Earning respect wherever he goes

In a surprise ceremony held Monday, August 23rd, 2012 Master Warrant Officer Cameron Winters was promoted to Chief by Colonel Conrad Namiesniowki, 22 Wing Commander (left). In on the fun was Carrie Winters and Chief Warrant Officer Gilles Caouette, Wing Chief (far right). A large number of 22 Wing personnel also formed up to witness the occasion. Story by: Captain Leah Pierce, Public Affairs 22 Wing CFB North Bay. Photo by Corporal Joseph Morin, 22 Wing Imagery Technician.

You definitely know someone is a people person when they tell you, “A good day is when I have somebody who is in trouble or is in my office and have them leave with their head held high or leave with a smile on their face because I’ve been able to steer them in the right direction and help them when they needed it.” Newly promoted Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Cameron Winters would rather work on people’s strengths than berate their weaknesses.

A twenty-five year veteran of the Canadian Forces, CWO Winters entered the military with a strong aptitude for electronics. As an Aerospace Telecommunication & Information Systems Technician he had numerous opportunities throughout his career to test those skills. One of his career highlights included installing and trouble shooting new communication suites in deployed Canadian Navy ships during 9/11.

This Brooklyn, Nova Scotian has gained a wealth of operational experience and has worked along side the army, navy, air force, United States Air Force, within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). With a number of deployments under his belt including Haiti, Kuwait, Italy, Alert, Greenland plus postings to most Provinces and Territories in Canada, and a posting to Alaska serving on board the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), he will be bringing an understanding of the requirements of flight crews to his new posting as Wing Operations Chief Warrant Office at 19 Wing Comox in British Columbia.

Chief Winters believes his primary responsibility in the new position as Wing Ops Chief will be to encourage cohesion and networking, “We are service orientated and it will be my job to motivate people to ensure Ops has all the tools necessary to do the job.”

What will CWO Winters remember most about his four years in North Bay? The satisfaction knowing families of a deceased member were well looked after, ensuring deserving members were well recognized and being part of the organizing committee that established the Yukla 27 Memorial at 22 Wing – today, the only saluting zone on the wing. “This posting has been the highlight of my career (and I’ve had good postings!), and that has everything to do with the people, from the youngest Private to the three Wing Commanders I’ve had the privilege to serve with, everyone has been exceptional. North Bay truly is a hidden gem and I think Comox has its work cut out to try to top this place, although I’m looking forward to giving it a chance!”

“It was very special to be promoted here at this wing,” explains Winters, “the troops enabled me to look good.” Perhaps that is because of his personal creed, his “home grown” quote, “If you command respect you will earn nothing. If you earn respect you can command anything.”

As CWO Winters prepares to make his trek back to the Pacific Rim he will bring with him a sense of accomplishment, that he helped to build strong working relationships between operations and technical support in North Bay where the operations and support sections continue to work very well together to form a strong Defence Team.