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Camp Mirage Superthread

Source was probably this:

http://www.canada.com/news/world/story.html?id=3347c216-7871-46a1-999a-270d3904d44e

or

http://www.cfra.com/headlines/index.asp?cat=2&nid=30546
 
from the embedded reporter in Camp Julien...

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/08/03/1158116-cp.html

Runway incident delays troops' homecoming

By TERRY PEDWELL

KABUL (CP) - The families of 150 Canadian soldiers heading home from Afghanistan will have to wait a little longer for their loved ones to arrive.

An accident on a runway at the secretive Camp Mirage air base elsewhere in the region will mean soldiers ending a six-month rotation at Camp Julien in Kabul won't leave until Saturday at the earliest, military officials said.

Several other soldiers who helped Canada set up a provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar, Afghanistan, will also have their departure delayed.

On Tuesday, a Boeing 737-300, operated by Aerosvit, a Ukrainian airline, made an emergency landing at Camp Mirage after its pilots radioed that they suspected one of the plane's tires had burst during takeoff from Dubai International Airport.

No one was injured, but the plane caused a large gash in the runway that required extensive repair.

Canadian Forces officials say the incident will mean soldiers, mainly from CFB Petawawa, Ont., who were scheduled to leave Afghanistan on Thursday and Friday will have to wait until the weekend.

Another 150 soldiers, heading into Afghanistan, will also have their deployment to Afghanistan postponed.

The Canadian Forces closely guards the location of Camp Mirage, in south Asia, so as not to offend the base's host country, although its whereabouts has been reported publicly. It serves as a stopover for flights to and from Afghanistan.

Canada is deploying 250 troops to Kandahar for the provincial reconstruction team, billed as an implementation of the new "3-D" policy of combining diplomacy, defence and development abroad.

There are also about 700 Canadian troops based at Camp Julien in Kabul as part of the NATO security force protecting the UN-backed Afghan government.


 
AND?!?! I love the spectacular reporting on such an minor incident.
 
mover1 said:
AND?!?! I love the spectacular reporting on such an minor incident.

Yes minor...esp if your NOT one of the 300 soldier or thier families waiting to fly out of Mirage and CJ, who are getting home 1-3 days late after a 6 month tour.

I suppose it minor to if you not one of the others waiting to go home on later flights, or one of the 1000 waiting to come onto the tour, wondering when you'll get to fly...

Its not so bad, as I am done, with no handover to do because my replacement isn't in...but for those who had to redraw thier weapons and head back out the gate yesterday...

I'd think to them it could be life altering news if something bad were to happen.
 
Tell me about it Ash......    ::)    ;D

Regards
 
Armymedic

Its not the first time and it wont be the last, that soldiers have to suck it up and do more than a 6 month tour. I can think of at least 2 separate occasions when our BG had to stay longer than expected, once in '93 we stayed a month later, due to the fact that there were problems with the incoming BG (the vandoo's  ::) }. As well Roto 12, but that was just for a week or so for some of the troops.
 
Not like this is my first time either...going in on both this and roto 13 were delayed...it is what you expect to happen, and glad when it doesn't.

It is an inconvenience, but by no means minor to those who are experiencing it for the first time. And to those of us who have, we look at the pluses like the extra 3 days of tour pay I am getting, etc.

I take offense to someone saying its "minor" news, on a site called Army.ca.

edit: I did not mean to give rise to airforce/army animosities, as there is an Airbus crew stuck in Mirage as well. Perhaps I am taking it personal, and whining a bit here. But I think you would be too after sitting in Camp Julien for 5 days in the heat, with nothing to do but eat, sleep, go to the gym, and wait to call home.

And to top it all off, our beer cards have expired... :crybaby:
 
Could be worse, you could be doing a year long tour with less pay and far less leave like our american friends over here.  :salute:
You can also look on the bright side and think of the extra cash you're making and some guys are getting an extra point out of the deal.

There's always a bright side, it's just not always that easy to see. Regardless, we'll all be home shortly.
 
Armymedic said:
Not like this is my first time either...going in on both this and roto 13 were delayed...it is what you expect to happen, and glad when it doesn't.

It is an inconvenience, but by no means minor to those who are experiencing it for the first time. And to those of us who have, we look at the pluses like the extra 3 days of tour pay I am getting, etc.

I take offense to someone saying its "minor" news, on an army site no less.

Armymedic,

It realy was minor news.  So things are delayed a day or 2...sucks but definately not worthy of a news report.  I am not trying to create an army/air force pissing contest here but the last part of your comment realy got to me.  Everyone gets delayed here and there, we sure do everytime the planes break at some foreign base at the end of some exercise. That doesnt make the news now does it ?

"on an army site no less"...........give it a rest  ::)
 
Aerosvit have an operating agreement with Air Canada and offices in Toronto. They commenced
operations about ten years ago with mostly Boeing aircraft (737-200,300, Boeing 767) and were
seeking TC licenses to operate in Canadian cities (Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg) wnd
there was some focus on Windsor ON (linked to Detroit). They probably have a DND contract
through Air Canada to provide airlift capacity as required. I'll bet their Toronto staff know where
Camp Mirage is in any event. Aerosvit is a long established private sector airline venture in the
Ukraine Republic, with an excellent reputation and probably some Air Canada investment. There
was a lot of work done for various commercial air passenger and air cargo from the former Soviet
Union in Ottawa, about five years ago. Some were licensed, some were not. Skylink Toronto
lease Russian and Ukrainian aircraft for DND support to this very day. MacLeod
 
It happens. Two or three days is nothing. If there was any real delays because it was a MAJOR incident. there would have been alternate arrangements made.

AESOP your making me tear up again man.
 
Watch the tone troops.....no personal attacks now. Keep it clean.

Regards
 
I heard there is a tour coming up with the airforce to gaurd the airstrip at Camp Mirage its the resupply base for afghanistan has anybody heard anything. :army:
 
Yes that is correct. There will be two D&S platoons. The positions have been filled. Not sure what else i can say but judging by your avatar you should talk to some of your L.E.R. buddies.
 
MasterPrivate said:
...............OPSEC.........?

Noted, topic changed accordingly.

Camp Mirage's location is not public information.
 
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