Canadian Armed Forces

When Maria Vidotto joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1983, there was no grand strategy, family pressure or dramatic calling.

It was a Yellow Pages ad in a St. Catharines, Ontario, phone book that caught her eye.

“I was a good student,” she said matter-of-factly. “I had options.”

An aptitude for mechanics

Her initial plan was to become a military police officer, but she started realizing her aptitude was leaning toward the Royal Canadian Air Force, into a trade few civilians ever see up close: Air Weapons Systems Technician.

The Santa tracker

On 24 December 1955, US Air Force Colonel Shoup, Director of Operations at CONAD (Continental Air Defence Command), received a call in his office in Colorado Springs. This was no ordinary call. It was coming in on one of the top secret phone lines. Colonel Shoup answered the phone expecting it to be the Pentagon or a four-star general.

"Are you really Santa Claus?", a tiny voice asked.