member of the RCAF.”

No matter what, the people are what matters. CWO Hansen is looking forward to her new role as RCAF Command Chief… “There is untapped, unknown potential within the RCAF and, going forward, our incredible aviators will take us wherever we need to go.”

As she begins her tenure, she plans to continue the great work of the previous RCAF Command Chiefs by building strong relationships at home within the RCAF, the CAF, and with our partners and allies; by seeking unique professional development opportunities for RCAF members; and by continuing to learn about this next generation of young aviators. And maybe find an opportunity to try rappelling...the one thing she says she hasn’t done yet!