Captain Sonia M.I. Dumouchel-Connock
12 Wing Public Affairs Officer

SHEARWATER, N.S. - - In a ceremony held earlier this month in the ballroom of Juno Towers, two members of 12 Wing were presented with CDS Commendations for having performed deeds considered beyond the demands of normal duty.

Lt.-Col. Stephen Newton, the Commanding Officer of 406 Maritime Operational Training Squadron, and Master Cpl. Mike Leal, an Avionics Systems Technician (AVS) with 12 Air Maintenance Squadron, received their framed, gold-embossed scrolls from Lt.-Gen. Walter Natynczyk, the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff.

Fiery Rescue Saves a Life

On the morning of March 13, 2005, (then) Cpl. Leal saved the life of a woman trapped in a vehicle that had gone into a ditch, flipped over, and burst into flames.

"Observing the situation from his home, Cpl. Leal, without the aid of fire retardant clothing and armed with a small CO² fire extinguisher, proceeded to the scene of the accident," reads Master Cpl. Leal's citation. "Aware of the dangers associated with a burning automobile but determined to rescue the victim, Cpl. Leal used his fire extinguisher in an attempt to prevent the fire from spreading.

MCpl Mike Leal (left), an Avionics Systems Technician (AVS) with 12 Air Maintenance Squadron at 12 Wing, receives his CDS Commendation from LGen Walter Natynczyk (right), the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, during a ceremony held in the ballroom of Juno Towers on Aug. 3, 2006.

Unable to put out the flames with his small extinguisher and with the fire and smoke quickly spreading to the interior of the car, Cpl. Leal broke the rear window of the vehicle and extracted the victim."

The citation ends with the following phrase: "In the face of a hazardous situation, Cpl. Leal went above the call of duty to save someone's life. His outstanding actions brought credit to himself and the Canadian Forces."

Receiving the CDS Commendation raises mixed feelings, says the AVS Technician who has been in the Canadian Forces (CF) for 24 years. "I feel proud be recognized for what I did - but I also feel a little embarrassed at being called a ‘hero'," says Master Cpl. Leal. "It's praise for something which came without too much thought since I reacted as I've been trained to react. I am extremely glad that I've had the training to deal with emergencies - especially fire."

Leading the Forces into the Future

Lt.-Col "Fig" Newton received his commendation for his outstanding leadership and dedication to the furthering of the potential of Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

While working as the Command and Sense experimentation team leader at the Canadian Forces Experimentation Centre in Ottawa, Lt.-Col Newton lead a team of military officers and defence scientists and contractors. The team developed a plan for the testing and evaluation of UAVs - an important step in the introduction of a new operational capability for the CF.

This testing and evaluation plan produced a number of Canadian "firsts": the first use of a UAV controlled via satellite; the first UAV flight above the Arctic Circle; the first integration of a UAV into normal domestic aerospace; and, the first simultaneous use of multiple UAV's within a single Canadian Forces operation.

"Lt.-Col. Newton's vision is charting the future of capability initiatives in support of operations, and has brought significant national and international credit to his unit and to the Canadian Forces," cites his commendation.

While he is the one receiving the CDS Commendation, Lt.-Col. Newton says the award is a recognition of the dedication and work of his team: "I am only the face man of a stellar team of individuals with the knowledge, skills and vision to develop, conduct and evaluate the ground-breaking work on concept development and experimentation using UAVs as a test bed to develop CF processes," says the 28-year veteran of the CF. "The award is a recognition of their efforts and enthusiasm for the transformation of the CF."

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