A military search and rescue helicopter from CFB Greenwood in Nova Scotia prepares for takeoff from the J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport in Sydney, N.S., Friday August 6, 2010, to assist in the search for a twin-engine airplane which disappeared from radar over Lingan Bay about 15 kilometres northeast of Sydney at about 11:30 p.m., Thursday. Officials from the search and rescue centre in Halifax said no signs of the plane or two men onboard were found Friday.
Photograph by: Sharon Montgomery-Dupe, Cape Breton Post
The air force is scrambling to find the personnel to staff a new helicopter squadron of more than 480 people at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa.
The military hopes to come up with a plan by the fall that would “identify necessary divestment to source the required positions” needed for the squadron, according to November 2010 briefing documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen under the Access to Information law.
The documents note that 482 personnel are needed for the squadron that will operate new Chinook helicopters. That capability is supposed to be up and running by 2014, so the first personnel should start being assigned to the Petawawa, Ont., squadron starting some time next year, according to the briefing.
But those records also chronicle the ongoing problems the air force is having in finding enough personnel. At one point, military planners suggested boosting the overall size of the air force to take into account the need to create the squadron.
However, air force senior staff later point out that the decision has been made that no new regular force personnel would be added for the new squadron. The needed people, described in public service parlance as PYs, or person years, would have to come from other organizations or units throughout the air force that could be scaled back or shut down.
“All PY sourced from offsets,” one document noted.
It is unclear exactly how the air force will staff the new squadron as it did not provide comment to the Citizen on the issue.
But the documents noted that one recommendation was that personnel who had been earmarked to be involved with a new unit to operate unmanned aerial vehicles be used for the helicopter squadron.
In 2007, the air force also looked at shutting down several squadrons operating Griffon helicopters and using those personnel for the new Chinook squadron.
In a January 2010 briefing, military planners also recommended that the initial cadre for the Petawawa squadron be made up of Griffon aircrews that have experience on Chinooks.
According to planning documents, the size of the Chinook squadron will be slowly ramped up with 118 personnel assigned in 2012, 185 coming in 2013 and 65 arriving in Petawawa in 2014. By 2016, the unit will have its full complement of 482, according to the documents.
Petawawa Mayor Bob Sweet said the creation of the squadron is big boost for the town. “It’s a small industry that is coming to town if you think about it,” he said.
Sweet said two new schools are being built in the area, one costing $30 million, and the other, $10 million. That is being driven by the need to serve military families, he added.
The building of facilities for the new helicopter squadron is also playing a key role in the ongoing expansion at CFB Petawawa.
In December, politicians and senior military personnel attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the new hangar at the base, which will house the CH-147 Chinook helicopters. Fifteen Chinooks will be located at the installation.
EllisDon Corporation of Ottawa was awarded the contract for the hangar, valued at a little more than $134 million.
The 50,000-square-metre hangar will consist of five main areas, including maintenance bays and training schools for crews, as well as a warehouse and command suite.
Construction is expected to be completed by the summer of 2013, according to the Defence Department.
To prepare for the arrival of the helicopters, the base also will need a new ramp, a refuelling facility, and a fenced-in parking area.
The first Chinook is expected to arrive in the summer of 2013.
Originally, CFB Edmonton, CFB Bagotville, and CFB Petawawa were in the running as the operating location for the new helicopters.
But Chief of the Defence Staff Walter Natynczyk pointed out that Petawawa was chosen because it provides the best support to army and special operations forces, many of which are co-located there, while minimizing the associated infrastructure costs for the new fleet. The Chinooks will maintain a high-readiness posture for rapid deployment, military officers have said.
Source: http://www.ottawacitizen.com
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