Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Maryse Carmichael has been fascinated by aviation for as long as she can remember. As soon as she was able, she followed in her three brothers footsteps and joined the Royal Canadian Air Cadets with 630 Squadron, in Quebec City. At age 16 she realized her dream of flying when awarded her gliding scholarship.
Maryse soon continued her aviation adventures as a military pilot, joining the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1990. Over her 22 year career, she accumulated over 3,500 hours on three main aircraft types, the Tutor, the Challenger and the Hercules.
In November 2000, Maryse made history when she was selected, after a grueling competition, to fly with 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, the Canadian Armed Forces’ Snowbirds. She was the Snowbird’s first female pilot; and the first female pilot in the world to fly with a Jet Demonstration Team.
Maryse also served as the Operations Officer on 436 Transport Squadron, and as the Deputy Wing Operations Officer at 3 Wing Bagotville. In May 2010 Maryse was appointed as the Commanding Officer of 431 Air Demonstration Squadron. She considers her time leading the men and women of Canada’s Aerobatic Team to be the pinnacle of her military career.
The recipient of many awards, Maryse was recognized in 2006 in the Top 100 as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women by the Women Executive Network and in 2013 she was the recipient of the Elsie MacGil Northern Lights Award. She now works at CAE, another Canadian jewel, in Moose Jaw, SK as a Manager, Community Relations and Business Development, where she resides with her husband, LCol (Ret’d) Scott Greenough and their two daughters.