OTTAWA—It was meant as a pre-Christmas morale booster, a trip by sports stars and senior military personnel to visit Canadian soldiers deployed overseas.But the troubles started even before the military Airbus aircraft got off the ground in Ottawa when several of the passengers showed up for the 1 p.m. departure and appeared to have already been drinking.It went downhill from there.By the time the jet arrived in Athens more than eight hours later, there was an allegation of assault against a former Maple Leafs star and complaints of drunken, boorish behaviour by others, including two people so drunk they wet themselves in their seats.As the fallout of the ill-fated December tour continues to ripple, the military has cancelled plans for a March morale visit and is reviewing its policies for alcohol consumption onboard military aircraft.Past goodwill tours have included entertainers, athletes and media figures who donate their time to visit soldiers overseas. But this most recent tour has left military brass shaking their heads. Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of defence staff, is said to be “extremely unhappy.”“We’ve never seen anything like this,” one astonished defence official told the Star.The Star has spoken to several defence department officials about what unfolded on the trip. They asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the information and an ongoing internal investigation by the Royal Canadian Air Force.One of the stars on this tour was Dave “Tiger” Williams, a former Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer and a regular participant on these goodwill visits. The military has refused to identify who else travelled with the contingent. The trips are organized by the Strategic Outreach Team, which reports to Vance’s office. Vance has gone on these Team Canada trips in the past but skipped this one because of a scheduling conflict.Two senior personnel went in his place — Lt.-Gen. Alain Parent, ...
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