After more than 44 years as an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Cadets Prince George Squadron, Eric Callaghan, dressed in his Canadian Air Force captain’s uniform on April 8, performed one last official duty: overseeing the parade of cadets at the Connaught Youth Centre.
There’s no getting around the compulsory age 65 retirement rule.
“I’m a civilian now working for the military, and I’ll stay involved for a few more years,” said Callaghan. “I enjoy working with the youth; the only thing is I don’t wear the uniform, so I transitioned over to a civilian instructor, and I’ll keep all the credentials I had as an officer.”
Callaghan never got his wings as a pilot, but on flying weekends, twice a year, he always looks forward to watching the kids go up as passengers in the glider. An aircraft without an engine that gets towed to high altitude, the glider cabin’s only sound is that of air rushing under those broad wings, and it’s unforgettable.
“The first time they go flying, it’s an experience,” he said. “They’re nervous, they’re hesitant, and everything, and they come down with some of the biggest smiles you’ve ever seen. They take off, and you see the fear in their eyes, and they land, and they’re on Cloud 9, the majority of them.”
If they’re not actually flying, the air cadets can do the next best thing 365 days a year, where the weather conditions outside don’t matter one bit.
Headquarters for 396 Squadron are on the third floor of the Connaught Youth Centre, where they have access to the gym, office space, and a skookum flight simulation lab. Cadets can take part in the optional Wednesday evening sessions to fly virtually any type of aircraft on simulators built locally by one of the officers.
“The technology is unbelievable,” said Callaghan. “Officer Erik Fjellgaard put together five simulators from scratch. The kids learn to do the basics and everything, and some of them now fly against other units in other provinces, cities, and countries. That’s the great thing about the internet system — you can set up times to do it. We have a program the cadets just love, and we’ve got virtual reality goggles.”
“There are five simulators set up to run, and then there’s the control centre. They start off flying a certain type of aircraft that’s given to them, and then once they graduate, they can fly anything from the Sopwith Camel to the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane that can fly at Mach 3.”
One local cadet, Flight Sgt. Evan Fisher, earned his glider pilot’s licence last year and is interviewing for his power licence this year. If he’s accepted, the scholarship program will pay for his training.
Callaghan said 15-20 per cent of local air cadets go on to careers in the Canadian Armed Forces. He knows of graduates now stationed at military bases in Comox and Edmonton, as well as the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ont. One 396 Squadron alumnus is taking air traffic control training, and another is with the Rocky Mountain Rangers B-Company reserves.
Callaghan, the son of a Canadian Army Korean War veteran, put down his military roots when he was nine, joining the Navy League in Kelowna in September 1969. Four years later, he became an air cadet in 396 Squadron after he moved with his family to Prince George.
Air cadets are open to youth aged 12-19, and Callaghan aged out as a cadet in the spring of 1979. He returned as a volunteer to help run the program in the fall of 1980, and that’s when he unwittingly became an officer.
“Basically, the CO of the day (Don Crocker) said, ‘Here, sign some papers,’ and six weeks later, I found out I was an officer cadet. I didn’t read what I signed.”
He has absolutely no regrets. His involvement in a program first established in the city in 1947 has enriched his life with great memories of seeing cadets developing leadership skills and thriving when tasked with doing things that take them out of their comfort zones.
“It’s been an unbelievable 44-plus years,” said Callaghan. “It’s been a lot of fun, I’ve done a lot of things, and met a lot of young people, and it’s nice to see what some of them have done with their lives and careers.”
“I was fortunate to take four kids to the Philippines in 2000, and in 2023, I took 10 cadets to Washington, D.C., and six states on an international exchange, and I worked summer camps and just had a whole lot of fun.”
Callaghan was an adventurous kid and liked the challenges the air cadet program offered. Summer camps in places like Comox, Vernon, Whitehorse, Rocky Mountain House, and Penhold, Alta., meant learning survival skills and overcoming physical hardships, and as an outdoorsman, he loved it.
“I was very fortunate. I got to go to camp every year, which some cadets didn’t get,” said Callaghan. “You had your two-week basic camp where they showed you a bunch of things, and back then, in the ‘70s, the cadets were in the (Department of National Defence) Act, so it was still part of the military program.”
“Lots of challenges,” he said. “There were things I did I never would have done otherwise — like climbing a 100-foot chimney without ropes, much to the surprise and horror of my instructor. Outward Bound, jumping off mountains on ropes, climbing up through crevices and cracks, things along that line. I was very strong in bush survival and very strong in first aid, which led me toward the fire service.”
Callaghan became a first-aid instructor and was a career firefighter with Prince George Fire Rescue for 35½ years until he retired as a captain in 2016. He was hired in 1981, the year the 396 Squadron moved into the Connaught Youth Centre, and it was a fire that made that possible.
On Jan. 2, 1979, an arsonist set fire to what was then known as Connaught Junior Secondary School. The fire gutted the classrooms, home-economics lab, and science lab, but the rest of the school — including the gym, library, administrative offices, washrooms, wood shop, and metal shop — was saved.
The 350 students were disbursed to other schools, and School District 57 trustees, facing a $2-million repair bill not covered by the $5-million deductible insurance policy, chose not to rebuild it. Al Fulford from the Prince George Legion approached the school board about leasing the property, and the city stepped up to arrange a land swap with the school district. It’s been operated by the Connaught Youth Centre Society on behalf of the Legion as a non-profit entity ever since. Thirty-two community groups now use it seven days a week.
396 Squadron currently has 62 cadets and six officers. Membership this year has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels. The air cadets moved there in the fall of 1981, and they now occupy the third floor, the former library section, while the sea cadets and army cadets took over the two shop areas. The Navy League occupies the school’s staff offices, and each group has access to three classrooms.
“It is a perfect setup, and it’s the only centre like it in Canada,” said Callaghan, president of Legion Branch 43. “Four other cities have tried, and they’ve only succeeded up to five years. It’s known down in the BC government as the cadet building. Shirley Bond fought like hell for that place.”
Callaghan served three terms as commanding officer: 1993-96, 2001-05 and 2023-24. Cpt. Deb Mortimer took on his duties in 2024.
396 Squadron offers a tri-service marching band that’s open to air cadets, sea cadets, and army cadets. The air cadets are also involved in biathlon, where they run on the adjoining field at the Connaught Youth Centre between target sessions indoors in the gym shooting air rifles.
Eric’s son John, an air cadet captain, is the zone training officer for Prince George West. Northern BC has six other air cadet squadrons in Quesnel, Mackenzie, Vanderhoof, Terrace, Chetwynd and Dawson Creek.
Other army cadet squadrons are in Williams Lake, Fort St. John, Houston and Kitimat, while the neighbouring sea cadet units are in Prince Rupert, Williams Lake and Smithers.
Eighty-eight air/army/sea cadets and 10 officers from various units in the region will gather at the Connaught Youth Centre on April 26-27 for area directive activity training.
They’ll have cadet-specific activities on the first day, then take part in career-day demonstrations on the morning of the 26th, presented by the RCMP’s Emergency Response Team, PG Fire Rescue, BC Ambulance Service, Search and Rescue and the Rocky Mountain Rangers.
