5 Wing Goose Bay celebrates first 75 years

After 75 years in Labrador,5 Wing Goose Bay celebrates its rich history with a birthday party starting at noon on Sunday.

The main job of the airfield today is to defend Canada's Arctic and northeast coasts. It was built by Canada and the United States in 1941 because it was the ideal location for staging anti-submarine aircraft and trans-Atlantic flights.

During the Second World War more than 22,000 fighters and bombers landed there. In the 1950s Goose Bay started a long tradition of low-level flight training in Labrador.

By 1965 the Americans had built infrastructure capable of supporting 12,000 service personnel.The Americans were followed by the Germans, Dutch and the Italians. But by 2005 the days of low-level flying were over.

5 Wing role evolving

"The big role that we have now is the defence of North America with Norad (North American Aerospace Defense Command)," says Lieutenant-Colonel Luc Sabourin, Commander of 5 Wing Goose Bay.

"Every fall for the past two years and we're going to have it again this fall we have a North American defense agreement exercise where you see American aircraft as well as Canadian aircraft deploy here to defend the Arctic and east coast of North America."

Sabourin says most military people have a relatively short stay in Labrador. But there are lasting effects.

"People are very open, friendly and ready to accept you. You tend to keep that with you when you leave," he told CBC's Labrador Morning on Friday."

While the busiest days at 5 Wing Goose Bay may be in the past, the airfield still has a big role.

"The biggest expansion that we've seen is in the use of the facility [for]simulating an austere environment," Sabourin said. "A lot of army and special forces come with the air force to co-operate and deploy here in either Arctic condtions or in austere summer conditions ... that seems to be the trend."

Party details

The party at Veteran's Park starts at noon on Sunday. The German hangar will be used to display videos and pictures celebrating all aspects of 5 Wing's history. Other activities will include military displays, bouncy castles, a fire truck display, a barbeque, face painting and craft tables.

The Royal Canadian Air Force Band will offer a free concert at the Lawrence O'Brien Arts Center starting at 7:00 p.m.

The celebrations will continue all year, long after Sabourin,Commander of 5 Wing Goose Bay for just two years,leaves Labrador for a new posting.

"The main theme in all of this is how the Big Land influences the way we think and the way we feel when we leave."