The Courier

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Imagine you are a CH-146 Griffon or CH-147F Chinook helicopter pilot. You have just received the mission to go save a pilot who crashed his plane behind enemy lines. How are you going to do this? Who and what do you need to complete the mission? You are responsible for the success of this mission and the lives of the people involved.

Here is an example of a scenario that the candidates of the Advanced Tactical Aviation Course (ATAC) had to prepare and execute. Nine candidates from 1 Wing Royal Canadian Air Force* and two from the Canadian Army** worked long days for a month to build complex missions, as air assault, strike coordination and reconnaissance, non-combatant evacuation, personnel recovery and fire support missions, in collaboration with the 4 Wing and the 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group.

Organizing this course required a great deal of preparation and extensive field analysis. Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Cold Lake, in Alberta, was chosen because of its large training ground and the presence of F-188 Hornet fighter jets, which took part in a few scenarios. 

The ATAC started well before the flight phase. First there was a virtual academic phase, from February 20 to March 2nd, followed by a two-week Ground School, at CFB Valcartier, where the candidates prepared scenarios on paper. The flight phase, which applies everything learned during the ground school, took place from April 1 to April 28, 2023, at CFB Cold Lake.

The 438 THS played a leading role

We tend to focus only on candidate pilots, but behind them are almost 250 people who have collaborated in the success of ATAC. Among these were about 60 members of the 438 Tactical Helicopter Squadron (438 THS). For example, Major Geoffrey Martin, Commander of the Advanced Tactics Flight, acted as course director, seven members acted as instructors and 18 maintenance technicians provided daily maintenance of the aircraft.

The Commanding Officer of 438 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, Lieutenant Colonel Stephane St-Onge, and Major Geoffrey Martin, Commanding Officer of the Advanced Tactical Flight, would like to warmly thank all the individuals who have invested many hours, either in logistics, aircraft maintenance, administration, and coordination with the various participants (4 Wing, 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group and American partners).

Thanks to the hard work of this great team, newly qualified Griffon or Chinook pilots are now considered the crème de la crème of tactical aviation in the country. ATAC is the pinnacle, if not the Top-Gun, of tactical aviation training in Canada. They are now Air Mission Commanders, excellent planners and managers of complex missions.

After more than six years without an ATAC execution, it was high time to train new Air Mission Commanders and 1 Wing can finally say: mission accomplished!

*  They were from the 3Bataillon, Royal 22e Régiment, the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, the 403 Helicopter Operational Training Squadron and the 408, 430 and 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadrons. 

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