Canadian warrant officer recounts

  • Published
  • By Air Force Staff Sgt. Robert Barnett
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Royal Canadian Air Force Warrant Officer Shari Reiser, an aerospace control operator for the 611th Air Operations Center at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, remembers her first deployment like it happened yesterday.

"It didn't seem to be as real as it was," said Resier, then a combat operations technician for the Canadian Detachment Aviano Operations Center. "We were going for a routine mission. It seemed like it would be more of a relaxed deployment. We were just there with the fighter jets."

What had started as a routine mission turned into chaos at Aviano Air Base, Italy, in 1999, when airstrikes began in Kosovo.

On March 24 that year, peace talks in Kosovo failed and the NATO airstrikes began. Aircraft and support teams flew in from around the world. Members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, like Reiser, came in to provide mission support for U.S. fighter pilots and jets.

"When they started bombing, you saw how things could change so quickly," she said. "Fighters from Canada and the U.S. would cross over and bomb Kosovo. It was really intense the first three weeks we were over there."

Reiser's job didn't put her in a position to witness the bombing or any violence. She didn't really need to - she saw it on the faces of the pilots each time they returned from a mission.

"We got to see a lot of emotions from different people," she said. "The pilots got to see and experience what was happening. They'd talk about their experiences. It was emotional."

When her deployment finally ended, Reiser was relieved. When she'd joined the RCAF, she hadn't imagined she'd find herself in that kind of situation. She hadn't been quite sure what to expect; life was different where she came from.

Reiser was born in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and raised in Deer Lake, Newfoundland.

"I grew up around mountains and lakes, 30 minutes from the ocean," she said. "We had hunting, fishing, a bunch of outdoor activities - we spent most of our time outside. It was safe, and it was beautiful.

We spent our summers swimming in the lake, building forts in the woods and going fishing. It was a great place to grow up."

Work wasn't easy to come by, and her parents were encouraging their children to join the military. Her sister joined the RCAF first in 1983, followed by Reiser and then their brother later. Her friends and family didn't expect her to complete basic training, she said.

"When I first left home and went to boot camp, a lot of people said 'she'll be home in two weeks, she'll never last'," she said. "I went from being that little girl to beating my brother's [who was medically released] and sister's [who retired] time in service. I'm proud of myself - I've been in 29 years. I'm hoping to stay in to 39 years of service."

Reiser's job evolved over the years. She started as an air defense technician in the 1980s at North Bay, Ontario.

"That was interesting," she said. "My first three years, I worked underground in what they called 'the Hole,' - Canadian Air Defense Sector [North American Aerospace Defense Command region]."

She later became part of air traffic control in the 1990s, which included her first deployment.

"I think [my family] was worried when I went to Aviano Air Base in 1999 when they bombed Kosovo," she said. "[But] they were supportive because they knew it was my job."

Today, she serves with the 611 AOC at JBER, supporting the Alaska North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, Alaskan Command and the 11th Air Force.

"Shari joined our team late last year and we have really enjoyed having her experience, knowledge, and positive attitude around the office," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Casey Utterback, Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR) chief of exercises.  "She is also teaching us interesting things about Canada that we didn't know."

The 611th AOC consists of three divisions that develop plans, procedures, and directives for the employment of Alaskan combat and support forces assigned to PACAF and NORAD.

They maintain air sovereignty and conduct air defense operations for ANR. Additionally, they direct rescue operations and provide tactical support for air and land forces.

"We prepare all the exercises - both simulated and live flying - for NORAD," she said. "I work with NORAD, which I've worked with for most of my career.

I've worked with Americans since I joined. It's been great; we've been working alongside each other for a long time now. We're neighbors and we're in this together. I think September 11 really showed us how we can support each other."

While she enjoys it, working with joint forces isn't always easy, she said.

"You have to get use to the different training system and the different ways of doing things," she said.  This is same for U.S. personnel being stationed to Canada.

"It's also learning the layout of the land. If you guys came to Canada, someone could use a reference point of a certain area, you might be lost. Learning the geographic area is probably the hardest part."

These challenges don't stop her from enjoying work and life on JBER, she said.

"I love working with the people here, meeting people from different states and all over," she said. "There are some great characters here."