Bill Lesko, who was raised in the Lady Lake area and graduated from Sturgis Composite High School in 1968, says he had little interest in going to university.
So, in March of 1969 he decided that he wanted to work in the bush. He operated a tree skidder and later drove a truck hauling logs to the saw mill in The Pas, Man.
“It was not as spectacular as I had dreamed,” Lasko said recently, “I had always wanted to drive a big truck.”
Eventually, he decided that he might join the Army Provost corps.
“I went to the armoury in Yorkton to find out how I could enlist in the army. I had been in the army cadet corps prior to completing high school and I remember liking the cadet corps, especially the six weeks I had in 1966 at the summer cadet camp at Kelowna, B.C.”
In a matter of days Lesko was in Calgary, writing aptitude tests. Then he was at the recruiting office in Regina.
“The recruiting officer said to me that he could offer me a trade that paid more money than the Provost Corps, and he had my attention. The Air Force was looking for air weapons technicians.”
He had no idea what the trade entailed but he accepted the position and the rest was history. In about two weeks he was off to Cornwallis, N.S. for recruit training. It was a three-day ride on the train to Nova Scotia, he remembers. Eight weeks later he graduated as number one in his class, receiving the Commandant’s Shield on August 8, 1969.
At the time when Lesko was joining, the government under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had decided to take the air force, navy and army and make it into one unified force wearing one uniform.
“I joined wearing an air force blue uniform, while others were wearing the air force summer tan uniform. A blue uniform was all that supply had to fit me,” he said.
In 1972, he was issued the new green uniform. As time went on he said the green uniform became an issue of morale and pride. Sometime before 1990, they were back to three distinct uniforms: air force, army and navy. Then in 2004, they were issued the new Canadian disruptive pattern (CADPAT) pad uniforms that the military wears today.
“We still had our air force blues but they hung in the closet and were only worn for parades.”
Cornwallis
Basic training at Cornwallis, definitely tested anyone’s limits, he said. “We didn’t walk, we double timed from place to place. We drilled and we drilled some more. We also had weapons training, first aid training, and of course, hygiene instruction. Cleanliness was godliness. Clothes were folded to exact sizes by using a ruler. We were given a drawing to show how our locker was to look for every morning’s inspection. Beds had to be wrinkle free. Shirts needed to be hanging without so much as a little wrinkle.
“When others soon saw that I could iron a shirt with ease and never get picked up on inspection for my shirts, it wasn’t long before some were asking me to iron their shirts.
“My mother had taught me how to use an iron when I was in the cadet corps.”
The barracks he stayed in, he said were very old and made of wood. The fire marshal said if one caught fire, it would be destroyed in minutes.
“So, we had to have a roving fire picket during the night. During one of our group conversations, we asked one another why we had joined the military. For most of us it was a matter of choice. There were a couple who admitted they were given a choice by a judge: ‘Join the military or take your punishment.’”
Camp Borden
After basic training in Cornwallis, Lesko was off to Borden, Ont. for trades training. He was instructed in AC/DC electrical theory, driver training with the common staff car and light trucks, shop training to ensure they could handle tools and then the air weapons course itself.
Many subjects were covered that featured aircraft types, different air weapons used at the time, aircraft marshalling, small arms handling and probably the most important subject, safety when handling, storing and transporting explosives.
Camp Borden’s history goes back to the First World War. When Lesko arrived there, it was a very busy place. The army and air force were both training at Borden. Mess halls were many and busy.
“You only ate at a designated mess hall. The Pink Elephant was the mess hall where cooks were trained. Many wanted to try the food at the Pink Elephant but couldn’t get access because you had to have a special meal card.
“We were warned ‘Do not try to eat at the Pink Elephant unless you have the proper card.’ From what I remember, food was good and plentiful, unlike recruit school where food was definitely rationed. You did not go back for seconds and you certainly did not gain any weight attending recruit school.”
The classes marched to school at the same time. In the morning, all the different classes formed up on the street outside the barracks. When it came time for lunch, the classes all lined up and marched to mess hall together. It was called “catching the Bus.”
Camp Borden was divided into two. The north side was mainly army and the south side was air force. At the time, pilots even started their training at Borden, flying the Chipmunks.
