By Lieutenant-Colonel Rob Coulthard

The Air Force has been supporting operations in Afghanistan through its air mobility forces for about the past five years. Much of that support has come from the personnel at 8 Wing Trenton whose professionalism and dedication is catching the eye of the international military community.

As Lieutenant-Colonel Rob Coulthard, Commanding Officer of the Theatre Support Element, explains in this "behind-the-scenes" look at Air Mobility Force operations, the work being done by Air Force personnel is second to none.

Although Air Force participation in support of Afghanistan involves a number of units from across the Air Force, personnel from 8 Wing Trenton and 17 Wing Winnipeg have certainly contributed much of the horsepower through their various deployments to Camp Mirage, the base of Air Force operations in South west Asia.

Corporal Jeff Deis, an avionics technician, from 435 Squadron based at 17 Wing Winnipeg, checks the engine of a CC-130 Hercules aircraft before flight.  CREDIT:  Sgt Roxanne Clowe

The Air Force has been supporting the Canadian Forces through its strategic and tactical airlift capabilities at Camp Mirage, either directly at the camp, or at the Forward Operating Base (FOB) at Kandahar airfield.

The flow of "traffic" is either strategic or tactical - strategic airlift involves bringing troops and supplies from Canada to Afghanistan aboard the CC-150 Polaris (Airbus A310) from 437 Transport Squadron - tactical airlift involves carrying troops or personnel aboard the CC-130 Hercules. Most of the Hercules crews are deployed from either 435 Squadron or 436 Squadron. Highly trained logistics personnel from 2 Air Movements Squadron build most of the loads that are carried aboard the Polaris or the Hercules.

We choose to undertake tactical flying to carry our troops between Camp Mirage and Afghanistan because of the potential threat against military aircraft flying within Afghanistan. (Tactical flying is a low-level form of flying that allows crews to follow the landscape below, and adjust their altitude, speed, approach and defensive maneuvers accordingly. It is a highly specialized kind of flying that requires specially trained crews. It can be much like riding on a roller coaster).

Conditions in Afghanistan make for some very interesting low-level flying, which is something that is either eagerly welcomed or uncomfortably tolerated by our soldiers. This depends on their personal comfort levels when flying in the back of a bumpy cargo compartment where the usual view through the portal windows is obscured by protective ballistics blankets. (Having a view of the horizon line seems to help offset the nausea and airsickness some passengers feel during tactical flying). Aircrews try to make it as smooth as possible but in turbulent winds with occasional tactical maneuvers, flights can be quite interesting for our passengers.

Canadian crews receive high praise

Having flown with a number of different crews over here from 8 Wing Trenton and 17 Wing Winnipeg, it is obvious they are extremely professional, dedicated to the mission and clearly love their work. They receive the highest praise from senior commanders throughout the Canadian Forces, and the level of operational success we have enjoyed is due in large part to the entire effort of everyone involved.

Air Force support to this operation has come from a variety of units across the country, and although this can be stressful and disruptive to family life, it is especially important for our people and their families to understand just how essential they are to the success of this mission. Their work translates directly into the smoothest, most demanding and most successful deployed airlift operation I have ever seen. It is especially important that everyone who enables these daily miracles overseas understands just how essential they are to the success of this overseas mission.

This includes everyone who works in either in operational or support functions; every single person is a vital contributor to the overall effort. For example, we are receiving tremendous support from our Mission Support Squadron from 17 Wing Winnipeg, and as that MSS prepares to head home to Canada for Christmas after six months in theatre, we are getting ready to receive the next MSS from 14 Wing Greenwood. The idea of deploying a fully self-sustaining support unit from Canada to a theatre of operations is a completely new concept for the Air Force and we have been very impressed with the effectiveness and efficiency of the MSS.

It is a joy to see all Air Force personnel working together as one cohesive unit, because failure is not an option with more than 2,300 Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan relying solely on our ability to get them there, bring them home safely and with the vital supplies they need in theatre.

Rock solid support

I am so proud whenever I see Trenton, or our other home units, covered in the national news, especially when it relates to our provision of deployed airlift support to Canada's highest priority mission. Everyone involved in this operation should be justifiably proud of the very positive national profile they have earned for themselves. Whether it's the departure of a new group into theatre, or the more anguished need to bring fallen soldiers back home, the professional competence in always providing rock-solid support to the cause is unquestionable.

Aside from supporting our own troops in theatre, and providing those critical strategic and tactical flights, the Canadian Forces Hercules in Kandahar has become by far the most reliable NATO tactical airlift asset in theatre, providing support to a number of nations.

We are able to offer the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) the least restrictive use of this asset, compared to other Allied nations. Essentially, although our tactical airlift resources are limited in scale and continuously stressed for many reasons, Canada is really good at achieving mission success with the equipment and the resources with which we have to work.

I realize fully that the frequency of deployments imposes huge strains on everyone involved, but it is important for the families of our deployed members to understand just how important their contributions are in serving Canada.

Our Air Force personnel conducting these operations are second to none and we should be proud of their extraordinary success.

Per Ardua Ad Astra.

Lieutenant-Colonel Rob Coulthard is the Commanding Officer of the Theatre Support Element.