In the fall of 1992, inspired by a friend and fellow IBM employee who reached for the stars, Gillian Parker walked into a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) recruiting centre in pursuit of a personal dream; to join the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and earn her pilots wings. The next 27 years of service would be filled with challenges and opportunities, highs and lows, but most of all accomplishments as part of a larger team.
Major Parker has fit a lot into almost 28 years in the CAF. She instructed on Tutors and she flew Hawks and Hercules in both Search and Rescue (SAR) and tactical roles, including three tours in Afghanistan. Operations were particularly rewarding “because we put into practice everything we train so hard to do as a team.”
Major Parker also completed two demanding postings as a staff officer; one at National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) as an EA and at one Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) as a SAR staff OPI. She was a Flight Safety Officer and has written for the Directorate of Flight Safety's publication Flight Comment. Throughout her career, she has also proudly attended, contributed to, or been directly involved in the Canadian Women in Aviation conferences.
In 2016, Major Gillian Parker was posted to NATO Allied Air Command in Ramstein, Germany for perhaps the most demanding challenge of her career. Her next three years were spent on detailed planning for the multi-national Air Forces EXERCISE TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018.
Not only was this…
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