Williams a familiar face in Quinte region

Posted By Luke Hendry
Posted February 8th, 2010


As the top officer of Canada's largest air force base, Col. David Russ Williams is a familiar face in the Quinte region.

Williams is 46 and married to Mary Elizabeth Harriman. They have no children.

Williams is quiet and at times awkward, yet personable.

In an Intelligencer interview last January, he appeared relaxed, focused and happy with his job as base commander, a role he'd held since July.

"It's been outstanding," he said. "It's been a lot of fun but very, very busy. What has really impressed me in the last few months is how outstanding the support from the local community continues to be. I can think of very few events that have been anything less than positive."

The job of base commander requires an officer to be a visible public figure: the commander is host of an annual public golf tournament and Christmas reception, takes part in charity events and speaks to municipal councils and service clubs.

Williams also was one of Trenton's Olympic torch bearers during the flame's 2009 pass through the region. More recently, he oversaw aid flights to Haiti and escorted defence minister Peter MacKay and Gen. Walt Natynczyk, Canada's chief of defence staff, around the base.

His military résumé is relatively unremarkable for an officer of his rank: he's flown with various squadrons and has had some administrative desk jobs in Ottawa.

The officer earned a degree in economics and political science from the University of Toronto.

He enlisted in the Canadian Forces in 1987 and earned his pilot's wings in 1990.

Williams was a flight instructor with 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School in Portage la Prairie, Man.

He was stationed with 434 Combat Support Squadron in Shearwater, N.S., where he flew the CC-144 Challenger, a small passenger jet, for coastal patrol and electronic warfare, such as disrupting enemy communications.

Williams was eventually transferred to 412 Transport Squadron. Though technically a Trenton unit, its Challengers are based in Ottawa. It was with this squadron that Williams began piloting VIPs to various destinations.

A promotion to major came in 1999 along with a job as a career manager for military pilots of multi-engine planes.

Williams studied in Kingston's Royal Military College command and staff course from August 2003 to 2004, earning a Master of Defence Studies before being promoted to lieutenant-colonel.

He was given command of Trenton's 437 "Husky" Transport Squadron in 2004.

His duties with 437 Squadron also included flying high-profile Canadian dignitaries around the globe in the squadron's specially-equipped CC-150 Polaris, a modified version of the Airbus A310.

Though it's not clear just which VIPs were aboard those flights, the squadron is routinely assigned to high-profile missions in which prime ministers and the governor general travel the world.

During his time with 437, he also had a six-month command of Canada's Theatre Support Element in Camp Mirage, the Middle Eastern staging area supporting the Afghanistan mission.

After departing Trenton, Williams worked with the military's Directorate of Air Requirements, where in 2006 he began serving as a project director. There he was involved in the studies on Canada's needs for heavy-lift aircraft, the new CC-130J Hercules and CC-177 Globemaster III transports and other search and rescue planes.

Williams took command of CFB Trenton and 8 Wing, the base's air force element on July 14, 2009.

The base is the air force's transportation hub, with virtually all personnel and cargo going to and from Canada passing through Trenton. The base is also a major employer and in the midst of nearly $1 billion in infrastructure development.

Williams said in January that development boom was an obvious good-news story but the disruptions it causes can be distracting for staff.

"We just need to keep our eyes on the ball so that our operations don't suffer," Williams said.

"My main concern is that we're able to continue operations, which is the reason we're here, but at the same time make sure that people are keeping in mind that they ought not get too distracted by the day-to-day inconveniences."

Such distractions could pose safety hazards, he explained, and so officers are under orders to keep staff working safely.

His official military biography described Williams as an athlete and photographer.

Asked in an Intelligencer January what he liked to photograph, Williams fumbled a little before responding with a laugh that he had many pictures of his car, including one he kept on his Blackberry. He said he also enjoyed photographing nature scenes; neighbour Larry Jones recalled seeing Williams photographing birds at the birdhouses outside the colonel's bungalow.