Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 41 continued ... During her 35-year career in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Lynn Doucette was a woman of many firsts. She excelled in her role as an Air Weapons Controller, and while serving in the Persian Gulf, she was a Mission Crew Commander onboard AWACS aircraft, monitoring the enemy below and in the air Growing up in Ingonish Beach, Nova Scotia, Lynn Doucette always knew she wanted to join the RCMP. When the time finally came, she was devastated to learn that a height requirement would keep her from realizing her dream. Undeterred, she set her sights on the military. Inspired by her brother in the Navy, she thought “maybe the Air Force might be okay” and ultimately found her lifelong career. Lynn enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in July 1979 and completed her basic training at CFB Cornwallis. Being older than most of her fellow trainees, her seniority and drive helped her graduate as the top female recruit in her class, earning Lynn the coveted Commandant’s Shield in the process. Her superiors quickly recognized her talent and focus and selected her for Officer training. “I feel that the ethics and code of discipline instilled by my parents, and just being a good Cape Bretoner, led to my successes. You’re hard working and you’re there to do a job the best that you can.” After completing Officer training, Lynn went to North Bay, Ontario, where she trained as an Air Weapons Controller. In that role, Lynn’s main responsibility was to guide fighter pilots during their missions. By 1987, after just eight years of service, Lynn rose to the rank of Major. Throughout her career, Lynn completed many international assignments, such as Montana and Alaska, and when Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait in 1990, Lynn had just arrived in Oklahoma for her next assignment – training on the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). AWACS aircraft provide Command & Control using a powerful radar that assists with airborne surveillance, communications and battle management. All of this was instrumental to ensuring air dominance during the Persian Gulf War. Lynn was deployed to the region in April 1991. She was posted to an American Air base in Incirlik, Turkey where she became the first female Canadian Mission Crew Commander on a US AWACS aircraft. While up in the air, she coordinated with Generals on the ground, gave them a layout of the current radar picture, provided recommendations about the mission and provided courses of action. “Our aircraft could hold up to 40 crew members so you had to consider their safety as well as completing your mission for the Commander on the ground.” Major (Ret’d) Lynn Doucette Ingonish Beach, Nova Scotia
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