Colonel David Turenne, 4 Wing Cold Lake Commanding Officer – Photo by: Cpl Alex Thornton/ 4 Wing Imaging
4 Wing’s new leader may seem like a familiar face to some at CFB Cold Lake.
Colonel David Turenne assumed command of 4 Wing on June 3rd. He has spent the better part of 26 years in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).
Turenne is originally from Edmonton. He received his wings in 1999 and, after training, headed to 3 Wing in Bagotville.
He’s no stranger to 4 Wing, having trained here and been posted as a Fighter Pilot with 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron and 410 Tactical Fighter (Operational Training) Squadron. The last few years have seen him south of the border with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) team in Colorado.
“I’ve been in Colorado Springs, at the NORAD headquarters, for the last five years which isn’t a normal length of time,” says Turenne. “Because of COVID, there were changes in cross-border moves. I was doing a few jobs down there, including working for the Chief of Staff of the Headquarters, I was director of NORAD inspections, and I’m currently the Deputy Director for J7 Joint Training, Exercises and Wargaming Directorate.”
Col Turenne has 2800 flight hours, with over 2000 of them via the CF-18. This is his first Wing Command position.
“I am excited to come back to Cold Lake. I spent nine years of my career here, and being from Alberta, it’s nice to be close to home and we enjoy being out here.”
“When asked by the 1 Canadian Air Division (1CAD) Commander Major-General Eric Kenny ‘Where do you see yourself in a few years?’ I told him I’d like to be the 4 Wing Commander” explained Col Turenne.
Along with Col Turenne, 4 Wing also welcomes back his wife Stephanie along with children Avery, Matthew, and Addison.
“My wife is a Nurse with the Department of National Defence. She has worked at the Health Services clinic at 4 Wing when we were posted here in the past. Addison is turning 11 in a few weeks and is a gymnast. My son Matthew is 13, a hockey player and a diehard Edmonton Oilers fan, and Avery is 15 and also is a gymnast.”
Col Turenne says one of his first jobs as Commander will be making connections in the community and on the base.
“I’m familiar with operations here. I do know some of the people on the community side but there are also some relationships that I will build by getting out and meeting those that I do not know. On the base side, we have all of our family support organizations and other groups, which are things I was connected to in the past as a Squadron Commander and user of these services. I’ll be getting out and getting to know these people now as the Base Commander.”