Five planes, five pilots, one mission.
On Aug. 16, a handful of 4 Wing Cold Lake 409 Squadron pilots started their four-day journey to Romania, where they will take part in a NATO mission, Operation Reassurance.
Their assignment is to aid the Romanian air force with policing their borders. Pilots will communicate with Russian planes flying into Romanian territory along the border and the Black Sea.
“It's a presence really, to show that we have the capacity and the capability to be there and close, to watch what's going on. We don't do anything aggressive,” explained 4 Wing Commander Col. Paul Doyle. “We're not coming up close to them to jeopardize the safety of the aircraft we have intercepted, or the safety of our aircraft. That would be extremely counter-productive, and it's not in the best interests of anyone.”
Using international standard procedures, Canadian pilots will intercept Russian aircraft, asking them to identify themselves and informing them they're getting close to Romanian territory.
They will also be training Romanian fighter pilots on techniques for the F-16 fighter jets they added to their air force. These jets are similar to the Hornets used by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
“We're only the second detachment to go into the southern air policing. Before, it was always up in the Baltic in Iceland. The southern policing started earlier this year, and they (the Royal Air Force) were the first rotation to go through,” explained Doyle.
The RCAF will be replacing the Royal Air Force (RAF) from the United Kingdom, who will be finishing their mission just as the Canadian forces start theirs. During the RCAF's mission, Canadian fighters will be the only ones working alongside the Romanian air force, until their rotation is over.
The Canadian mission starts Sept. 1, and ends Dec. 31.
“We anticipate mid-January, depending on tear-down and starting to move out,” Doyle said.
It will work on a one-week policing, one-week engaging schedule.
“At any given time, there will be approximately 40 people from Cold Lake who are on the ground there. We have a planned rotation for people swapping out,” Doyle added.
The journey to get them there is a long one.
The pilots took-off from the 4 Wing base last Wednesday morning. From there, they travelled to northern Ontario where they met up with a Hercules tanker.
From northern Ontario they travelled to Baggotville, QC, for a total of six and a half hours of transit on day one.
They had a rest day and continued their journey, travelling from Baggotville to Preswick, another three-hour flight.
Their final stretch from Preswick to Romania was expected to take another three-hours, landing in Romania on Aug. 20.
“Our NATO partner, Romania, knows that we're there as part of the NATO construct for the partnership that we do. They know that the collective defence agreements that we have is something we hold very near and dear, and is something that we put a lot of importance on,” Doyle expressed.
Mayor Craig Copeland attended the send-off, thanking the pilots for their service.
“Everyone in Cold Lake's thoughts are with you. Thank you for serving our country. It's awesome what the men and women of the 409 Squadron do,” he said. “This is what the base here is all about, is not only protecting Canada, but also going where there are issues in the world.”
Fort McMurray-Cold Lake MP David Yurdiga also had a few words.
“I'm very proud of 4 Wing. We have some of the best pilots around the world... We're very good at what we do, and this is an opportunity to thank these individuals going across and doing their part to represent Canada,” Yurdiga said. “We are recognized for doing our part, and I am very proud to be here today to see these pilots off.”
