Williams rose quickly through ranks

High-Profile Posts

Mary Vallis, National Post
Published: Tuesday, February 09, 2010


By all accounts, Colonel Russ Williams was an ambitious military man. He rose quickly through the ranks to top roles that allowed him to meet the Queen, greet the Olympic torch, fly with Canada's most important dignitaries and preside over a massive relief effort to help victims of Haiti's earthquake.

The pilot and his wife, Mary Elizabeth, have been renovating a house in Ottawa, police said at a press conference yesterday. The couple, both avid golfers, also have a cottage in Tweed, Ont., which was cordoned off with police tape yesterday as investigators continued to probe the military man's alleged involvement in the murders of two women, one of whom was a soldier at Canadian Forces Base Trenton.

Col. Williams assumed command of 8 Wing Trenton in July 2009, after 22 years with the Canadian Forces. He was promoted to his current rank just six months earlier.

"These are exciting times for the air force," Col. Williams, former commander of Trenton's 437 "Husky" Transport Squadron, said at the time. "I am confident that the team here is up to the task and I look forward to getting right into that work."

According to an official biography published by the Department of National Defence, Col. Williams was also a "keen photographer," a fisherman and runner. The fitness of his troops was one of his top priorities.

"Fitness is vital," he told The Contact, CFB Trenton's base newspaper, when he took up his current role. "The Air Force has changed a lot in the past 10 years, in terms of the types of operations we conduct and support, and I think it's become very obvious to all of us that we need to step into operations on short notice. And that is only going to be easier if each of us is in good physical and mental condition."

His accomplished career began in 1987, after he graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in economics and enrolled in the Canadian Forces. Within three years, he earned his wings and worked as an instructor on the CT-134 Beech Musketeer at 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School in Portage la Prairie, Man.

By 1992, Col. Williams had moved across the country to CFB Shearwater in Nova Scotia, where he patrolled the coast in a CC144 Challenger, a type of airplane that is also used to fly dignitaries such as the prime minister and governor-general. Indeed, Col. Williams moved to Ottawa and took up that role with the 412 Transport Squadron before he was posted to Director General Military Careers.

After graduating with a Master in Defence Studies from the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont., he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and became Commanding Officer of 437 Squadron at CFB Trenton. During his two years in the post, he served for six months as the Commanding Officer Theatre Support Element for Camp Mirage, a secret military base in the Middle East.

As his string of high-profile postings continued, Col. Williams enrolled in French language training in Gatineau, Que., and was promoted to Colonel. In an interview with The Contact about his new role, Col. Williams remained humble.

"Certainly, I was keen to get the opportunity, but you never know," he said. "There are a number of qualified people who could do the job, and that's why I say that I feel very fortunate to have been appointed."