Go Bold with Joetey Attariwala Joetey Attariwala

Our guest is Royal Canadian Navy Lieutenant Steve Oxley, who is the Operations Officer on HMCS Winnipeg, making him third in command of that front line surface combatant warship.
Our discussion for this episode specifically focuses on a major incident that occurred aboard HMCS Protecteur (AOR 509), a replenishment oiler that was a part of the Royal Canadian Navy's Pacific Fleet. Protecteur's primary role was to deliver supplies (fuel, aviation fuel, dry goods, and ammunition) to deployed ships.
The incident was a major engine room fire which occurred on 27 February 2014, when Protecteur was 340 nautical miles northeast of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
LT Oxley was a Sub-Lieutenant on HMCS Protecteur at the time, and he kindly agreed to share his memories of that harrowing event. 
There are some great perspectives in this episode -- you'll hear what happened, you'll hear about the emergency stations response, you'll hear about bravery, off-the-cuff ingenuity, leadership, allied support, and so much more.
Our discussion references some U.S. Navy ships that were dispatched to help HMCS Protectuer, and they are: USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112), USS Chosin (CG 65) and USNS Sioux (T-ATF 171).
The chat also makes reference to AFFF, which stands for Aqueous Film Forming Foam.
We are publishing this episode on the 10 year mark since the incident occurred.
Our thanks to LT Oxley for his kindness and time in sharing his memories so we can help preserve that history and acknowledge the bravery exhibited by everyone that was serving aboard the ship that day.
Go Bold!

The Go Bold podcast features senior leaders of allied forces so we can bring personal insight to important topics and events, and preserve those voices for generations to come.
Today's episode continues on our objectives as we are honored to welcome Royal Canadian Air Force Colonel Jeremy Hansen to Go Bold!
Col. Hansen is a CF-18 Hornet fighter pilot, and he is one of only 4 active astronauts in the Canadian Space Agency.
In the years ahead you'll hear a lot about Astronaut Hansen because he has been selected to fly on the Artemis II mission, which will be the first crewed flight test of the Orion spacecraft which will launch atop the SLS rocket.
As part of the Artemis II crew, Jeremy Hansen will become the first Canadian to venture towards the Moon, and in doing so he will be the first non-American to leave low earth orbit.
There is a lot to Astronaut Hansen's path to space as one might expect, but in short, here are some highlights:
In 1988, at the age of 12, he joined the Air Cadets.
In 1999 he graduated with a bachelor's degree in honours space science from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario.
He completed Fighter Pilot Training in 2003, after which he served as a CF-18 fighter pilot with 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron, and 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron.
In 2009 Colonel Hansen was one of two recruits selected by the Canadian Space Agency.
In 2011 he graduated from Astronaut Candidate Training and started working at NASAs Mission Control Center in Houston as CAPCOM — which is the voice between the ground and the International Space Station.
In 2017 Astronaut Hansen became the first Canadian to be entrusted with leading a NASA astronaut class, and that meant that he is in charge of training astronaut candidates from the United States and Canada.
And in 2023 he was assigned to the Artemis II mission.
This episode focuses on Astronaut Hansen's Air Force career, training for the Artemis II mission, and his perspective on flying to the Moon and being the first non-American to leave low earth orbit.
It's an awesome chat with a great Canadian, so I really hope you'll enjoy this discussion.
NOTE: We have also had the privilege to interview another Canadian fighter pilot and Astronaut, and Jeremy's colleague, and that is Josh Kutryk, who we featured in Episode 3 and Episode 22. They are wonderful chats which we highly recommend.
Our thanks to Astronaut Hansen for his time and kindness. We wish him and his crewmates a safe journey on their mission towards the Moon!
Go Bold!

This episode is part of our Bleeding Edge series were we discuss new products, platforms, concepts, technologies and ground breaking events.
We are all aware of the dire geopolitical security events that are taking place around the world, including the War in Ukraine, and the Israel-Hamas conflict and the instability of that region.
Of particular note is the security situation in the Red Sea where naval vessels and commercial shipping have come under attack from ballistic missiles, and from Unmanned/Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAV), which are also known as Unmanned/Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) or drones. These events have disrupted global shipping and that has far reaching implications for us all.
The threat posed by drones is very real and it is a concern to navies and to ship operators around the world. Companies like Federal Fleet Services, which owns and operates the Combat Support Ship Asterix - and lease its capabilities to the Royal Canadian Navy - have recognized this growing problem and have invested their own money to research, select and integrate a counter-UAS, (counter-drone) system onto the Asterix.
After looking at various options, Federal Fleet Services selected the MARSS NiDAR counter-UAS system as the best solution available.
In this episode we visited the Combat Support Ship Asterix when it was in port at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, and we had the privilege to interview John Schmidt, the President and CEO of Federal Fleet Services who spoke about the selection of the MARSS NiDAR counter-UAS system which will protect Asterix; and we spoke with Ryan Walker, who is also from Federal Fleet Services, and he discussed the components, capabilities and the installation of the NiDAR system, and working with the Royal Canadian Navy to validate and implement new tactics, techniques and procedures for using the system.
This cutting edge counter-UAS technology is of critical importance for the threats faced by ships around the world, so it will be interesting to see how the system will do, and how its modularity will enable future enhancements if needed or desired.
It's a great chat about new technology and new capabilities that will extend the eyes and ears of the Asterix.
We want to thank Federal Fleet Services and the crew of the Combat Support Ship Asterix for their kindness and hospitality during our visit.
Go Bold!

