Snowbirds will get past tragedy
Former Snowbirds commander says team will get through tragedy
One of the most breathtaking aspects of watching the Snowbirds in action is how close they get to each other in the air.
Former Snowbirds commander Dan Dempsey says the same holds true on the ground: The team is close. Incredibly close. A small and select group of pilots and support people, the Snowbirds are a unit, more like family than co-workers.
“Some of the guys I flew with were just like brothers to me,” he says. “They really were. And I know that the (current) team feels the same way.”
It’s that sense of family that will help pull the Snowbirds through the weekend’s tragedy, he says.
“(Capt.) Jenn Casey’s indelible spirit and infectious smile will always be with them, and the Snowbirds will fly again in her honour and the nation she served so well,” Dempsey says.
Dempsey was initially selected for the team in the fall of 1979. He flew with them in 1980 and 1981, then returned as team leader in 1989 and 1990.
He remains associated with the team as director and past president of the Snowbirds Alumni Association. He’s also written about them in his book, A Tradition of Excellence: Canada’s Airshow Team Heritage.
“The Snowbirds are a national treasure …,” he says. “They’re a model for national unity. I think it’s important to remember now, notwithstanding this tragedy — which is a tragedy in every sense of the word — that it was at the behest of the federal government that the Snowbirds launched off on this initiative through Operation Inspiration. And it’s just been so heartwarming to see the response.”
Dempsey says he watched the positive reactions on social media and through local and national media as the Snowbirds made their way across the country.
“We’re in dire straits now in our country and the team was doing something they had done for a long, long time to uplift spirits,” he says. “People love to see them fly.”
Perhaps as much as the Snowbirds love to fly.
Dempsey points out it’s no easy thing to earn a spot on the team. Not only do members need to be top pilots; they are required to be, as Dempsey puts it, “ambassadors” for the country.
“Jenn Casey was just the consummate professional,” he says. “She was such a wonderful person. She was really an ideal lady to be doing the public relations job that she’d been given.”
In a statement released by Casey’s family on Wednesday, she was remembered as having a “beautiful smile and positively infectious personality.” She was described as a beloved family member and friend, a passionate storyteller and a proud ambassador for the Snowbirds.
Dempsey says the outpouring of support from the public in the wake of Sunday’s tragedy is not only comforting but crucial for the team as they work on getting back on their feet.
Also important is the role of each member’s family. Dempsey says individual families get to know each other well while their loved ones are with the Snowbirds — a sentiment noted by Casey’s family.
“Many say that the military is much like a second family and Jenn welcomed these brothers and sisters with open arms and all her heart,” her family’s statement read. “There are many groups in her military family that are sharing in her loss.”
The family referred to the Public Affairs Branch and the Royal Canadian Air Force, as well as the Snowbirds — the latter described as “a team that she proudly served in a job she truly loved.”
“Our hearts are with all of you at this time as we mourn the loss of Jenn and remember all of the memories we shared with her,” her family said.
Dempsey notes the team has been through tragedies several times in the past.
“When something like this happens, it’s like losing part of your family — it just is,” he says. “There’s nothing worse, and especially when you have circumstances like we saw the other day here, when something absolutely catastrophic happens and there’s no time to react and all of a sudden, you’re having to eject from an aircraft over a populated area. It’s the worst-case scenario.”