Barry MacDonald was born February 17, 1955 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He grew up in the Eastern Passage area of Nova Scotia, the son of a World War Two veteran. Barry made the decision to enlist in his own right in 1971; as he was underage his parents signed on his behalf, and Barry’s career began in the militia unit of the Princess Louise Fusiliers. He completed basic training and was set to start a path in the Canadian Forces infantry, but he had heard about other options by then, one being the Canadian Forces Security Branch, an amalgamation of the Provost and Intelligence Corps. Barry served as an Intelligence Operator and a member of the Military Police, all as the Cold War was evolving. Having done well in those early years Barry was asked to join the regular forces, which he did. He continued on his pathway of intelligence work, first with the Special Service Force in Petawawa, and then in Ottawa. In that last posting Barry was involved in 24/7 monitoring of different global threats that could have impacted Canada or its allies. Barry had also volunteered for overseas duties at this time, and he was deployed to Cyprus in 1981 for two consecutive tours of UN peacekeeping operations. He returned to Canada to a number of postings in Ontario – Ottawa, CFB Borden and Toronto. His work in intelligence continued and he began teaching courses in leadership. On a personal note, he also met his future wife Biz Carrigan during this time. His path also opened new opportunities in overseas service too, which included a 3-year posting to the Canadian Embassy in Prague, Czechoslovakia in the late 1980s. He and Biz had the opportunity to live behind the Iron Curtain and to see a very different side of life. The posting to Czechoslovakia finished just as events that would lead to the Velvet Revolution were ramping up, with the fall of the Berlin Wall only a few months away. Barry returned to Canada to Kingston, where he was posted to 1 Cdn Div HQ, and where he would be a founding member of 1 Cdn Div Int Company. In 1993 a transfer to North Bay took place, where Barry served in the bunker 600 feet underground, monitoring Russian strategic activities and supporting the NORAD mission. Another Ottawa posting followed, where Barry worked at the imagery centre, developing his skills alongside the ever-changing technology of his trade. An invitation to Colorado followed, where Barry worked “inside the mountain”, doing his part to monitor North American airspace in the difficult time after 9/11. After a few happy years in Colorado, Ottawa beckoned again, so Barry and his family returned north. Promotion through the ranks had taken place through this time, as Barry had risen from warrant officer to lieutenant to captain and now major; soon he would retire as a lieutenant-colonel. Barry MacDonald was interviewed by Scott Masters at his home in Ottawa in July 2024.