“Camp Borden was where I was introduced to the game of golf by one of my peers. Over the next 40 years, I would return to Camp Borden for different courses.”
There would be explosive ordnance disposal training, classroom instructor training, more electrical training and training to course load personnel as an employment training officer.
Camp Borden is not as active now as it was in the 1970s, he said. It is now mainly air force occupied.
Summerside, PEI
In the early spring of 1970, Lesko arrived at his first operational posting, Summerside, PEI where he was going to work on the Argus aircraft. The Argus was built in Canada, had four-piston engines and was used for anti-submarine warfare (ASW). It was a very powerful and noisy aircraft.
“Remember, the Cold War was on and the Argus was used to find and track Russian submarines.”
The Argus aircraft training school was located in Greenwood, N.S. and before long he was off to Greenwood to learn about the Argus.
“The Argus aircraft was a very noisy aircraft, especially when you were on the start crew, standing under the wing, behind the prop, waiting for the signal to pull the chocks.
“When I first started working on the Argus, ear defenders were not used or issued. About three years later, hearing protection became mandatory. It’s a wonder I can still hear.
“My time at Summerside was very interesting,” said Lesko, explaining that his job experience expanded from year to year. It included working at the bomb dump, performing aircraft maintenance and storing and handling of explosives.
“There were many rules and regulations that had to be strictly followed for everyone’s safety.”
Lesko recalls a scary moment during the October Crisis (FLQ crisis) in the 1970s.
“I was working the explosive area at the time. We had to guard the area at night. I was given a secret message to read and sign. I was to follow the orders of the message when on guard duty at night. It pretty much said, ‘shoot first and ask questions later.’
“One night when on duty by myself, I went out to do the security check with a 9mm pistol tucked into my parka pocket. At one of the buildings, I opened the door to the furnace room to check inside. At the same time as I pulled on the door, the furnace cut in with a bang. I thought someone had shot at me. My heart had to have stopped for a moment.”
While at Summerside, he was deployed to Bermuda four times and to Portugal, Hawaii, New Zealand, Greenland and Scotland. From Machrihanish, Scotland, he took the train and went to Edinburgh to tour Edinburgh castle.
Summerside has many good memories for Lesko.
It was while he was at Summerside, that he was part of the crew that took part in an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) competition. There were three bases competing: Summerside, Greenwood and Comox, with Summerside wining the competition.
Because of the win, Summerside competed in the Fincastle ASW competition. It would consist of a team from England, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, and was to be held in New Zealand.
It was a long flight in an Argus from Summerside to New Zealand, he said. They were delayed in Hawaii for maintenance and had to spend all night on the ground. The team took advantage of the time and took in some of the night life. It was about 6 a.m. when they finally left Hawaii for Fiji.
“Before we got to Fiji, the airplane had some engine problems. They needed a new cylinder for one of the engines. Not having one available, we were delayed in Fiji for four days while Air Canada brought us a new cylinder.
“Our first day in Fiji, we could not see the sun. It was total cloud. We were all lying about the pool at the hotel enjoying life, thinking we were safe from the sun. However, the next day we all had sunburns.
“We finally made Auckland, New Zealand. We didn’t win the competition but we sure had fun. In New Zealand, they bring beer to a barbecue in a 100-gallon tank on wheels. The return trip to Summerside was without any incidents or delays.
Baden Baden, Germany
In 1980, Lesko was posted to Baden Baden, Germany, which he said was the dream of a lifetime.
“I would be working on the CF-104 aircraft. The CF-104 was all engine,” said Lesko. “It could reach a speed of Mach 2 under certain conditions. The leading edge of the wings was razor sharp, at least that’s what it felt like if your forehead made contact with the leading edge. It was mandatory to wear a ball cap when working on the CF-104.”
Lesko spent five “wonderful years” enjoying the culture, travelling and eating schnitzels with beer.
“The German people were wonderful. Europe is a fine place to tour when on time off. I toured Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, France, Belgium, Lichtenstein, Italy, England and Scotland.”
“The Cold War was still on and we constantly practised war time scenarios, just in case.
