Colonel Leif Dahl is the commander of 8 Wing and CFB Trenton in Ontario. (Department of National Defence)
By Scott Taylor
There was a truly bizarre story out of Belleville, Ontario last week which involved the commander of the Canadian Forces Base Trenton, the largest operational military base in Canada.
Initial reports of the incident were often contradictory and clouded with the usual fog of social media commentary.
However, now that the dust has somewhat settled, I offer what I hope to be a concise summary of the sequence of events as they unfolded.
On Friday August 25th, Col. Leif Dahl the Commander of the RCAF’s 8 Wing and by extension the Commander of CFB Trenton was on leave and enjoying his summer vacation.
Col. Dahl was apparently boating on the Murray Canal, a narrow waterway that connects the Bay of Quinte to Presqu’ile Bay on Lake Ontario.
The channel is close to where Dahl resides in the city of Belleville.
A complaint was filed with the Ontario Provincial Police to the effect that Col. Dahl was allegedly observed shooting at wildlife from his boat. For those familiar with the Murray Canal, it is not surprising that the shooting would be reported to the police as this is not a remote stretch of woodland. It is a public waterway with residential properties lining the banks.
Furthermore, those that hunt will know that August is not duck season in Ontario and apparently the ducks which Col. Dahl was allegedly targeting are a protected species in this area.
When the O.P.P dutifully appeared on the scene, it seems to have donned on Col. Dahl that he may be in a bit of trouble as he was spotted allegedly disposing of a firearm in the Murray Canal.
The O.P.P dive team subsequently retrieved the weapon. On Monday August 28th, Col. Dahl was formally charged with the following; obstructing a peace officer, careless use of a firearm while hunting, hunting birds without a license, and unlawfully having a loaded firearm in a conveyance (his boat).
Two days later, the RCAF issued a statement which acknowledged Col. Dahl’s charges and announced that he had been relieved of command pending the results of the civilian court proceedings. In his statement announcing Col. Dahl’s suspension, Commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, Maj. Gen. Iain Huddleston stated, “It is my responsibility to ensure that the members of 8 wing have full confidence in their leadership and chain-of-command.”
However, the very next day, the OPP laid another set of charges against Col. Dahl.
After executing a search warrant of Col. Dahl’s Belleville residence and following the O.P.P dive team recovering a second firearm from the Murray Canal, Dahl now faces charges of; possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, careless storage of a firearm and, breach of firearms regulations – transporting a firearm or restricted weapon.
None of the charges against Col. Dahl have been proven in court. The officer is scheduled to appear in court in Belleville on Sept. 28.
For the men and women of 8 Wing, the charges against Dahl are the second time the trust in their leadership and chain-of-command have been challenged in recent memory..
In January 2010, the world was shocked when then 8 Wing commander Col. Russ Williams was charged and convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and rape along with 82 counts of break-and-enter.
The crimes committed by the cold-blooded psychopath Russ Williams are nowhere near the same ‘Homer-Simpson-esque’ semi-comical hi-jinks which Col. Dahl is alleged to have committed.
However if convicted it will be difficult for the RCAF senior leadership to re-instate Col. Dahl to any position of trust which is commensurate with his current rank.
Those who closely follow the history of the Canadian Armed Forces will note that this is not the first time a senior officer has faced hunting related charges.
Back in 1989 allegations arose that Brig.-Gen. Ian Douglas, the base commander of CFB Petawawa was using a military helicopter to hunt moose. The good Brigadier was eventually found guilty and given a light fine. His lack of sound judgement in this instance in no way hampered his career trajectory. In fact Douglas was subsequently named Canada’s military attaché to Washington D.C. to finish out his career.
Trust in the leadership and chain-of-command indeed.
