During its long life, 5 Wing Goose Bay has seen many allies and many changes, and will continue its transformation over the next few years.

5 Wing Badge High resolution version

It has been used as a strategic airfield, ferry base, an air defence radar site and, for the past 21 years, the home of Allied Tactical Flying Training in Canada.

Located in one of the most sparsely settled areas of Canada and possessing a topography similar to that of the Soviet Union, Goose Bay's environs presented a most attractive low-level tactical training area for several Allies. Further enhancing its natural advantages was the training area's relative proximity to Europe and the United Kingdom on the "Great Circle Route" -a flight path which is the shortest flying distance to North America and is used heavily by most trans-Atlantic flights.

Today 5 Wing Goose Bay supports the following flying operations: low-level training for the German Air Force (GAF) and the Italian Air Force. It also serves as a Canadian Deployed Operating Base (DOB) of CF-18s operationally committed to NORAD. This Goose Bay Allied Military Training In Canada (GAMTIC) Program, which 5 Wing Goose Bay supports by acting as an on-site "agent" for the various Allies, is a unique and evolving role of the CF.

In conjunction with wildlife agencies and community groups, the Wing administers an environmental mitigation program for the 130,000 square kilometres flying training area. Throughout the flying training season, ninety-eight percent of the training area is exposed to less than one flight per day.

5 Wing is important militarily to allies that train here. Airspace is at a premium in Europe, and in some nations, it is impossible to conduct low-level flying training. Goose Bay's flexible airspace has more that 80 camera targets and a large practice target area for the use of inert ordnance.