Saw something interesting at YEG today...

AB_Summit · Post by **AB_Summit** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 8:56 pm

I was driving down highway 2 past Edmonton International at about 7:00 pm this evening and I saw a large jet coming in for a landing being escorted by 2 fighter planes.

The jet was about the size of a 737 and was dark grey, almost black, with no markings except a red canadian flag on the tail. As the jet landed the 2 fighter planes made a low pass the length of the runway and once the jet was on the ground the fighters climbed at a sharp angle until they were several thousand feet above the ground and then they took off to the east.

Anybody know what was going on or who was in the jet?

Dust Devil · Post by **Dust Devil** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:01 pm

Stephen Harper was in Regina today. Maybe his next stop was Edmonton.

Perhaps they went east to Cold Lake

Dave T · Post by **Dave T** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:36 pm

We were going in there the other day and were told to keep our speed up for priority traffic. It was a bunch of troops returning from Afganistan. I think they were in a Military A-310 and had the fighter escort. We landed right before them, and got to watch the fighters bring them all the way in.
Really Cool!

sky's the limit · Post by **sky's the limit** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:43 pm

Wow,

Are we ever becomming American...

STL

mellow_pilot · Post by **mellow_pilot** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:49 pm

There's nothing wrong with honouring troops returning from a war zone. An escort is nothing to be ashamed of. It doesn't make us American. It even provides a chance for training, as 18s have to escort airliners from time to time.

Bravo Zulu to all in uniform.

mellow_pilot · Post by **mellow_pilot** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:53 pm

You know, thinking about this a bit more, what the hell is Canada coming to?

No one in this country seems proud of our military or it's history. Canada has been in some of the most incredible battles in modern history, and yet few Canadians know about it. I think that is sad. It is truly unfortunate that we don't teach children to be proud of their heritage.

Justwannafly · Post by **Justwannafly** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:44 pm

There's nothing wrong with honouring troops returning from a war zone. Infact we should do more to honour them

MAG1 · Post by **MAG1** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 11:08 pm

I think most of us are proud of what our military has accomplished in the past and we are all fiercely proud Canadians I should hope, only more modest than our neighbors to the south.

mellow_pilot · Post by **mellow_pilot** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 11:48 pm

You know what I'm proud of? Holding doors open for moms with strollers.

I was down in Seattle the other day and no one would hold the damn doors for all the mommys at the mall. (even the daddys)

Curtesy was a freakin foriegn concept.

linecrew · Post by **linecrew** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 3:54 am

sky's the limit wrote:Wow,

Are we ever becomming American...

STL

How does this make us "American"? A lot of other countries go to much further lengths to show pride and respect for their military.

32a · Post by **32a** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 4:36 am

Just for confirmation, it was a CF Airbus escorted by CF18s and for honouring our returning soldiers. This welcome has been, and will be, ongoing during the current theatre troop rotation. It also includes a verbal message from the fighter pilots to the soldiers through the Airbus' PA. Rest assured that the reaction from returning soldiers, which is the key factor here, makes all of this totally worthwhile.

In case anyone gets on the cost or interference bandwagons, these intercepts and escorts are routine currency/proficiency/operational events conducted with full cooperation of all applicable civilian agencies.

It is a small acknowledgement of the sacrifices your Canadian Forces are making everyday in Afganistan.

Kosiw · Post by **Kosiw** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 6:41 am

Here's a link to actual combat video, that you won't find on the CBC news....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaC-w2dI ... ed&search=

Dockjock · Post by **Dockjock** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 6:45 am

Ya know, becoming a little more "American" as some are wont to say (usually with a pained look on their face) can be a good thing. Step out of the liberal feel good nonsense mindset and realize that a strong, functional military is one of the key factors that will continue to make Canada actually matter on the international stage. We are not war mongers, and I hesitate to say that anything we could possibly do could change this in the eyes of the world. But we do have to be capable, at the very least, at enforcing our ideology in other parts of the world when the time comes. Negotiating with the Taliban, or Hezbollah, or Hamas, Iran, or Bin Laden and his ilk is not an option and I think that has been made abundantly clear through the events of the last 5 years or so.

Anyhow, I support our troops fully, cognizant of the fact that I can with clear conscience support them without necessarily fully supporting the assigned mission they are out there performing. They are regular men and women doing extraordinary, dangerous jobs for our benefit.

To quote Top Gun: "Gentlemen, we don't make policy here. Governments make policy. We are the instruments of that policy."

I wish we could become just a little bit more American in one way in particular, and that is an active Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve type of system here in Canada. While full-time military service was never in the cards for me, I would happily spend "one weekend a month and 6 weeks a year" as a reservist that put my training and experience as a pilot to good use in service to Canada flying a transport or search-and-rescue aircraft (or of course...a CF-18...hey one can dream!).

Slappy the Squirrel · Post by **Slappy the Squirrel** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:24 am

Honouring the soldiers in all, it is still a waste of money to have a couple of F-18's flying around for no reason. I think we could find a cheaper way to honour them. But oh well, I guess the need for the military to feel all warm and fuzzy about itself is more important then healthcare!

