03 April 2009

Canadians coming to Spangdahlem

The CF are going to be using Spangdahlem AB in Germany.

"With the mission in Afghanistan, we have experienced the challenges of maintaining a 12,000-kilometer supply chain and it hasn’t been easy," Maj. Gen. Daniel Benjamin, commander of Canadian Operational Support Command, said in a news release. "Our first priority was in Europe in the development of what will eventually be a network of hubs worldwide to meet any contingency that causes our government to deploy troops."
...
"Spangdahlem’s support for a Canadian hub would consist of refueling their aircraft and providing lodging for their aircrews. Operating hours of the airfield here will not be affected," U.S. Air Force Col. Lee T. Wight, commander of the 52nd Fighter Wing, said in a statement.

Although Spangdahlem is a fighter base, it will make a good hub because its runways are big enough to handle C-5s, and it is capable of accommodating the four C-17s the Canadians bought, which they call CC-177s, said Bacot, who is also a C-17 pilot.

Spangdahlem is only about 55 miles from Ramstein which, among other things, the U.S. uses for much the same purpose.

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