The Canadian Airborne Forces Association (CAFA) Soldier of the Year for 2023 is MCpl Jesse John of Mike Company (M Coy) from the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment (3 RCR). He was promoted to Sgt in 2024.
Sgt John joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 2016 and quickly completed his Basic Parachutist, Basic Mountain Ops, Reconnaissance Patroller and Basic Sniper. He also attended the United States Marine Corps’ Mountain Scout Sniper course and was the first Canadian Private to ever do so. In August 2022 he deployed on Op UNIFIER Roto 11 as a sniper advisor.
In 2023 he qualified as a Static-Line Jumpmaster and completed his Freefall and Static Line Square qualifications. He later went on to complete his Freefall Jumpmaster and Parachute Instructor. He rounded off his parachuting skills by qualifying as a with Static Line Round PI qualification. In December he was the 3 RCR representative in the Christmas Toy Drop Jump held in Fort Liberty, North Carolina where he earned static line round wings from the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States, plus freefall wings from the United States. Sgt John completed over 150 jumps in 2023 from varying aircrafts and
chutes.
Sgt John fully embodies the virtues of the Airborne and is thus the obvious choice for the Airborne Soldier of the Year award.
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