Exercise MAPLE FLAG is going smoothly thus far and next week will see some new faces from abroad coming in to participate.
Right now, The United States and France have military aircraft at 4 Wing participating in the training exercise. Next week will see air forces from both Singapore and the United Kingdom arriving with representatives as well. France will be sending some more air craft over too. A further dozen or so nations have sent representatives in an observer capacity. The United States marines are present to provide logistical support behind the scenes.
Captain Matthew Strong with the base says the exercise has been a great learning opportunity thus far and while there have been a few minor hiccups, things have been running smoothly for the most part.
“We here at 4 Wing Cold Lake are really excited to host this exercise every year,” says Strong. “It’s a really big point of pride for us and this is our big contribution to the Royal Canadian Air Force. We fly in formation with our partners in the RCAF and armed forces and help deliver air power across the spectrum of capabilities that we have.”