“My primary job was to be a member of a four-man load crew. I was trained as a driver and operated the MJ-1 bomb lift. I had to pick the bomb off the trailer and position it perfectly under the aircraft so that the wing men could attach it to the aircraft in minimum time.
“There were no cell phones at that time. In fact, when you lived outside the base, you had no phone, period, to keep in touch. When an alert exercise was called, a designated member for a determined area had a black box that started to scream.”
When the black box screamed, Lesko had to go and knock on the doors of all the servicemen on his list before he reported to work.
“The food and customs of Germany are almost indescribable,” he said. “You really have to be there to get the full appreciation.”
His memories include the Black Forest, cuckoo clocks, castles, history, snails, frogs’ legs, taking the German hunting course, participating in volks marches on weekends, staying at the International Boy Scout Camp in Kanderstag, Switzerland (at the time he was a cub scout leader) and cross-country skiing.
“It was in Germany that I learnt to downhill ski. The Canadian Army in Lahr would run ski courses in the winter. If you were lucky enough to get your name drawn, you could go. I had my name picked twice. Each session was for a five-day period. You boarded a bus in the early morning and returned home after dark each day. It was tiring, but well worth it. On my return to Canada, I would ski at Banff and Jasper.”
Shearwater, NS
In 1985, Lesko was posted to Shearwater, NS.
“With the unification of the services you had no rights. If you were sent to work with the navy, you had no choice, you had to go, like it or not. At the start, there was a lot of opposition from the old-timers. Some took an early release instead of going to Shearwater because Shearwater meant going to sea.”
When he first got to Shearwater, Lesko started working on the Tracker aircraft. The Tracker was old. It had been flying off Her Majesty's CanadianShip, Bonaventure which has since been retired. After a few months, they were all sent to Summerside and would soon be retired. He moved over to the mighty Sea King helicopter.
“This was my first helicopter posting,” he said.
About a year went by before he moved to a ships’ detachment. He was going to become a member of the HMCS Nipigon Helo detachment.
“When the ship sailed, we sailed with it. When the ship came back to Halifax, we came back and worked at Shearwater. HMCS Nipigon only had one helo on board. It was a change of pace but extremely interesting.
“When at sea, you were on duty 24/7,” he said. “If you were not working, it was a good idea to be in your rack resting because you never knew when you would hear the bong, bong, bong, announcing flying stations.
“Flying stations meant either launching the helo or recovering the helo, a real adventure from start to finish.”
Besides performing his own work on the helo, Lesko was responsible for maintaining the records for the helo and sending weekly messages back to base.
“Life aboard ship was a total experience,” he said.
The first instruction that he received was from one of his co-workers was “don’t make the cook mad.” Living and working on board a ship is very serious business.
“There were 67 sleeping in my mess or room, stacked three high. With the ship’s company divided into three watches, there was always someone on duty and someone resting. There was always great concern and respect for the other person who may be trying to get some shut-eye.
“Cleaning stations took place morning and evening. Personal hygiene on a ship is a must. The ship was spotless at all times. Fire drills were conducted regularly. Fire on board a ship is your worst enemy. You take special training before going to sea, so you can fight a fire or jump into the water from great heights. Landing a Seaking helicopter on the back of the ship is like landing on a postage stamp. No room for error.”
The ship was in the Atlantic on exercise when the Ocean Ranger went down, he said, adding that they had managed to recover a couple of bodies sometime during the night while he was in his rack, sleeping.
Once, while on a NATO exercise, one of his co-workers reminded him that they had not seen land for 30 days.
“We could refuel, transfer mail or transfer a person from one ship to another ship, at sea, without stopping. It was quite a spectacle when you saw it for the first time.
“Weather had no effect on the ship’s course. No matter how huge the sea swells were, a course was set and maintained. The ship would just rock and roll with the swells.
“We had 170 personnel on board and no doctor, but the medical assistant was a sergeant and he was very well qualified.
“After I spent my 18 months with HMCS Nipigon, I was moved to VU32 Squadron in Shearwater.”
Lesko became qualified to fly in the back seat of the T-bird and towed targets for the navy. They streamed a target on a thin wire and the ship below would fire at it with its big gun. Not often did they miss, he said, adding that he had logged over 200 hours in the back seat of the T-bird. He was also deployed to Bermuda and Puerto Rico, towing targets.
