2 Wing Exercise Phoenix Warrior 2016 in Bagotville

On September 29, 2016, members of 2 Wing completed a training exercise, Phoenix Warrior, where they were able to successfully test their ability to carry out a mission to evacuate Canadians during an emergency.

Colonel Luc Boucher, Commander of 2 Wing, tell us that "Exercise Phoenix Warrior 2016 is designed to confirm the know- how and expertise of 2 Wing members, from the individual to the collective level. This allows us to give the Royal Canadian Air Force the versatility and flexibility required to meet the demands of the government.”

During Phoenix Warrior, everyone at 2 Wing was trained in one way or another. There were those who deployed to the country of Vinland; this meant that they had to go through all the predeployment procedures, prepare the equipment to be flown there and erect an actual camp at CFB Bagotville. There were also those who coordinated the training and created this fictional scenario in Vinland from behind the scenes.

Chief Warrant Officer Jeannot Lavoie, 2 Air Expeditionary Squadron ( 2 AES) Chief Warrant Officer, was among the members deployed to Vinland in support of the mission to evacuate Canadians. Very proudly, he shares his views: "My experience at Phoenix Warrior 2016 was very rewarding and has allowed us to target the challenges of a high tempo unit. Exercise Phoenix Warrior took place only a few days after Exercise RIMPAC, thus validating our ability to reconstruct, among other things, our human and material resources available at short notice to deploy. "

All in all, a very comprehensive exercise that enabled some 350 members of 2 Wing to train together in a realistic context and be ready for the next mission which might just be around the corner!