Squadron Honorary Colonel - Lieutenant-General F.R. Sutherland, CMM, CD (Ret'd) 

6014 Lieutenant-General Fred Sutherland (RMC 1965) was          born in February 1942 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Being the son of a service officer, he was raised and educated in several                     provinces throughout Canada and West Germany.

LGen Sutherland attended le Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean and subsequently graduated from the Royal

Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, in 1965 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Political

Science and Economics. While at RMC, he received several academic and athletic awards; in addition, he was the captain of both the varsity hockey and football teams.

In 1966, LGen Sutherland completed his pilot training at CFB Gimli, Manitoba, and was selected to attend Flying Instructor School at CFB Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. He served as an Advanced Jet Instructor on the T-33 Silver Star at Gimli from 1966 until 1969, and then was posted to Central Flying School as an examining officer until 1971. Later in 1971, he entered the University of Western Ontario and graduated two years later with a Master of Business Administration.

While attending university he was promoted to the rank of major.  Between 1973 and 1975, LGen Sutherland served as a staff officer with the Directorate of Air Requirements at National Defence Headquarters          in Ottawa, Ontario. After completion of his tour in Ottawa, he began training on the CF-104 Starfighter at CFB Cold Lake, Alberta. In 1976, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and posted overseas to attend the Royal Air Force Air Warfare course at Cranwell, England. That same year he was appointed

Commanding Officer of 439 (Tiger) Squadron at CFB Baden-Soellingen. Returning to Canada in 1978, he      served as the Executive Assistant to the Commander of Air Command. 

In 1980, he was promoted to colonel and posted to NDHQ as the Director of Air Operations, Training, and Nuclear Weapons. During this tour, he also served as the Honorary Aide-de-Camp to His Excellency the Govenor-General. He assumed command of CFB Cold Lake in July 1982, where he oversaw the implementation of the CF-18 Hornet. Upon relinquishing command in July 1984, he was promoted to         brigadier-general and seconded to the Privy Council Office in the Foreign and Defence Policy Secretariat. LGen Sutherland was promoted to major-general in July 1986 and assumed the appointment of Chief of Personnel Development at NDHQ. In July 1989, he was  promoted to lieutenant-general, and on 4 August 1989, he assumed command of Air Command.

In August 1991 he was appointed and served as the Vice-Chief of Defence Staff until his retirement from the Canadian Forces in June 1992. Upon leaving the Canadian Forces, LGen Sutherland was employed as the Deputy Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism for the Province of Manitoba. Prior to assuming his current appointment as a member of the Senior Directing Staff at the Canadian Forces College, he spent two years as Corporate Vice-President Human Resources with         McCain Foods Ltd. As a pilot in command, LGen Sutherland has accumulated over 3500 hours in training and fighter jet aircraft and some 4000 total flying hours. In July 1984, he was appointed to the Order of              Military Merit in the grade of Officer and promoted to the grade of Commander in January 1989.

LGen Sutherland is married to the former Heather McCullagh of London, Ontario. They have two sons: Christopher and Rob.

16985 Major Stu McIntosh
Deputy Commanding Officer

16985 Major Stu McIntosh, 37, of Abbotsford, British Columbia, (Royal Roads ’89) is in his third year with the Snowbirds as the Deputy Commanding Officer. He is responsible for the overall operations of the Squadron and

After enrolling in the Canadian Forces in 1985, Maj. McIntosh attended Royal Roads Military College in Victoria, British Columbia, graduating with a BSc in Physics. Upon graduation, he was posted to Baden-Soellingen, Germany, where he served as a CF-18 Engineering Officer on 409, 439 and 1 Air Maintenance Squadrons, deploying to the Persian Gulf in 1990 with 409 Squadron. He was subsequently selected to attend the Empire Test Pilots’ School in Boscombe Down, United Kingdom, where he qualified as a Flight Test Engineer.

Returning home to Canada upon completion of flight test training, he was posted to the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment in Cold Lake, Alberta, where he worked as a Flight Test Engineer in the Fighter Evaluation section, accumulating 700 hours of military flight test time. In 2000, he returned to the CF-18 engineering maintenance community as the 410 Squadron Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Officer. During his tenure there, he completed an MSc in Aviation Systems with the University of Tennessee.

In 2002, Maj. McIntosh was posted to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where he assumed the duties of 431 Air Demonstration Squadron Deputy Commanding Officer.

19520 Captain Mike French, (Royal Roads ’94) 32, from Langley, British Columbia, is in his first year with the Snowbirds and flies the No. 7 aircraft on the Outer Left Wing.

Capt. French joined the Canadian Forces in 1990 under the Regular Officer Training Plan (ROTP) and graduated from Royal Roads Military College with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Space Science in 1994. After receiving his wings in 1995, he was posted to 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School (2CFFTS) in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, as a flying instructor on the CT-114 Tutor. During his tour, he earned an A2 instructional category and finished as a standards pilot.

In 2000, Capt. French was selected for fighter pilot training and was subsequently posted to 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Cold Lake, Alberta, where he flew the CF-18 Hornet. He participated in numerous NORAD and NATO exercises following the events of Sept. 11th, 2001.

Capt. French brings over 2,900 hours of military jet experience to the 2005 team. 

Captain Hugo Pellerin 
Squadron Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Officer 

21383 Captain Hugo Pellerin, (RMC 2000) 28, of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec, is in his second year with the Snowbirds and performs the duties of the Squadron Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Officer, responsible for the engineering and maintenance of all Snowbird aircraft.

After enrolling in the Canadian Forces in 1994, Capt. Pellerin attended the Collège Militaire Royal de St-Jean, Quebec. After graduating with a diploma in Space Science from Royal Military College of Kingston, Ontario, he was posted to the CF-18 Weapon System Manager Detachment Mirabel, Quebec, where he was appointed Task Coordinator for three years. 

SNOWBIRDS 2005 SCHEDULE – MAY BE FOUND: