Embarrassing details continue to, er, trickle out regarding the crapulent Department of National Defence VIP junket to Latvia in December. The inflight bacchanal resulted in two charges against NHL goon emeritus Tiger Williams (assault and sexual assault), and two pissed seats.
The criminal allegation, according to Tiger’s legalist, Michael Lacy, is that Williams “inappropriately touched the complainant over clothing on the buttocks. Tiger denies any wrongdoing and is confident he will be vindicated.”
And so say all of us! The entertain-the-troops shitshow at 35,000-ft, now has DND reviewing its alcohol policies, including the cherished tradition of BYOB, as Postmedia defence hack David Pugliese reported:
“One passenger boarded with a 40-ounce bottle of alcohol. Two individuals urinated themselves, forcing flight attendants to remove wet seat cushions and place them in black plastic bags, setting them aside for cleaning once the aircraft returned to 8 Wing in Trenton, Ont.”
DND won’t identify other VIPs on the flight and are volunteering no names for these shames, but Frank leakers confirm, unsurprisingly, that one of the seat-wetters was indeed Tiger. He was already moist and garrulous when he boarded the plane in Ottawa and his ass grab allegedly included an invitation to sit on his lap.
And yellow card #2? Step forward, Calgary Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke, proud owner of that 40-pounder of Johnnie Walker Red–most of which he consumed in record time, then passed out and pissed himself. Imagine the embarrassment to the Flames and owner/teetotaller N. Murray Edwards if this ever gets out!
The rebarbative Burke, a noted bon vivant and stickman, has oft tripped over his own raging Zamboni. Who could forget the night the keen internationalist invited himself to the Blue Jays’ owners’ box (and bar), and began regaling guests about the merits of Asian hookers?
None of this has been well received by crusading Chief of Defence Staff Jon Vance, whose office organized the debacle. How could Gen. Vance, who has vowed to tame the heterosexualist excesses of the Canadian Forces, ever have foreseen the need to protect his soldiers from the attentions of horndog civilians?
The good general, an avid hockey fan, was a last-minute scratch from the ill-fated flight, but he got a full debriefing from Louise Des Roches, his chief of protocol and public relations operations, who was responsible for celeb-wrangling on the plane.
Reports that Louise, a hockey enthusiast and oenophile, was herself in no condition to put a damper on the inflight festivities are ludicrous in the extreme, and do not bear repeating in a family magazine.
Why is alcohol even allowed on airplanes other than as an antiseptic wash?
Given that alcohol is verboten to Sikhs, love to hear Harjit Singh Sajjan and Jasmeet Singh trying to figure this out – how a planeload of white alcoholics is supposed to raise the morale of the troops. Bit of culture shock there I expect.
American entertainment figures, genuine entertainment figures consider it a privilege to take part in their AFE shows to entertain the Troops. The best we can do is lure these guys on the Airbus with a bottle of Rye. Then our officers fawn over them like a teenage girl meeting Justin Bieber. I wonder if Tiger got invited up into the cockpit at some point during the flight?
I do hope some of the higher ups read the satirical press. I’m guessing that the cost of this pissdoggle has accounted for most of my lifetime contributions to the national coffers.
They read the “Satirical Press” and the Halifax Chronicle-Herald
“Shortly before giving a keynote address at a defence conference in Ottawa [ on Friday? ],
Chief of Defence Staff Vance said in a statement published online
that he has reviewed a report by the commander of the Royal Canadian
Air Force into the incident and that alcohol will not be served on board
flights for morale tours in the future.”
But what’s all this about “only around 20 VIPs, plus flight crew,
[were] on a plane that can seat up to 194 passengers!!?.
And it continues
April 5, 2018
OTTAWA – Gen. Jonathan Vance has ordered a second investigation into the events surrounding a military flight in December that resulted in sexual assault charges against former NHL player Tiger Williams.
….The Department of National Defence says the new investigation will include a review of police reports and evidence as well as interviews with witnesses, which were not part of the Air Force probe….
ESPN writes (Greg Wyshynski 27 April 2018)
…Another “five-year plan” has wrapped up for Burke, as the Calgary Flames announced Friday that their president of hockey operations “will be stepping back from the organization,” effective May 1.”
Is the rercent rise of this “Morale boosting” story in Canada’s Defence realm related to yesterday’s [October 8 2018] Canadian Press story “Canadian Forces Say Doubling Of Sex Assault Reports Is Sign Of Change”
After much DND reading of Frank Mag
“Air Force examining whether crew abused by VIPs on boozy military flight should get formal apology : The behaviour of some VIPs was so out of control that a February 2018 RCAF investigation concluded the safety of the flight was compromised”
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen Updated: November 1, 2018