It was during this time that he was sent to Kingston, Ont. to learn electronics. His trade was advancing on the pay scale but only if he completed three months of electrical training in Kingston. The little bit of AC/DC theory upon joining was not sufficient. Lesko graduated number one in his class and became an air weapons systems technician.
Cold Lake
In the summer of 1985, Lesko was promoted to sergeant and posted to Cold Lake, Alta. He was to be an instructor at 10 Field Technical Training Unit in the F-5 school. This job was different, it was all about lectures, writing lesson plans and testing students, and was not as exciting as being on ship.
In 1990, he was posted to 419 Training Squadron on the opposite side of the base. He recalls it had a little more action.
“It’s strange how things can happen. One day the flight safety cell at Air Command Headquarters told the squadron that they had been operating for a very long time without a flight safety accident and we should be on guard. A couple weeks later, we lost our first aircraft and two pilots.
“Cold Lake is not for everyone. It’s a great place to hunt, fish and enjoy the outdoors but not such a great place if you liked to shop. I love the outdoors and like fishing so I had a really good time at Cold Lake,.”
In 1992, he was posted to Greenwood, NS, which is in the heart of the Annapolis Valley. Lesko was to be an instructor at the Mark 46 torpedo school, but that was short lived. As soon as he became qualified, the school was closed and all maintenance was passed to a civilian group in Halifax. He was then put in charge of the explosives area. He said his biggest challenge there was trying to keep the groundhogs from setting up home in the berms.
“Help from the fire hall with a long hose soon had them critters running to set up home somewhere else.”
Because the modern torpedo is “very sophisticated,” Lesko was sent to Bangor Naval Submarine base in Washington State to take training on the latest torpedo. After two months, he returned full of knowledge. Shortly after that, his warrant officer came forward and told him that they were looking for senior non-commission officers (NCOs) to go on the French language training course.
“Life at Greenwood was kind of at a standstill, so I held up my hand. Two days later I was asked to pick the school that I wanted to go to. I had full hope of going to Quebec for French training but after discussion with others and careful consideration, it was decided that the political situation in Quebec, at that time was unstable toward Anglophones and could be unsavoury, so I chose Shearwater. Before leaving Greenwood, I was promoted to warrant officer.”
French language training was a “totally awesome” experience for Lesko. The little bit of French that he had taken in high school was a great benefit over the next 10 months. After his French training, he was supposed to be posted to Canadian Forces Base in Trenton but circumstances changed, positions got cut and Lesko was left in Shearwater.
“Here I was back in Shearwater, working on Sea Kings. Change in the military can be just around the corner. Now we were going to move from seven trades to just three. Trade amalgamation was starting to take place. The new classifications would be aviation technician, avionics tech and air craft structures. Knowledge, experience and responsibility for a technician pretty much tripled.
“I was now classed as a maintenance manager, being groomed to become a master warrant officer and posted to a sea detachment to manage a detachment at sea. But things do not stay the same for ever. Before it could happen, I was posted to CFB Cold Lake, 410 Training Squadron in 1994.
“I was not going to get another trip to sea.”
At 410 Squadron, home of the Cougars, life was fast and interesting for Lesko.
“I was now a maintenance manager running a crew of technicians responsible for taking the CF-188 apart, inspecting and putting it back together. Time lines had to be met and there was no room for error. It was during this time that I came face to face with Julie Payette, Canada’s female astronaut and current governor-general.
“A team of my safety systems technicians was fitting her with a G-suit to take a ride in the CF-188.”
For life at 410 Squadron, ingenuity was always welcome, he said.
“One time, we were supposed to deploy to Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, USA. The aircraft that was to take us down was cancelled due to other operational requirements. Our CO was giving us the sad news and said he would have to cancel the trip when someone spoke up and said ‘let’s take a bus.’ Two hours later, the trip was back on. We chartered two buses to take us to Mountain Home Air Force Base. It was unusual to use a bus for such a long trip but we were creative and we had an excellent CO. The bus ride turned out to be exciting and interesting. Everyone enjoyed it. For our return trip an airlift was available.”