Spokes · Post by **Spokes** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:55 am

These fighter guys get maybe 250 hrs a year. They squeeze all the training they can get out of each hour. Practicing intercepts and formation flying is an important part of this training. It is not a waste of money.

The job the people in Afghanistan are doing is helping to keep those taliban scumbags from harming our own at home, and hopefully getting rid of a bunch at the same time. A fighter escort on the return home is the least we can do for these folks.

Pygmie · Post by **Pygmie** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 9:11 am

Speaking of not feeling proud of our military, I read a story a couple months back (I'll try and find a link) that had a poll saying 70% !! of Quebec residents do not think Canada needs a military AT ALL!

Not just a smaller military, but NO MILITARY AT ALL! Unbelievable. . .

Machdiamond · Post by **Machdiamond** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 10:57 am

Pygmie, the poll you are referring to said 70% of Quebec residents opposed the military intervention in Afghanistan. It's not quite the same thing as no military at all (which is unbelievable indeed).

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/s ... /20060506/

A CF Airbus was escorted the same way by two CF18 into Quebec City a couple of weeks ago, bringing back troops based in Valcartier.

--M

DA900 · Post by **DA900** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 2:16 pm

Slappy the Squirrel wrote:Honouring the soldiers in all, it is still a waste of money to have a couple of F-18's flying around for no reason. I think we could find a cheaper way to honour them. But oh well, I guess the need for the military to feel all warm and fuzzy about itself is more important then healthcare!

Hey Layton go hug a tree you bleeding heart hippie!

... · Post by **...** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 2:25 pm

DA900 wrote:
Slappy the Squirrel wrote:Honouring the soldiers in all, it is still a waste of money to have a couple of F-18's flying around for no reason. I think we could find a cheaper way to honour them. But oh well, I guess the need for the military to feel all warm and fuzzy about itself is more important then healthcare!

Hey Layton go hug a tree you bleeding heart hippie!

I don't think you'd be saying that if it were you in need of a bed or your father died of cancer because he had to wait for treatment and never got it.

Common bro...you're better than that.

cyxe · Post by **cyxe** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 6:40 pm

Saw the same thing today at YEG, about 1730 local time, a CC-150 Polaris (A310) escorted by one F18, landed rwy 20, with the F18 circling once and doing a flyby, very nice.

Welcome home!

Say Altitude · Post by **Say Altitude** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 6:58 pm

Slappy the Squirrel wrote:Honouring the soldiers in all, it is still a waste of money to have a couple of F-18's flying around for no reason. I think we could find a cheaper way to honour them. But oh well, I guess the need for the military to feel all warm and fuzzy about itself is more important then healthcare!

Hey Zipperhead, FREEdom isn't free! I would love for all the ignorant clowns like you to walk a day in mine or anyone elses' shoes who wears this country's uniform proudly. You'll see all the good work we're doing and all of the personal sacrifice (family/friends) that happens so that you can feel the need to criticize us all: something allowed in a democratic society that was paid for with the lives of tens of thousands of our fathers and grandfathers before us and now our brothers and sisters in theatre.

I'd gladly pay the thousands of dollars out of my own pocket for the Jet A1 for the Hornets to do their fly past to honour our comrades.

You're comments are so insulting it's beyond words.

complexintentions · Post by **complexintentions** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:41 pm

Slappy the Squirrel wrote:Honouring the soldiers in all, it is still a waste of money to have a couple of F-18's flying around for no reason. I think we could find a cheaper way to honour them. But oh well, I guess the need for the military to feel all warm and fuzzy about itself is more important then healthcare!

To suggest that an F18 fly-by is somehow directly linked to a dearth of money for health care is the type of mind-boggling stupidly simplistic rhetoric that has been perfected by the likes of Jack "let's negotiate with the Taliban" Layton.

It would be amusing if it wasn't so depressing.

JL · Post by JL » Sun Sep 03, 2006 8:58 pm

There's also a nice sign heading north out of YEG towards Namao that welcomes home the troops...

Slappy the Squirrel · Post by **Slappy the Squirrel** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:01 am

Now hold on here I'm not anti-military at all, and I do appreciate what the soldiers are doing over there. Maybe I was misread there. All I meant was F-18's aren't a cheap thing to operate, and I'm sure there is a better was for that money to be spent, tis all. Why not spend it on the military's families instead?

slowstream · Post by **slowstream** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:19 am

Slappy,

Fair enough but your still missing the point it's not about the dam money, Christ you sound like my wife, its about honoring these vets, these vets who give all to ensure these freedoms for us and others. when you honor someone or a group price is NEVER, I say again NEVER an issue! Just as on rememberance day we stand and pay honor to our vets regardless of the climate or temp, its not about personal comfort its about honoring them.

Now do you get it? I do hope so.

P.S

Too bad you don't live in Ab. where you would be able to see the looks on their faces on the every news cast as they come back and are welcomed home like they are, I wouldn't know how to begin to discribe it, but then you would know that it is worth all efforts to honor them. By the way there is also two large eletronic signs on Q.E 2 between the airport and the city welcoming them home and thanking them and i'm happy to pay my part for them too.

I hope we never again see the disgrace of a nation for returning soilders, that we saw from Vietnam.