Capt Frédérique Rousseau
Stag Special

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 which candidates of the Advanced Tactical Aviation Course (ATAC) had to prepare and execute. Nine candidates from 1 Wing Royal Canadian Air Force (403 HOTS, 408 THS, 430 ETAH and 450 THS) and two from the Canadian Army (3R22R and 2RCR) worked long days for a month to build complex missions, as air assault, strike co-ordination and reconnaissance, non-combatant evacuation, personnel recovery and fire support missions, in collaboration with 4 Wing and 1CMBG.
Organizing this course required a great deal of preparation and extensive field analysis. CFB Cold Lake 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 Feb. 20 to March 2, 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 28 in Alberta at CFB Cold Lake.
Once qualified, these 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 TopGun, of tactical aviation training in Canada. They are now air mission commanders, excellent planners and managers of complex missions.
We tend to focus only on candidate pilots, but behind them are almost 200 people who have collaborated in the success of ATAC. 438 Tactical Helicopter Squadron CO LCol St-Onge and Advanced Tactical Flight OC Maj Martin would like to warmly thank all individuals who have invested many hours, either in logistics, aircraft maintenance, administration, and co-ordination with the various participants from 4 Wing, 1CMBG and American partners.
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!

438 THS Sgt Robert Simard captured the Griffon and Chinook helicopters in action during the ATAC at CFB Cold Lake, including an interesting capture from the air looking down them flying above the Alberta forest canopy. A light snow was still on the ground as soldiers disembarked as part of the course.