Col. Russ Williams salutes as he arrives at the Battle of Britain parade in Trenton, Ont. in this Sept. 20, 2009 National Defence handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - DND, Cplc Miranda Langguth
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Col. Russ Williams salutes as he arrives at the Battle of Britain parade in Trenton, Ont. in this Sept. 20, 2009 National Defence handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - DND, Cplc Miranda Langguth |
The officer charged in the deaths of two Ontario women was pilot to VIPs including the prime minister and Governor General before he was handed command of the country's largest air force base.
Col. Russell Williams, 46, of Tweed, Ont., was arrested Sunday in Ottawa. He was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of two women and with the sexual assaults of two others.
Posted to 412 (Transport) Squadron in Ottawa in the 1990s, Williams flew one of four Canadian Forces Challenger jets in the "VIP transport role," says a brief biographical sketch posted on the Defence website.
That would have put him at the stick of the prime minister's and Governor General's planes during domestic and overseas trips.
"A keen photographer, fisherman and runner, Col. Williams and his wife Mary Elizabeth are also avid golfers," says the biography.
A 23-year veteran of the Canadian Forces, he is a former director-general of military careers, who oversaw assignments for transport pilots.
Last July, Williams was given command of Canadian Forces Base Trenton in eastern Ontario. Besides the base itself, Williams also commanded 8 Wing.
Trenton is the sprawling air base from which troops leave for Afghanistan and to which they return home when their tours end, sometimes in coffins.
Located midway between Toronto and Ottawa, the base is Mile 0 of the Highway of Heroes, the section of Highway 401 over which funereal processions carry the bodies of dead Canadian soldiers to Toronto for autopsy.
Trenton is a hub of Air Command activities. A major search-and-rescue base, it is also the site from which the military's Disaster Assistance Response Team departed for Haiti last month.
It is also home to the military's growing new fleet of CF-130J Hercules transports and the giant C-17 Globemaster strategic-lift aircraft.
He was project director for the Globemaster and Hercules purchases.
Lt.-Gen. Andre Deschamps, the chief of the air staff, issued a statement Monday, saying an interim commander would soon be appointed at Trenton.
"In the coming days, a review will be initiated by 1 Canadian Air Division in Winnipeg to determine the most appropriate action to take regarding Col. Williams pending the outcome of the trial," he said.
"The Canadian Forces hold their members to a very high standard of conduct and performance, in Canada or abroad, on or off military duty. I confirm that the air force is fully supporting civilian authorities in the conduct of the current matter."
Williams received a degree in economics and political science from the University of Toronto, and a master's in defence studies from Royal Military College. He's also a former flying instructor.
He spent two years commanding 437 (Transport) Squadron in Trenton, including six months in 2005-06 as commanding officer of the military's secretive Camp Mirage, a logistics base on the Arabian Gulf.
Williams was promoted colonel early last year while on a six-month French-language training course in Gatineau, Que.
The colonel met Trenton Mayor John Williams and council before taking over command from Col. Mike Hood last July 15.
"I look forward to meeting many more members of the community and strengthening that relationship Col. Hood worked so hard to develop," Col. Williams said at the time.
"These are exciting times for the air force."