Vegreville’s Top Gun Flying High

Vegreville’s Top Gun Flying High

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

Vegreville’s top gun Captain Brandon Philip played an integral role in a successful counter-terrorism and maritime security mission in the Middle East.

Capt. Philip, a helicopter pilot with the Canadian warship Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Calgary, recently completed Operation ARTEMIS. He flew missions over the Arabian Sea, surveying waters and adding essential sensor and visual information to the ship’s mission.

“For ARTEMIS, the Air Det, (Detection) would start briefing for the day very early to be able to have the helicopter take-off at sunrise. We would fly multiple reconnaissance flights looking for suspicious vessels using our various sensors. We would relay this information back to Calgary for further analysis which could eventually lead to a boarding.

Pilot Captain Brandon Philip.

(Corporal Lynette Ai Dang/Submitted Photo)

Capt. Philip was one of four pilots in the Air Detection Unit and one of 250 members on board HMCS Calgary. He said, “It feels good to be doing a mission that contributes to a great cause. Depleting terrorist resources is something almost everyone can get behind,” said Philp. “For our air det team, it was rewarding being able to contribute in a very direct and very big way to the success of the mission.”

Capt. Philip said he had been waiting a long time to be able to deploy and practice his flying skills in an operational setting. “So this experience of deploying right now, although very difficult, is one of the highlights. I’ve had the opportunity to work and make friends with the most extraordinary people from all around Canada.”

Now he and his shipmates are heading off to Australia to partake in Exercise TALISMEN SABRE. They are expected to be back in Canada in September.

Capt. Philip said he joined the military to receive a “unique education” at the Royal Military College, to gain military flying experience, and to have an exciting and all challenging job.

He earned his pilot license through the Air Cadet system when he was 17-years-old. His interest in flying began when he was nine-years-old. That’s when his mom brought him up in a family-friend’s Cesna aircraft and let him sit in the pilot’s seat and ‘fly’.

From then on he was hooked. When he was 12, he was skateboarding at the Vegreville Skatepark and he saw the local 341 Mundare Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron parading in the nearby fields.

“I immediately asked my mom if I could join,” said Capt. Philp, who went on to fly gliders and earn his private pilot’s license with this air cadet squadron. This set him on the path towards his future career.

With his first deployment under his wings, this former Vegreville resident is looking forward to soaring even higher, and reaching new heights.