Anyone who swam, biked and ran the inaugural 14 Wing Triathlon in 2025 already has a set of unique race dog tags. Add a second set to your collection August 29, in the 2026 event – and, for the top-three male and female finishers, check out this year’s new hardware.
Crafted in the Aircraft Structures Shop at 14 Wing Greenwood’s 14 Air Maintenance Squadron, aircraft structures technicians have added their talent, skill and creativity to new triathlon hardware: five-inch aluminum discs, stenciled and then media blasted, leaving the triathlon race element logos behind in a shine/ raw contrasting design. On the reverse, as a watermark, is the ACC tech trade’s signature aircraft trade badge.
“We try and up the ante on every project we do,” says Corporal Peter Blakesley. “We sometimes don’t have too much time, but we’re putting out a pretty cool-looking product.”
14 Wing ACS techs are multi-taskers, with a working floor of machinery, lasers, raw metals – and talent – to repair the wing’s military aircraft. They manufacture, from scratch, components for aircraft modifications, and fix all the other parts that wear-and-tear.
“Repeat offenders? Nose landing gear bushings, aileron control rods, panels, cleaning out damage… it’s always a puzzle, problem-solving -with creative solutions.”
The ACS techs teamed up to design the 2026 triathlon participant dog tags and the new finisher medals, leaning into their metal-cutting lacer C and C machine. Then, it’s handwork: applying the stencils, using a media blaster on metal surfaces, picking off the stencils and then finishing the surfaces.
“It’s been a real team effort,” Blakesley says. “People really loved the dog tags last year – a nice collectible. And, we have a hand in helping them feel good about doing a triathlon.”
Triathlon info and registration here
