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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

From November 2008 to April 2009, Major Jonathan Knaul deployed as the Chinook Flight Commander with Canadian Helicopter Force Afghanistan based in Kandahar . This was an ambitious endeavor as it was the first time ever that Canada was sending helicopters into combat conditions, and this was also the first time Canada had stood up a new flying capability in a theatre of war since World War II. Already an experienced operational and experimental test pilot, Knaul was specially selected to lead this newly formed flight of six Delta model Chinooks recently purchased from the United States Army, and deployed as a captain with a group of relatively inexperienced pilots. Upon arriving in Afghanistan, Knaul was field promoted to major and by the end of his six month tour, he was hailed by senior command for outstanding leadership which allowed his unit to stand-up and quickly begin combat operations, providing an exceptional capability to the NATO led Joint Task Force based out of Kandahar.