The airspace over Hespeler Park is about to bring some big thrills for kids enrolled in this year’s adventure camp, hosted by Niverville Recreation.
On Tuesday, August 20, a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CC-130H Hercules will circle the sky over the park and drop a parachute team of the 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, based out of 17 Wing Winnipeg.
Those young people enrolled in the adventure camp, ranging from 6 to 13 years of age, will be on hand to participate as simulated casualties in a mock search-and-rescue (SAR) demonstration.
The training exercise will continue on the ground as the team performs demonstrations of primary medial response care.
“SAR and other Air Force demonstrations are carefully planned and closely controlled to ensure public safety at all times, and are dependent upon weather and flying conditions,” reads an RCAP news release.
If weather or conditions are prohibitive, the event will be postponed to Wednesday, August 21.
“The Royal Canadian Air Force is proud to share in community events such as this, that allow us to demonstrate the capabilities of our personnel and aircraft to Canadians,” the news release continues.
It should be noted that public awareness efforts are also made in order to prevent alarm from the general public who may witness the peculiar event as it’s taking place.
The Citizen reached out to Captain Ken Jacobson, Public Affairs Officer for the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Jacobson says these kinds of exercises are a regular part of their everyday training.
“Search and rescue technicians, if they’re not out actually performing search-and-rescue functions, they are training to make sure that they’re capabilities don’t lapse,” Jacobson says. “So that when the need is called upon, they are ready to go.”
Teresa Mistelbacher is the supervisor of Camps and Recreational Services for the town of Niverville.
“Our team is always working to bring really exciting and new experiences to our summer camps,” says Mistelbacher. “Our adventure camp is a very popular camp that we run every year. It’s intended to help kids build confidence, connection, and leadership skills. It’s really based on, what do the kids want and how can we help that come to life?’”
This year’s adventure camp themes included self expression through creativity, confidence, and courage.
It was the theme of courage that provoked Mistelbacher to think outside the box.
Mistlebacher’s partner is an aircraft structures technician whose job it is to keep the Hercules aircraft functional and in top condition for SAR teams.
For Mistelbacher, some of the most courageous Canadians can be found among the SAR squadrons.
“I know they do really cool stuff and I know they do it all the time,” Mistelbacher says. “So I thought, why can’t they do those same really cool things on my home turf?”
Instantly, she says, the RCAF was enthusiastic about a collaboration.
There are many levels of authority to wade through, however, to approve an operation like this one. As a result, the event has been many months in the making. Mistelbacher is thrilled that the time has finally come.
Following the Hercules flyover and SAR parachute drop, Mistlebacher says the adventure camp kids will benefit from some hands-on time with the SAR team, trying on gear and asking questions.
The team will also provide the kids with a short workshop instructing them on wilderness survival skills.
“The airplane will likely circle over the area like they would if it was a normal search-and-rescue,” says Jacobson. “The whole idea behind this is that we’re not telling the squadron this is going to happen. It’s a no-notice exercise. They’ll find out on the way that there are not actual injured people that they’re going to have to support.”
Jacobson says SAR team training requires locating a vast range of geographical terrains and creating a broad variety of simulated circumstances in order to build on their skillsets.
Their duties may include rescuing a single individual or large group of people. They might go in after a lost hiker, injured rock climber, or stranded snowmobiler. They could be called out to water rescues involving a ship full of people on the ocean or a family stranded on a broken-down boat in Lake Winnipeg.
“Even things like, for example, the evacuation that just took place in Oxford House,” Jacobson says, referencing a wildfire response operation in northern Manitoba last week. “That involved the 435 Squadron.”
The Hercules is a large fixed-wing aircraft with four engines, perfect for SAR efforts. These aircraft are stationed on a variety of military bases across Canada, including Winnipeg; Comox, B.C., and Trenton, Ontario.
The Hercules aircraft and SAR team dispatched to any emergency is dependent on proximity to the location where they are needed.
“They support search-and-rescue for the central region, which is from the Quebec border to the B.C. border and from the U.S.-Canada border all the way to the North Pole,” Jacobson says.
Jacobson, Mistelbacher, and town officials recognize that the events taking place over Hespeler Park will draw attention and possibly spectators to the park. For this reason, they ask everyone who isn’t directly involved to remain at a safe distance in order to allow the demonstration to be carried out without unnecessary interference.
As well, the town needs to consider the children’s safety. Summer camp staff have provided background checks to assure parents that their children are in good hands. Allowing outsiders into the exercise zone could compromise those efforts.
“It’s such a tough thing because it’s exciting and we want everybody to be involved, but at the same time we have to honor and respect some of those more logistical pieces,” Mistelbacher says.
For kids who are missing out on this year’s adventure camp excitement, Mistelbacher says there’s always next year.
“We’re always coming up with new and interesting ways to keep our summer camp program really exciting for the kids who are participating,” she says. “We’re adding value every day and we’re already coming up with great ideas for next year.”