When Riel Erickson was made Commanding Officer of the pilot training school at CFB Moose Jaw, she had one local cheerleader who was proud to share the story with the Mail.
Patti Naegeli told the Mail that Lieutenant Colonel Erickson had risen to the position of Commandant of 2 Canadian Flight School, and she has a bit of a local connection. She is the daughter of Lloyd Erickson and Donna Kendall. They lived and worked in Drumheller when Riel was a little girl. Donna was the “Top of the Hill” correspondent for the Mail.
“Riel’s dad was head of security at the Drumheller Institution, and her mom was living unit officer,” said Naegeli, adding her daughter was in Moose Jaw for the ceremony.
Riel said it was community that got her there.
“I have said throughout my career is I have been very successful, but a lot of that is because of the support I received. Since coming into this job, it is great to hear from communities that are excited to hear about my story, but I have said all along I got here because of the support I got all along the way, including Patti and a number of people who knew my family and giving my parents support. That has meant so much to me.”
Riel completed her high school in Black Diamond, and it was early on when she was inspired to fly.
“My family didn’t have a lot of military background, but my uncle was a fighter pilot and he was actually in the first Gulf War and fired the first shot in war since the Korean War,” she said. “I would have been in Grade 6 or 7 at the time and hearing all the stories and watching him on the news, it was a very big deal in the family. In high school, when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I remember all his stories and going to the Royal Military College (RMC).”
She was accepted into the RMC in Ontario and quickly immersed herself in the lifestyle.
“The people were a big aspect of it, the teamwork, going through RCMP the camaraderie was amazing,” she said. “When I started my flying training I thought ‘I didn’t really know if I really like this,’ but quitting is not in my nature. It seemed as the planes got bigger and faster, and performed better, I started enjoying it way more, and knew the only thing I should really do is fly these.”
She became the fifth woman fighter pilot in the Canadian Military.
“There hasn’t been a dull day in my entire career,” she said.
She continued to rise through the ranks and on October 2, she became Commandant of the pilot training school at CFB Moose Jaw, the first women to do so. The significance of this accomplishment is not lost on Erickson and she says it is a great first step.
“I always want to see more though. These are necessary steps to see more women in these roles in the future,” she said. “I am excited, and it is great. What is more exciting than me being the first, is I am not going to be the last.”
In her role as Commandant, she is in charge of making sure the school is able to achieve its mission of producing pilots for the RCAF. She makes sure her instructors can focus on the tactical part of the mission of training and flying. The base partners to assist in training NATO pilots, as well as non-NATO international countries. She will also assist in training.
“I work on the bigger issues so they can actually focus on the students,” she said.
She still does manage to get up in the planes though.
“It’s not as much, of course, as I would like, but one of the perks of this job is to still be able to stay in a cockpit.”
