North Bay airman awarded commendation for Afghanistan service
News Article / October 9, 2012
Last month, Warrant Officer Melvin Wiseman of 22 Wing North Bay, Ont., was awarded a Canadian Expeditionary Force Command Commander’s Commendation for his service in Afghanistan.
WO Melvin Wiseman was deployed to Kandahar Air Field from July 2010 to January 2011. About a month into his tour, he took over as the Base Operations Centre (BOC) Warrant Officer, replacing a British captain who became ill and was repatriated to the United Kingdom.
This left only two other captains to cover the duty operations officer position, a very job that was responsible for running the airfield on a 24/7 basis.
WO Wiseman volunteered to be trained and to fill the vital position.
“I just wanted to help out,” he said.
At the time, the Kandahar Air Field was said to be the busiest single-runway airport in the world. WO Wiseman worked as the duty operations officer (12 hour shifts for two days and two nights at a time) as well as the BOC warrant officer for the remainder of the tour.
“The BOC was not responsible for the air traffic control duties, but pretty much everything else,” explained WO Wiseman.
During a ground attack on the airfield in August 2010, he was responsible for the security of the BOC, establishing sentry posts throughout the attack, all while handling his own responsibilities.
“I supervised and re-assured two very junior privates at their posts,” he said.
Colonel Conrad Namiesniowski, 22 Wing commander, and Chief Warrant Officer Gilles Caouette, 22 Wing CWO, presented WO Wiseman with the commendation on September 11. The commendation reads:
Deployed to Afghanistan from July 2010 to January 2011 as Base Operations Warrant Officer within Commander Kandahar Airfield Headquarters, Warrant Officer Wiseman’s leadership and performance was outstanding. Highly professional and a tireless worker, he capably filled the role of Duty Operations Officer whenever required. Warrant Officer Wiseman’s exceptional dedication was an example to all, contributed directly to operational success, and brought great credit to the Canadian Forces.
Signed, LGen Stuart Beare, Commander, Canadian Expeditionary Force Command.
WO Wiseman has served in the Canadian Forces for 28 years. He formerly served with 22 Wing North Bay and is now the detachment warrant officer with Canadian Forces National Recruiting Contact Centre in North Bay.