Two more Royal Canadian Air Force members take recent training into their professional future, with more than a hint of the past.
March 21, Corporal Alex Watkins and Master Corporal Matthew Seguin were both presented their flight engineer metal flying badges: Watkins, for having completed the MOAT (Modern Operational Air Training) course at 14 Wing Greenwood’s 404 (Long Range Patrol and Training) Squadron; and Seguin, who hadn’t yet received them.
“You worked hard for these: wear them proudly,” said 14 Wing Commander Colonel Luc Vachon during the wings presentation. “MOAT is an extra difficult course, very demanding – I remember how proud that moment is. We are proud for you, your units and your family.”
With the metal wings pin incorporating recovered aluminum shavings from a 1944 crashed 426 Bomber Squadron Halifax aircraft (since 2021), Vachon said the “coolest” thing is the men’s wings “are a piece of history.”
In Watkins’ case, his grandfather was a flight engineer at 415, 404 and 415 squadrons; his father became a military intelligence officer and his step-mother was a JAG (judge advocate general) officer. Watkins enrolled in the Canadian Army in 2014, serving with the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry as an infanteer. In 2018, he switched to the RCAF, becoming an aviation systems technician, serving at both 405 and 404 squadrons. In 2024, he switched again to pursue the flight engineer path, and will now be posted to 407 (Long Range Patrol) Squadron in Comox.
Seguin joined the RCAF in 2013 as an aviation systems technician, posted at 409 (Tactical Fighter) Squadron in Cold Lake. Following several deployments, in 2020, he completed the MOSID (Military Occupational Structure Identification) and basic flight engineer course; then posted to 440 (Transport) Squadron and received his flight engineer wings in 2021.He’s worked with search-and-rescue technicians and the Skyhawks, assisted in ice-sheet landing strip configuration and also earned the flight instructor qualification. He is currently posted at 407 Squadron.
404 Squadron Lieutenant-Colonel Alex Gignac congratulated both men for “extending the realm of their responsibility
“Wings mean we have our eyes on you; we have an expectation of you – and others do, too. Focus on doing the small things right: you have the knowledge, and we have the trust in you.”
