U.S., Canadian Airmen train for joint contingency operations

  • Published
  • By John Burt
  • Air Force Civil Engineer Center Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Earlier this month, the Silver Flag exercise site at Tyndall AFB, Fla., hosted 31 Royal Canadian Air Force construction engineers from the 19th Wing, Construction Engineering Flight, Canadian Forces Base Comox, British Columbia.

The Canadians trained side-by-side with U.S. Airmen during a week-long training exercise designed to help prepare them to establish, sustain and recover an airfield in a contingency environment.

Maj. David Jane, a Canadian exchange officer assigned to the Air Force Civil Engineer Center at Tyndall, is in charge of Air Force civil engineer contingency training encompassing the Silver Flag program, curriculum and scheduling. He's the 13th Canadian officer to occupy the position since the officer exchange program began in 1981 as a way to strengthen cooperation between the two air forces. Jane's counterpart is a U.S. Air Force major assigned to Royal Canadian Air Force headquarters in Winnipeg, Canada.

"At Tyndall, we run 23 classes a year," Jane said. "We try to incorporate a Canadian construction engineering flight at least once a year from one of the main air bases. It's a unique opportunity for them to come and experience the different equipment and different organization of U.S. Air Force civil engineers. It's also good for the U.S. guys to see the some of the differences in the way Canadians operate.

It helps both nations to maintain capability for joint operations so when they go overseas together, they're speaking the same language, Jane said.

Air Force CEs from the Illinois Air National Guard rounded out the approximately 200-member class.

"The joint environment is pretty good because you get to see how (the Canadian troops) normally do things versus our techniques and how the career fields are different," said Tech. Sgt. Dustin Walker, 183rd Civil Engineer Squadron power production technician. "The training here is team oriented, so it gives us a good chance to work together."

The Silver Flag course is an integral part of preparing civil engineers for deployment operations and simulates the experience of deploying to an austere location to build up an airfield and the infrastructure necessary to sustain a base. CEs also get practice in establishing power generation and distribution systems, reverse osmosis water purification units, and in providing fire protection and emergency services.

During the week, both Canadian and U.S. Airmen got to work with equipment not usually available at their home installations.

"Our heavy equipment guys get a chance to work on the airfield with heavy equipment, something they don't have the opportunity to do a lot in Canada," said Capt. Clifford Boyechko, the 19th Wing, Construction Engineering Flight commander.

"Much of our equipment is the same but it allows us to work in a different environment. We did similar training two weeks ago in Cold Lake, Alberta, in -20, -30 conditions, so obviously the training environment is much better here in Florida," Boyechko said.

The training is provided by a 102-person cadre from Detachment 1, 823rd RED HORSE Squadron. More than 6,000 people each year are trained at the Tyndall site, one of three like it in the world. The others are at Kadena AB, Japan, and Ramstein AB, Germany.