2024 is the 100th Anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), so happy 100th to the RCAF and our respect to all those who have served and are serving in the Air Force.
To mark this milestone year, we plan to publish a number of episodes featuring the men and women who are serving in the RCAF, and as we do here at Go Bold, that means we will be speaking with senior leaders in the Air Force including the Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, so we encourage you to keep an ear out for those episodes.
Central to the efforts to celebrate their 100th Anniversary are the men and women that make up the CF-18 Demonstration Team, which travels across Canada and further abroad to demonstrate the capabilities of Canada's fighter force.
Our guest for this episode is Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot, and the pilot for the 2024 CF-18 Demo Team, Capt. Caleb "Tango" Robert.
Capt. Robert is a combat qualified element lead on the CF-18 Hornet, and is assigned to 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron, the "Alouettes" which is based at 3 Wing in Bagotville, Quebec.
In this episode you'll hear about Tango's motivation to serve, flying the CF-18 Hornet, and his operational history. You'll also hear details about this year's CF-18 Demo Team, the jet he'll fly, and Tango's focus for the air show season ahead.
It's a great chat with a frontline warfighter of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Go Bold!

On 27 December 2023, a Twin Otter aircraft operated by Air Tindi crashed in Canada's high North, approximately 300 km Northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
10 people were onboard, with some suffering injuries. It was night time, and there was blizzard conditions.
This episode is a first-hand account of the Search and Rescue (SAR) response to this incident by the Canadian Armed Forces, and specifically the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and its 435 "Chinthe" Transport and Rescue Squadron which is based at 17 Wing in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Search and Rescue at 435 Squadron is a 24 hour-a-day, seven day-a-week responsibility. The Squadron operates the venerable CC-130 Hercules aircraft, some of which are permanently equipped and dedicated for search and rescue missions. During working hours on weekdays, the search and rescue standby aircraft and crew are ready to respond within 30 minutes of being notified. At all other times, the response time is extended to two hours.
435 Transport and Rescue (T&R) Squadron; and 424 T&R Squadron at 8 Wing in Trenton, Ontario, provide primary search and rescue response for the Trenton Search and Rescue Region, the largest in Canada, which extends from Quebec City to the British Columbia/Alberta border, and from the Canada/United States border to the North Pole.
In this episode you will hear a first-hand account of the SAR response from 435 Squadron members Capt. Jason Shaw, who was the aircraft commander, and Sergeant Vincent C. Benoit, who was the senior Search and Rescue Technician (SARTech) on the mission. They are 2 of 8 RCAF members who flew on this rescue mission.
You'll hear about the C-130 in its SAR role, you'll hear the distances the crew had to fly, you'll learn about the challenging conditions they encountered, you'll hear about parachuting from the aircraft in blizzard conditions, and you'll hear about the care they gave to the occupants of the aircraft that crashed.
Our tag-line at Go Bold is Talking to Real Life Heroes, and this episode is exactly that.
Our guests, and the rest of their crew, the men and women at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, the men and women than maintain and support the RCAF aircraft, and the rescue team from the Diavik Diamond Mine are all heroes. We honor them with this episode which preserves their actions for others to hear and remember.
Thank you to my guests, and thank you for serving and helping those in need!
Go Bold!

Our focus for this episode is Exercise Cutlass Fury, a biennial Canadian Navy-led multi-national exercise that provides an opportunity for allied forces to train in a joint maritime environment. This training includes anti-submarine warfare, air defence, and surface warfare to name a few.
Joining for this episode is Commodore Trevor MacLean of the Royal Canadian Navy. Commodore MacLean is the Commander of Canadian Fleet Atlantic, and he was the senior officer at sea leading Exercise Cutlass Fury 23. 
The principle focus of Exercise Cutlass Fury is anti-submarine warfare (ASW) but it's certainly not limited to that alone. Also exercised is air and maritime integration, and interoperability between Allies and joint elements.
The exercise happened in September, and there were approximately 1,400 participating sailors, soldiers, and aviators from the armed forces of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.
Eight ships from the Royal Canadian Navy and US Navy took part this year. Canadian ships included HMCS Charlottetown, HMCS Fredericton, HMCS Max Bernays, HMCS Glace Bay, HMCS Moncton, and for a short time the Victoria class submarine HMCS Windsor. US Navy ships comprised the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Porter (DDG 78) and USS James E. Williams (DDG 95), and a US Navy Virginia class attack submarine. Also participating was the support ship USNS William McLean.
In addition, multiple classes and types of aircraft participated, including the CP-140 Aurora and CH-148 Cyclone from Canada, the P-8 Poseidon from the UK, the P-3 Orion from Germany, and the Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft from France.
There was a lot to the exercise, but some key things to listen for include the opportunity for the Royal Canadian Navy to use one of its new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel's as a target launching platform; using the Royal Canadian Navy's Distributed Mission Operations Center (DMOC) in the exercise; and exercising Link 11 and Link 16 connectivity.
You'll also hear about the Royal Canadian Navy's need to modernize its Halifax class so it stays relevant into the future, and you'll hear about the distributed training that's planned for the future.
It's a great chat with a lot of insight, so we thank Commodore MacLean for his time, and we hope you'll enjoy this episode of Go Bold!