Two senior Canadian Air Force officers have been formally charged for allegedly failing to stop a group of pilots from giving a colleague an inappropriate nickname last June.
Col. Colin Marks and Lt. Col. Corey Mask are accused of failing to carry out their responsibilities effectively, and they will face disciplinary hearings, according to the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Specifically, the military police accused the two officers of failing to enforce military guidelines for preventing and dealing with sexual misconduct. Both men declined to comment on Monday.
Air Force spokesman Maj. Trevor Reid said Monday the two officers were charged last month.
These charges are not criminal in nature and according to Mr. Reid, their hearings will be conducted behind closed doors by other officers in Cold Lake.
A third, more junior officer was also charged with causing disciplinary or moral harm “for participating in the assignment of an inappropriate call sign”, Mr Reid said. The chain of command in this case “applied separate administrative measures as a disciplinary response”.
Administrative measures, which usually involve warnings and reprimands, were also imposed on a number of other officers, ranging from second lieutenant to major, Mr Reid added.
The charges and disciplinary action stem from an informal meeting June 22 at one of Canada’s two major air bases, 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alta. During these meetings, the pilots assign nicknames or call signs to new members, over a drink.
However, during the June meeting, according to the Air Force, several fighter pilots proposed, discussed and assigned an “inappropriate” call sign to another pilot.