Renee van Kessel: Getting to know the new RCAF Honorary Colonel

October 30, 2024 – Royal Canadian Air Force

Renee van Kessel has always been interested in international relations and Canada’s place in the world. When these interests were combined with her powerful sense of duty and service, then the call to serve our Air Force and its members was an obvious fit. 

In 2017, she received a call from an Honorary Colonel she knew, asking if she would be interested in applying to be the HCol for 16 Wing at Canadian Forces Base Borden. She was ultimately selected for the position and since that time, HCol van Kessel hasn’t looked back.

Renee van Kessel has been a corporate commercial lawyer for almost 30 years. Her career includes positions in-house with some of Canada’s most recognized brands, as well as in private practice, and she currently manages her own firm, van Kessel Law. A pre-eminent real estate regulatory lawyer, over the span of her career she has provided strategic guidance and legal advice to private and public corporations and governmental organizations in a multitude of industries and sectors.

A life-long learner, she was honoured to be invited to attend the reconstituted National Security Programme in 2008 at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto, where she studied National Security and Defence Policy part-time, while maintaining her law practice full time. She earned her Master's of Public Administration in June 2015 with a thesis on Water Scarcity and Conflict.

Asked if she felt a connection to the RCAF or the Canadian Armed Forces growing up in Toronto, HCol van Kessel shared that she never saw uniformed personnel in her day-to-day life. Now, as Honorary Colonel, she proudly wears her RCAF uniform whenever appropriate as part of her outreach role to Canadians in her community, and to facilitate greater awareness and visibility of the RCAF among populations where they may not otherwise be exposed to service members. 

Believing steadfastly in building strong communities and that we are stronger together, HCol van Kessel builds that strength into all her endeavours. Through her volunteer work, she advises and sits on the boards of various not-for-profit organizations, including the Canadian Forces College Foundation, Canada Company, the Canadian International Council, and the RCAF Foundation.

Her focus for her new role as RCAF HCol is to continue that philosophy by helping to build a strong, connected, and engaged cadre of RCAF HCols from coast to coast to coast. 

By creating strong lines of communication and information-sharing throughout the HCol network, in lock step with units and command teams, HCol van Kessel wants to help empower each HCol to realize their vision and maximize their potential contributions to our members. This will help Wings and Squadrons reap the benefits of having someone dedicated to developing community relationships, engaging with members, and providing expertise, as well as offering strategic advice and leadership mentorship outside of the chain of command. Her objective is to create an enduring network of these engaged HCols and enable the cadre to become a true “force multiplier” for the RCAF.

As the RCAF Honorary Colonel, she welcomes the opportunity to serve the RCAF Command Team and be an ambassador for the Air Force to the Canadian community. She believes Canadians need to understand the need in today’s world for a strong deterrent against forces looking to topple the Rules-Based International Order. “Canadians need to better understand the precarious time we are at in the world, and the significance of the Canadian military and RCAF to sustain our international democracy,” HCol van Kessel states. “The RCAF’s ongoing modernization efforts are integral to helping our Canadian Armed Forces protect Canadians and our allies now and in the future. As Honorary Colonels, we provide outreach and can assist in communicating this message to Canadians.” 

Her six years as 16 Wing’s Honorary Colonel has left her with many treasured memories. “The team at 16 Wing is a family and close to my heart. Being able to share in their moments of joy, success, accomplishments, and even trials and tribulations, has truly impacted me deeply. I’m so very proud of all the aviators at the Wing, and of all they have accomplished during difficult times over the last few years while I was privileged to be their HCol,” she says proudly. 

One of her favorite moments came earlier this year, when HCol van Kessel, along with the other three Honorary Colonels associated with 16 Wing, unveiled the Ad Astra Monument at CFB Borden, the birthplace of the RCAF. “The multi-year legacy project was exceptionally rewarding,” she says. “To be able to create this enduring legacy to honour our Air Force at its Centennial, from the seed of an idea to unveiling the Ad Astra Beacon three years later, was a profoundly proud moment for me as well as all of the 16 Wing HCols.”

“There are so many ways HCols can contribute to the RCAF and its members. In my new capacity, my hope is to foster an integrated, empowered Honorary Colonel cadre,” says HCol van Kessel. “I see the passion, dedication, and commitment of our HCols to their people and the institution. We are stronger together.”