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COLONEL TERRY LEVERSEDGE, CD1
Colonel T.F.J. Leversedge was born in 1956 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan while his father was serving at RCAF Station Moose Jaw. His family subsequently moved to Zweibrucken in Germany, to 1 Air Division Headquarters in Metz, France and finally to RCAF Station Centralia, Ontario before his father retired. He completed his secondary school education with honours and then enrolled in the Canadian Forces and was accepted at Royal Military College (RMC) in Kingston. He graduated from RMC in 1979 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Following Aerospace Engineering (AERE) basic training at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden, Lieutenant Leversedge was posted to the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment (AETE) in CFB Cold Lake in 1980 where he served as both the Aircraft Servicing and Repair Officer in the AETE aircraft maintenance section. In 1982, he returned to Borden as an instructor primarily for the AERE Officer Basic Course (AOBC) teaching a variety of military courses including aircraft structures.
In 1984, he applied for CF postgraduate training and was sent to the Cranfield Institute of Technology in the United Kingdom for a two year Master of Science degree in aerospace vehicle design. On completion, he was posted to National Defence Headquarters in the Directorate of Aerospace Support Engineering where he became the engineer responsible for structural repairs and modifications on the CF116, CT133 and CT114 aircraft fleets. He also later became the program manager on the full scale Durability and Damage Tolerance Tests on the CT114 Tutor and CF116 Freedom Fighter. As a secondary duty while in Ottawa, Captain Leversedge was the founder and became the first managing editor of the Aerospace Engineering and Maintenance Journal.
In 1989, he was promoted to Major and posted as the Base Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Officer (BAMEO) at CFB Moose Jaw. As BAMEO, Major Leversedge had a staff of approximately 400 maintenance personnel to perform first and second line maintenance on the 120+ CT114 Tutor aircraft in the CF inventory including 15 Snowbird aircraft and three CH118 Base Rescue Flight helicopters. In addition, as chairman of the base's Aviation Heritage Museum, he helped conceive and execute the 3000 square foot "Snowbird Gallery" at the provincial Western Development Museum in recognition of 431 Air Demonstration Squadron's long association with Moose Jaw. After four enjoyable years in Moose Jaw, Major Leversedge had the pleasure of briefly becoming the Commanding Officer of 15 Air Maintenance Squadron with the implementation of the "Wing" concept in CFB Moose Jaw.
In July 1993, he was posted to Fighter Group Headquarters (FGHQ) as the Senior Staff Officer for Armament and Trainer Maintenance responsible for the day to day coordination of all matters pertaining to aircraft armament and maintenance of the CF116, CT133, CH118, CH135 and CC/CE144 aircraft fleets within the Group. He held this position for one year before being posted to Canadian Forces Command and Staff College. On completion of Staff College, Lieutenant Colonel Leversedge was promoted and originally assigned as Deputy Chief of Staff Support, then A4 Support for FGHQ. Following the closure of Fighter Group in 1997, he was posted to 19 Wing Comox, where he assumed duties as the Wing Logistics Officer responsible for the provision of all technical services and infrastructure support on the base. He was also the Senior Aircraft Maintenance Advisor on the wing. He was then promoted to Colonel effective 01 January 2000 and assumed the appointment of Director Aerospace Equipment Program Management for Fighters and Trainers in National Defence Headquarters. In August 2001, he assumed his current appointment as Chief of Staff and Business Manager for the Aerospace Engineering Program Management Division, which provides support for all Air Force fleets.