Articles

By Captain Nicole Meszaros, 8 Wing Trenton Public Affairs Officer

The Canadian Air Force is rapidly gaining recognition from the international military community for its support to operations in Afghanistan, especially for its strategic and tactical airlift capabilities.

"It is outstanding - the Canadian attitude is just incredible," says Major Dan Olson, a United States Air Force officer working in the Air Transport Force section of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Headquarters.  In particular, he is referring to the CC-130 Hercules aircraft that are deployed with the Tactical Airlift Unit (TAU) in Afghanistan. The TAU is attached to the Theatre Support Element at Camp Mirage, the hub of Canadian Air Force operations in the campaign against terrorism.

"No other country is doing airdrops for ISAF but Canadians just step up and do the job," says Maj Olson, who plans air operations between Camp Mirage and Afghanistan and tasks aircraft, including the Canadian Forces Hercules.

Since June of this year, tactical Hercules crews have provided crucial delivery services to coalition forces throughout more than a dozen Forward Operating Bases (FOB) in Afghanistan, supplying troops with food, water, ammunition and other essential equipment.

On November 7, CF aircrews dropped supplies to Canadian soldiers deployed at a FOB west of Kandahar for the first time since fighting began in the desert nation. The role is becoming increasingly important as it reduces the need for convoys to travel over dangerous land to deliver required cargo to the troops.

With a genuine air of respect, Maj Olson recounts numerous examples of Canadian dedication. On one occasion, he says, a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) rocket launcher, (a piece of Army equipment that launches rockets more accurately and at longer ranges than other artillery), needed to be airlifted during Operation MEDUSA to Kandahar from Kabul.

The rocket launcher is so big that in order to be loaded onto a Hercules, the tires of the turboprop have to be flattened. Numerous countries declined the tasking to airlift the equipment, however Canada stepped up to the plate, flattened the tires, loaded the aircraft and moved the equipment into position. Within six hours of the HIMARS' arrival in Kandahar, it was launching rockets.

The USAF Maj recounts another instance where Canada stepped up. Some officials traveled to Afghanistan recently for tripartite talks and needed transport aboard a Canadian Hercules that became unserviceable.

"Instead of saying, ‘It's broken, the VIPs are stranded', Canadian maintenance crews worked through the night to get a Camp Mirage Hercules to Afghanistan to carry out the transport. Little things like that in the face of adversity, in getting the mission done, make ISAF (and the Canadian Air Force) look good," said Maj Olson. "I wish we had more of that."