KAMSACK — A branch advisor for the Cadet Instructors Cadre, Lt. Col. T.M. Marchinko, CD, of Portage la Prairie, Man., who is a former member of the Kamsack air cadet squadron, will be the reviewing officer and guest speaker at the cadets’ annual ceremonial review on May 21.
Marchinko, who carries the CD designation, which is the Canadian Forces' Decoration medal that is awarded to officers and non-commissioned members of the Canadian Forces (CF) who have completed 12 years of service, was born in Hamilton, Ont., but spent most of her life in Saskatchewan.
She joined 633 Kamsack Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron in September 1984 and graduated as a warrant officer first class in January 1990. She says that attendance at the International Air Cadet Exchange in 1989 was a highlight of her time as a cadet.
Marchinko enrolled in the Cadet Instructors List (now Cadet Instructors Cadre (CIC)) in May of 1990 and was employed at the Penhold Air Cadet Training Centre (CTC) as a basic flight commander. She would spend numerous summers working at Penhold, Cold Lake, Albert Head and Brandon CTCs in a variety of staff and leadership roles.
She says she was privileged to command Cold Lake CTC from 2014-17, Albert Head CTC from 2018-19, and Brandon CTC 2022-23.
Marchinko was again appointed as the commanding officer of Cold Lake CTC for the 2025 CTC season.
She has worked or volunteered with five air cadet squadrons, and one army cadet corps throughout her career, including command of 570 RCACS in Edmonton. From 2013-16, Marchinko was the Area Cadet Instructors Cadre officer for Manitoba 麻豆视频.
She has been involved in numerous CIC writing boards and working groups as a subject matter expert, writer, editor or board chair. In 2018 she began working on the Senior Officer Training Course first as a mentor, and later as directing staff.
In December of 2018, Marchinko was appointed to the position of Regional Advisor (Northwest) for the National Advisory Council COATS (NACC). She was appointed COATS branch advisor and chair of the NACC in December 2022.
Marchinko earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre and a Bachelor of Education in arts Education, both from the University of Regina.
The daughter of Karen Bodnaryk of Kamsack, a longtime supporter, civilian committee member and former commanding officer of the Kamsack squadron, Marchinko currently resides in Portage la Prairie, Man. with her husband Jason and their sons Greyson and Lochlan.
She was previously a Ukrainian dancer and served on the executive of the Saskatchewan Middle Years Association. She currently coaches boys’ recreational gymnastics.
Preparing for her visit to Kamsack, Marchinko submitted a few photos that had been taken while she was a Kamsack air cadet. One is from a ground search-and-survival course, of which she had been a participant during the summer of 1987.
“It was a selection board course and I was one of two cadets from Saskatchewan selected to go,” she said.
Held at Jarvis Lake, Alta., the course involved a total of 32 cadets.
She submitted photos of an exchange trip she had taken with cadets to Norway in 1989 when she was one of only two Canadians in the group of 24 cadets from 10 countries.
“She was the only female from Saskatchewan who had gone on the exchange,” her mother said in a note to this reporter. “And I remember when she got off the bus, George Krasnikoff (former Kamsack civilian committee member) called you to come interview her.”
One of the photos is of the group in front of a jet taken at the Rygge Main Air Station, which is an air force base, another is a photo of the group at the Bergenhus Fortress Museum in Bergen and a third is of her and the other Canadian cadet on a mountain near the Saltstraumen Maelstrom.
Tami Marchinko was one of two Canadian cadets selected for an exchange trip to Norway in 1989 that included cadets from 10 countries. The group was photographed with a jet at the Rygge Main Air Station in Norway. She is in the middle row at the far right. | Photo courtesy Tami Marchinko
As a Kamsack air cadet during the summer of 1987, Tami Marchinko attended a ground search and survival course with 31 other cadets. She can be seen in the back row, third from right. | Photo courtesy Tami Marchinko
She also submitted a photo of four of the five cadets from Saskatchewan who had attended the Air Cadet League Saskatchewan Provincial Committee Awards Dinner in October 1989 when they received their pennants.
Tami Marchinko and three other cadets attended the Air Cadet League Saskatchewan Provincial Committee Awards Dinner in October, 1989 when they received their pennants. | Photo: Tami Marchinko