In 2000, the Bosnian conflict was taking place. CF-188 aircraft were taking part in the campaign and CF-188 squadrons were rotating in and out of Italy every six months, taking their turn. Lesko was selected to be the maintenance manager in charge of one of these rotations.
“We only spent five months in northern Italy but it was an experience I shall never forget,” he said. “We arrived in early spring when there was still snow in the hills. Later temperatures climbed to plus 39 degree C and heavy downpours of rain disappeared into the ground just as fast as they came. The high temperatures took their toll on some.
“One day I was summoned to the doctor’s office and she wanted to show me something. One of my techs was laying on a gurney with a case of heat stroke. We had to stay in the shade rather than play basketball in 39 degrees Celcius temperatures.
“Beaches on the eastern side of Italy seemed endless; miles and miles of pure clean sand which were simply beautiful. To experience the culture of the Italians was amazing, along with old Roman ruins, small cars, narrow streets, Venice, beaches, beautiful women, vineyards, wine, shopping for leather jackets and of course, pizza. Pizza in Italy is different from North America. Italians prefer to use vegetables and cheese for their pizzas. Seldom would you see any meat on a pizza. The cheese was just out of this world.”
In 2002 he was promoted to master warrant officer and posted to 1 Canadian Air Division in Winnipeg. His posting message read: “Should the member refuse this posting, release proceedings are to commence.”
“People were not lining up to go to Winnipeg. However, after being in Winnipeg for almost one year, I came to realize that Winnipeg wasn’t such a bad place. It had everything you could possibly want and I wasn’t getting any younger. I spent eight wonderful years working at 1 Canadian Air Division.”
He was placed in charge of 99 Griffon helicopters, performed flight safety inspections at Griffon units, trained members for battle staff positions, watched Russians being intercepted off the northern coast, participated in launching CF-188 aircraft to intercept suspicious aircraft approaching Canada and helped manage the country’s infrastructure in the north.
“The work was exciting. While everyone else in Canada was sleeping, 1 Canadian Air Division was watching Canada’s skies and working with North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to protect our country.
“I had the opportunity to go places I never thought possible, such as Valcartier; Goose Bay, Labrador; Gander, Newfoundland; Inuvik; Iqaluit, Yellowknife and Rankin.
The last big event that he worked on at 1 Canadian Air Division was the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
“The cell I worked in was responsible for Air Force logistics. We did such things as position mobile radar equipment, positioned CF -188 aircraft, constructed a temporary camp for the Griffon helicopters and arranged accommodations for the large amount of people who would be working in the Vancouver area, supporting the Olympics.
“It was my responsibility to prepare a set of slides to brief the general every morning on our logistical state with the Olympics. This included road conditions for roads leading to the Olympic site.”
And then as quickly as it had happened it was all over.
“I finally turned 60 and had to retire.”
Promotion in the military is a competition, he said. “Every year you are evaluated. There are only so many positions to be filled. If there is no vacancy, there is no requirement to promote someone into the next rank. Sometimes competition became strong. Increasing your education was a definite requirement for promotion.
“Over the years I received university credits in calculus, economics, political science, sociology and accounting. Over my 41 years of service, many changes took place in the military. Nothing stays the same forever, especially when the military is at the mercy of the government in power.
“Uniforms changed three times. The much-needed dress for working in cold weather finally became available in the early 1990s. There was trade amalgamation. The level of training had become far advanced from the 1970s. Grade 8 was no longer acceptable. Technical trade requirements had advanced to an extremely high level of competence. The requirement for maintaining an aircraft safe for flight had become extremely advanced and sophisticated.”
Lesko received five medals during his time in uniform: the Canadian Decoration with two clasps, the Special Service Medal for his contribution to certain NATO missions, the Peacekeeping Medal, the medal of Former Yugoslavia for the Bosnian conflict, and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal.
“Strange but true, when I first joined, it was very seldom that you saw anyone wearing more than one medal and that would be the Canadian Decoration for good conduct. If a person had spent time in Cypress he or she would have had a UN medal but most of those were army. Now we look more like the Americans; medals galore.
“If you want to get rich, don’t join the military,” Lesko said. “You join the military to serve your country. You become a member of a very large family and your reward for serving is far more than any amount of money can ever buy.”
