The Canadian Forces is gearing up for a painstaking probe of Col. Russell Williams’ remarkable military resumé to find out how a man on track to lead the nation’s air force now stands accused of killing two women.

Senior military officials insist they are seized with finding out whether they overlooked possible warning signs during Williams’ rise to becoming commander of the country’s busiest and most important air base.

“Follow this closely,” one ranking military official told the Toronto Star. “There’s more to this.”

Another retired senior defence official insisted there will be a top-to-bottom review of Williams’ personnel file for any “abnormal behaviour” that was missed.

But the immediate concern at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, where Williams took command seven months ago, and at Defence headquarters in Ottawa, where the colonel lived since the mid-’90s, is unearthing details from a gleaming military career that may help police forces across the country and around the world investigate unsolved crimes that match Williams’ alleged modus operandi.

That could include key dates to corroborate or disprove an alibi, Williams’ particular postings, movements and people who may have been in contact with the 23-year air force officer.

Police are already focused on the case of Kathleen MacVicar, 19, of Glace Bay, N.S. She was visiting relatives on the Trenton base when she disappeared June 13, 2001. She was found dead two days later, raped and stabbed, in a wooded corner of the base.

Ottawa police said they have no information at the moment that Williams might be a suspect in any unsolved crimes in the city.