uuus2fly

I was disappointed to hear that Sgt. Mulligan has been found guilty of the two charges against him with respect to the letter he wrote to the Sudbury Star concerning the relocation of the Sudbury based OPP helicopter. I have known Sgt. Dan Mulligan for a lot of years and he is anything but disloyal to the OPP and an alarmist! On the contrary he is one of the most loyal employees any company would want to have working for them. He cares deeply for his profession, peers and the people of Ontario he serves and is not shy in speaking out when something is wrong. He has the passion of his Irish heritage and he tends to wear his heart on his sleeve. I know this because I am his friend and a retired 30-year OPP veteran who spent 28 of those years flying OPP helicopters primarily out of Sudbury. I have the distinction of being the longest serving OPP helicopter pilot and was the former Chief Pilot of the Rotary Wing Unit. So I know of what I speak. Was the relocation of the helicopter from Sudbury to Orillia a sound operational and financial decision? In my option it was not! At the time when this process was taking place there was a disconnect between members of Aviation Services and Bureau command staff. I mention this only because in Sgt. Mulligan’s decision it states that "Mulligan had a duty to bring his concerns to the OPP first, said the superintendent, and he did not." I would suggest he did numerous times but was ignored completely. The Superintendent also stated "I find Sgt. Mulligan's choice of language tersely accused the OPP of gambling with the lives of those who live in the north,” "He portrayed the organization (OPP) as a heartless police service (that) only cares about finances." I believe Sgt. Mulligan called a spade a spade in this circumstance. There was no operational advantage for the OPP to relocate the helicopter to Orillia. As a matter of fact the statistics supported the Sudbury base completely. Any savings the OPP realized by moving the aircraft were quickly eaten up with extra travel time for the aircraft now to fly up to Sudbury and points north and then return to Orillia. Also aircraft rental costs would be higher when the OPP aircrafts are unable to travel north due to weather conditions along the Georgian Bay area. Not to mention the simple fact that response time to northern Ontario occurrences would increase. So I will end with this thought. Sgt. Mulligan was charged and convicted for speaking out against the OPP for moving the helicopter out of Sudbury. In the spring of 2016 the Commissioner spoke to the members of Aviation Services at their annual meeting and told them that he was given bad information about the Sudbury operations and the helicopter should not have been moved. He then also informed them that he had to stand by his decision. In other words he will not make himself or the OPP look bad by saying they made a mistake and the helicopter should actually be based out of Sudbury after all. I think that says it all Sincerely Brian Paul, Sgt. (Retired) Helicopter Pilot OPP Aviation Services

The big guy only hears what is fed to him. The service has struggled with an incompetent manager for years. If you talk to the pilots there, morale has never been lower. Some pilots have left. A highly experienced Engineer in Sudbury is losing his job. I suspect there is more going on there than saving a few bucks.

212wench Who do you think flys their machines if they are not pilots? Do you think you have to spend time in the military or commercial industry before you can be classified as a pilot? Where does it say anything about hiring cops and turning them into pilots in that news letter. The letter is talking about improving training in order to reduce accidents. "One should always ensure the throttle is closed before hitting the starter to ensure one does not blow smoke and hot air out of his pipe."( reference is type specific?)

fenestron you seem to sum things up with out much thought. I beleive the US Coast Guard does carry, big ones too! the point that he was trying to make is you can't tell if he 's bad or good until you actually confront him.

policing and pilotting share many common attributes,professionalism/ sound decission making/ good judgement/ ability to think while under stress/expecting the unexpected/sound trainig/ example:my experience and training as a pilot has given me the skills and decission making tools to operate a police vehicle at high speeds or in adverse weather, to an emergency call or after a fleeing suspect vehicle, knowing that operating the vehicle safely is paramount. similarily when landing at scenes, which air units often do, and finding out after the fact that there are armed bandits in the bush next to the helicopter,having the police training and tools to deal with that is also necessary. In both professions if you have a bad day people die.