Spare helicopters could go to Mali

The military has left the door open to sending more helicopters to Mali to ensure the Canadian Forces can provide round-the-clock medical evacuations in what is expected to be a harsh operating environment.

Canada is preparing to send two Chinook transport helicopters and four armed Griffon escorts to the African nation this summer as part of a commitment to support the UN mission there. Those helicopters and about 250 military personnel are scheduled to leave in July and begin work on Aug. 1, Col. Chris McKenna, the commander of the helicopter detachment, told The Canadian Press.

While the detachment will likely be called upon at times to move troops and equipment across the arid landscape as required by UN officials, their primary mission will be evacuating injured peacekeepers and others.

That will entail having one Chinook and two Griffons on “perpetual standby, 24-7,” McKenna said, “so our crews are essentially sleeping almost beside the aircraft ready to launch.

“We are focused on getting to an incident site as quick as we can to be able to provide lifesaving interventions for both soldiers and anyone else that the UN would choose to medevac.”

Such medical services are especially important given the nature of the UN mission in Mali, which has seen dozens of peacekeepers killed or injured in ambushes and roadside bomb attacks. The extreme heat and dust isn’t expected to make life any easier.

Both the Germans and the Dutch have lost helicopters in the area in crashes blamed on technical problems caused by the environment. McKenna described the environment as “the biggest enemy.”

“We’re talking about operating state-of-the-art helicopters in the sub-Saharan Sahel region where the temperatures can reach 50plus degrees and you see an enormous amount of dust,” he said. “And as you know from our experience in Afghanistan, that can be quite tricky from a helicopter point of view.”

But the military through defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance can also decide to send additional helicopters to Mali as spares, either now or at some other point during the 12-month mission, if there is a need.

“I’ve been given leeway (to ask) for spares if we so think that that is required,” McKenna said.

A defence official said such a decision does not require authorization from the government.