Past military VIP junkets under microscope
SEX ASSAULT CHARGE
Canada’s top soldier has portrayed the partying on a recent taxpayer-funded military junket, which included free-flowing booze, a band set up at the back of the plane, and people dancing in the aisles, as a one-time incident.
But photos have surfaced from a 2010 military morale tour to Afghanistan showing similar behaviour, including one image featuring former NHL player Dave “Tiger” Williams with what appear to be beads stuck up one of his nostrils. Military sources have also contacted Postmedia to contradict Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance’s claim and instead point out that heavy drinking and partying was a feature on some of the previous morale tours.
The Canadian Forces has been trying to deal with the public relations fallout from the Dec. 2-3 2017 flight to Greece and Latvia, which ended up in sexual assault charges being laid against Williams earlier this month. The flight was planned by Vance’s staff and VIPs were allowed to bring their own booze on board the Royal Canadian Air Force plane.
One passenger boarded the aircraft with a 40-ounce bottle of alcohol. Passengers who were already drunk were also reportedly allowed to board.
Video from the flight shows people with drinks — including one of Vance’s staff — dancing in the aisles of the aircraft as a rock band plays. Amplifiers were also set up in the aisles in violation of aircraft safety procedures.
Last week Vance said he had never heard of any issues with previous morale tours and suggested some of the information military sources were providing to the media was exaggerated.
But photos from a March 2010 morale tour show the same band — the Torontobased Carpet Frogs — playing in the aisles of the RCAF aircraft and Williams posing with beads up one of his nostrils. Other photos — posted on the band website — show people in the aisles with beer and a cooler set up on one of the aircraft seats.
Postmedia sent Williams’ lawyer a copy of the photo requesting comment. None was provided. But his lawyer noted in an earlier statement about the sex assault charge that Williams denies any wrongdoing and is confident he will be vindicated.
The Carpet Frogs did not comment.
Brian Burke, president of hockey operations for the Calgary Flames, who was also on the December flight as well as the 2010 tour to Kandahar, Afghanistan, did not comment.
Vance said he has temporarily suspended such tours — designed to bring entertainers and celebrities to raise the morale of troops — until a review can be completed. Alcohol will no longer be served on such flights.
But Vance also defended the tours, pointing out they provide a valuable boost in morale to the troops. “The band playing in the back of the plane, that’s some teambuilding for people who have never met soldiers before and are going to go into maybe a dangerous place,” he told reporters last Friday. “So, it’s not a Mardi Gras. It’s not a party. It’s a mission.”
RCAF commander Lt.Gen. Michael Hood has taken a harder line. “It is clear to all of us that our crew members have been placed in an unacceptable situation, in particular in terms of clearer guidelines with respect to civilian VIP passengers, and the absence of policies with respect to alcohol and passengers, notwithstanding that the large majority of our flights are ‘dry’,” he said in an internal message to air force staff.
RCAF Lt.-Gen. Alain Parent, the vice chief of the defence staff and the secondhighest ranking officer in the Forces, as well as Chief Warrant Officer Kevin West, the most senior non-commissioned member of the Canadian Forces, were also on the flight. It’s unclear why they didn’t do anything to stop the festivities.
Previously, VIP passengers have been allowed to bring their own alcohol on board such flights. Asked about that, the Canadian Forces responded by noting, “The intent behind this practice is to enable participants to enjoy a few beverages throughout the course of a long trip, not unlike a commercial flight.”