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Force will be with athletes at Olympic Games

Soldiers from CFB Shilo to provide security

By: Bill Redekop

Posted: 12/1/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

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2nd PPCLI Private soldier practices road block skills Monday morning, with Lav armoured personel vehicle in rear, on the range near Shilo, Manitoba- (JOE.BRYKSA@FREEPRESS.MB.CA)

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2nd PPCLI Private soldiers. (JOE.BRYKSA@FREEPRESS.MB.CA )

CFB SHILO -- To Canadian Forces Major Jay Adair, the best place to watch the upcoming Olympics is a tent in the mountains that surround Whistler -- and not just because that's where he'll be.

"It's one thing to sit in Brandon or Winnipeg and watch the Olympics. To be there, and contribute in a very small way, it's something we'll never have the opportunity to do again. Guys are proud of it," said Adair.

Adair is one of about 200 military personnel from CFB Shilo that will leave in mid-January to help RCMP with security at the Games. The soldiers will be camped in tents and trailers in the mountains and backwoods on the periphery of the Olympic site.

They can't attend Olympic events but will have television in their tents. "We've already marked off when Team Canada (hockey team) plays," said Adair, originally from Barrie, Ont.

Navy personnel will watch the British Columbia coast, and air force personnel the skies. About 3,700 Canadian Forces men and women in total will assist the RCMP with security.

Canadian Forces gave media a tour on Monday of personnel training for their Olympic duties.

Soldiers in the mountains and backwoods will get around on snowmobiles and something called a BV206. It looks like a glorified bombardier pulling an ice-fishing shack. It has two cabs in tandem equipped with caterpillar tracks for navigating challenging terrain.

The one problem for the soldiers is there was no snow in western Manitoba as of Monday. The Olympic site has had two record-size snowfalls already this winter.

One of the training exercises for soldiers is the simulation of discovery of a suspicious package that could either be a bomb or someone's lunch. In such an instance, the area is quickly cordoned off and engineers are brought in to inspect the package contents, explained Captain Vic Mover.

Master Cpl. Rob Nepinak, of Pine Creek First Nation about an hour north of Dauphin, isn't so sure he's looking forward to the Olympics. He was simulating a checkstop on Shilo grounds this particular day -- work he will be doing at the Olympics.

"Right now, I'm just cold," he told reporters. He was wearing thermal underwear, a winter jacket, Gore-Tex pants and jacket, body armour, two pairs of socks and a stevedore-style toque. "The body armour actually insulates you," he said.

Pte. Garrett Single of Winnipeg was more enthusiastic about working at the Olympics. "It's going to be a good go. It'll be a good experience," he said.

It will be like night and day for many of the soldiers who have done tours in Afghanistan. Temperatures at Whistler average from 0 to -10 Celsius in February. "For the guys from Manitoba, it sounds balmy," said Adair. "We want to demonstrate, at the end of the day, that we're as capable of operating in Whistler as we are in Kandahar," said Adair.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 1, 2009 A8

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