EADS Welcomes New Canadian Commander

  • Published
  • By Tim Jones
  • 224th ADG
Rome, New York --  The Canadian Forces Detachment at the Eastern Air Defense
Sector officially changed commanders this afternoon.

Lt. Col. Bruce MacLean assumed command from Lt. Col. Kyle Paul, who finished
his three-year tour of duty as Canadian Detachment Commanding Officer. Lt.
Col. MacLean's responsibilities will include leading the 15-member Canadian
Detachment and serving as part of the EADS staff. Lt. Col. Paul is
transferring to Canada's National Defense Headquarters in Ottawa, where he
will work in the Royal Canadian Air Force's plans directorate.

"Canadian Forces personnel are a critical part of EADS daily operations and
play an essential role in protecting the North American airspace," said Col.
Emil Filkorn, EADS Commander. "On behalf of the unit, I want to welcome Lt.
Col. MacLean and his family to EADS. I also want to thank Lt. Col. Paul and
his family for their service and wish them the best in their new
assignment."

A formal change-of-command, complete with a signing ceremony, is a
long-standing Canadian military tradition that marks the public transfer of
command responsibilities. Canadian Brig. Gen. Paul Ormsby, the Deputy
Commander, U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Region,
based at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, presided over the ceremony.

Lt. Col. MacLean is a 23-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Air Force. He
comes to EADS from NORAD headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where
he served in the strategy, policy and plans directorate and as a deputy
branch chief in airspace management. Prior to his time at NORAD, Lt. Col.
MacLean served as Wing Air Traffic Control Officer in Moose Jaw,
Saskatchewan; as a division commander at the Royal Military College of
Canada; and as a software testing director for the NORAD system support
facility at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.

Lt. Col. MacLean is a graduate of Brock University in St. Catherines,
Ontario. He is also a graduate of the Canadian Forces College Joint Command
and Staff Program, where he received a Master's degree in Defense Studies.

The Eastern Air Defense Sector is located at Griffiss Business and
Technology Park in Rome. A headquarters element of the U.S. Continental
North American Aerospace Defense Command Region (CONR), EADS is responsible
for the air defense of the eastern United States. Staffed by active-duty New
York Air National Guardsmen, a Canadian Forces detachment, joint service
liaison officers and federal civilians, EADS directs a variety of assets to
defend more than one million square miles of airspace east of the
Mississippi River.



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