Canadian Navy

07/28/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/28/2021 08:51

Sgt Steven Drinkwalter, HMCS Calgary’s unofficial bagpiper

Sergeant (Sgt) Steven Drinkwalter is deployed in Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Calgary, which just finished Operation Artemis and is now on Op Projection. The ship's unofficial bagpiper, Sgt Drinkwalter grew up in Esquimalt, B.C., where his father worked at the Canadian Forces Base and he went to Esquimalt High School. His mom got him into the bagpipes when he was 12 years old.

'We were watching the Victoria Day parade and the pipe band walked by and she said 'you're doing that',' said Sgt Drinkwalter.

He had already been in Sea Cadets and Air Cadets (Rainbow Sea Cadet Corps and 89 Pacific Air Cadets) and so he joined the 2136 Canadian Scottish Cadet Corps and that's where he learned the bagpipes.

'I loved it right away,' he said.

In 1994 at 17, Sgt Drinkwalter transitioned from cadet to an Infantry Reservist in the Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) Primary Reserve unit out of the Bay Street Armouries in Victoria.

With this unit he toured the world as part of the Regimental Band. He fondly recalls experiences touring the United States, sometimes getting picked up by the United States Air Force just for a performance, and going to Europe. His most memorable trip was to Scotland when his band participated in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the largest military show of its kind in the world.

In 2004, Sgt Drinkwalter moved from the Reserve Force to the Regular Force.

'A good friend phoned me up and asked me what I was doing still working at Zellers and told me I should join the Air Force,' he said.

He was actually invited that very day to speak with a major at the 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron.

'I dusted off my $100 Zellers tip top suit, the major told me he liked me and asked me what trade I was interested in. It wasn't too much longer that the application went through and I began working there,' he said.

Sgt Drinkwalter joined as an Aviation Systems Technician because he is mechanically inclined and heard that they frequently deploy on ships.

Since joining, he has been on six deployments on four different warships as part of their embarked air detachments.

To the delight of all the ships he has sailed with, Sgt. Drinkwalter always deploys with his bagpipes and winds up being the ships' unofficial bagpiper, displaying his skills at dinners, cocktail parties, birthdays, celebrations, memorials and all other varieties of functions and occasions.

On HMCS Calgary's current deployment, Sgt Drinkwalter continues as a bagpiper. His skills were used at the celebration of the Royal Canadian Air Force's 97th birthday, a mess dinner and a Battle of Atlantic ceremony, and during a memorial for the one-year anniversary of the crash of the helicopter Stalker 22.

Sgt Drinkwalter is part of Calgary's embarked air detachment. As the Weapon Systems Releaser and senior maintenance advisor, his job is essential to ensuring the ship's embarked CH-148 Cyclone helicopter meets all its regular safety and maintenance protocols.

Operation Artemis is a counter-smuggling and counter-terrorism mission in the Arabian Sea, and ensuring the serviceability of the helicopter was crucial to the success HMCS Calgary had on this mission.

'This mission is particularly rewarding because, so often your military career is preparing - ensuring that capabilities are ready at all times. On this mission, we are actually doing the work we are trained to do, and making a fairly direct contribution in the fight against terror,' he said.

Sgt Drinkwalter still resides in Esquimalt where he lives with his wife, Whitney, and their four children Bailey, Austin, Madison and Kenzie.