Three technicians drive up, bundled in so many layers of clothing that they look like astronauts on a space walk. I watch them hook up a tow bar and jack the skids up on trolleys, their reddened and numb fingers desperately trying to work on the stubborn metal parts in the cold. The ground crew are wizards, and I owe them a lot. During a six-month period, they kept at least six of our eight aircraft serviceable every day. In the distance, I can see Corporal Bill Street walking the helicopter line.
Street is a military policeman with a wife and young child back in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
I will fly more missions tomorrow, and Bill Street will be out here again all night, shivering and protecting my helicopter. My mother will be warm in her Toronto apartment, worried sick. But I get my comfort throughout this time in Kosovo from the pride I feel in being a peacekeeper and a Canadian. Visit the 1 Wing Kingston web site to view the article in it's entirety.