The Cold War ends and the campaign against terrorism begins (1989-present) - part 2
The missions continued to roll out, including the Congo (1960–64), West New Guinea (1962–63) and Yemen (1963–64).
Just before the 1967 Arab-Israeli War (the “Six Day War”) broke out, the Air Force evacuated the entire Canadian contingent of 700 Canadian peacekeepers from the region in just three days. One of the saddest days for the Air Force occurred on August 9, 1974, during Operation Danaca, which supported both UNEF in the Sinai and the UN Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights. A CC-115 Buffalo aircraft from 116 ATU was shot down over Syria, killing nine crew and passengers. They are known as the “Buffalo Nine” and August 9 is commemorated as “Peacekeepers Day” in Canada.
In recent years, Air Force operations have spanned a spectrum that includes participating in humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and drug interdictions; enforcing embargoes and no-fly zones; and contributing to both peace-support and combat operations.
Since 2000, these missions have included — but are not limited to — the following:
DATES | OPERATION NAME | LOCATION |
---|---|---|
1998-2000 | Op Echo | Balkans |
1999–2000 | Op Kinetic | Kosovo and former Yugoslav |
1999–2001 | Op Toucan | East Timor |
2000–2001 | Op Artisan | Albania |
2001–2003 | Op Support | North America |
2001–2003 | Op Apollo | Arabian Gulf Region |
2003 | Op Caravan | Democratic Republic of Congo |
2003–2011 | Op Athena | Afghanistan |
2004 | Op Sirius | Mediterranean |
2005 | Op Unison | United States |
2006 | Op Lion | Lebanon |
2009 | Op Tatou | Trinidad and Tobago |
2010 | Op Hestia | Haiti |
2011 and 2013 | Op Ignition | Iceland |
2011 | Op Mobile | Libya |
2011 | Op Jaguar | Jamaica |
2013 | Op Renaissance | Philippines |
In addition to these missions, individual members of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) participate in other international missions as peacekeepers, UN observers and staff and many naval deployments involve RCAF personnel who embark with Sea King helicopter air detachments.
Moreover, the RCAF is also often involved in transporting members of the Disaster Assistance Relief Team to regions that are in crisis, such as the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.
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