Freedom, New Dawn, Kosovo and Restore Hope. “There’s a great sense of satisfaction in knowing we help maintain air superiority around the world for the U.S. and its allies,” Canada said. “I’ve always enjoyed the sense of purpose and camaraderie that comes with real-world missions.” One of those missions included flying from Masirah Air Base on the island of Masirah in Oman in March 2003. During what she thought was a routine air refueling mission, Canada’s crew received a change in orders directing them to cross into Iraqi airspace. “It wasn’t until we returned to base that we learned we were a vital part of the ‘shock and awe’ operation that launched the invasion of Iraq,” she said. Canada’s also flown humanitarian missions with her tanker crew. The most meaningful, she said, was in support of Hurricane Andrew victims at Homestead Air Force Base in Florida. The base was all but destroyed when it took a direct hit from the Category 5 hurricane in August 1992. The mission was to fly military members and their families—who had been moved to a safe location before the hurricane—back to the base to gather any belongings that had been spared. “I will never forget the power of this storm and its massive destruction,” Canada recalled. “It was a bit unnerving flying in the aftermath of that kind of weather. But, to this day, I cherish the role I played in helping devastated fami-lies recover from the wreckage and how thankful they were for our assistance in helping them salvage whatever they could of their lives before the storm.” n diane.l.stratman@boeing.com PHOTOS: (Clockwise from top) Canada keeps an eye on the C-17 while it is receiving fuel; March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, Calif., is home to a number of KC-135 tankers; the refueling mission complete, Canada is back on the tanker flight deck monitoring aircraft systems; during a preflight briefing, Canada and the KC-135 crew review mission details. BOEING FRONTIERS / MAY 2013 25
Frontiers May 2013 Issue
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