News Releases

 

Members of 19 Wing Comox are proud to be participants of the Comox Past to Present 60 Year Anniversary celebrations on Jul 15. The Wing, which will be celebrating its 65^th anniversary this year, wishes to acknowledge the support of the community through many displays that will demonstrate the skills and professionalism of our men and women in uniform.

19 Wing Comox has been a key component in the heritage of the Comox Valley. Throughout the past 65 years Wing personnel have protected the West Coast of Canada, patrolled the Arctic, stopped drug runners, saved countless lives, trained Air Force personnel, and supported cadets. Wing personnel welcome the opportunity to meet the revelers at the festivities, talk about their missions, and provide flying demonstrations that have made crews respected worldwide.

A 407 Squadron Maritime Patrol Aurora will escort the tall ships in at the beginning of the event.  The Demons fly sovereignty surveillance patrols over the Pacific Ocean and Canada's Arctic, fisheries patrols, search and rescue missions, drug interdiction patrols and UN-sponsored maritime interdiction patrols, as well as searching for submarines. Flying five CP-140 Auroras, 407 Maritime Patrol Squadron crews are the eyes and ears of the Canadian Forces, spending long hours over the ocean looking for illegal fishing, migrant and drug smuggling and polluters.

407 Squadron is the largest operational squadron in Canada in terms of personnel and is responsible for patrolling an area of 460,000 sq km of ocean as well as keeping watch over Canada's High North. Their 10-person crews can cover 300,000 sq km on a single 10-14 hour patrol. The crews also conduct high-seas driftnet (HSDN) patrols and maintain a SAR capability via their Survival Kit Air Droppable (SKAD) marine and overland versions.  At this time, the Squadron has an Aurora participating in RIMPAC, the largest naval exercise in the Pacific where they hone their Anti- Submarine Warfare (ASW) skills by operating with the submarines of other exercise participants. They participate in this exercise bi-yearly. The aircraft's 25-year-old avionics (those of the old S-3 Viking) are now being updated over the 10-year Aurora Incremental Modernization Program.

There will be a search and rescue demonstration as well. The venerable CC-115 Buffalo will fly past at 1:30 p.m. and search and rescue technicians from 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron will jump into Marina Park. The rugged and often inaccessible terrain, severe weather, and large expanses of sparsely populated areas of British Columbia and the Yukon make 442 Squadron the busiest SAR Squadron in Canada! They are also responsible for 560,000 square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean extending to approximately 600 nautical miles offshore including over 27,000 kilometers of rugged British Columbia coastline. This year the Snakes have already carried out 109 missions, rescued 12 people and performed 27 medical evacuations. They are recognizable by the bright yellow Buffalo aircraft and Cormorant aircraft that they fly and the orange flight suits that the SAR Techs wear.  The outstanding work of the 442 Squadron Snakes is known nationally!

There will also be ground displays from many units at the Wing:

A marching contingent will participate in the opening parade, represented by members from all units of 19 Wing.

19 Air Maintenance Squadron will have equipment and people available to talk about the Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) duties they perform. Teams provide EOD services to 19 Wing and various areas within British Columbia and the Yukon. Members of the team also provide safety presentations at schools throughout the year.

191 Airfield Engineers (AEF) and their counterparts from 192 AEF in Abbotsford will have a team at the Marina to discuss the various duties the airfield engineers perform. There will be a CF-18 decoy on display and members of 191 AEF, who have recently returned from Kandahar, will be available to talk with the community about their mission and key duties in support of Canadians.

The Wing Technical Information Services Telecommunications Emergency Response Team (TERT) will set up a command post, demonstrating how deployed TIS systems are set up and how they support 19 Wing and Canadian Forces personnel in the field.

All participants invite you to stop by the displays and talk with the members of 19 Wing who proudly support Canadians every day, in every mission. As well, the air displays will be an exciting opportunity to see the crews practice the maneouvres that make them successful in their operations.