By Skies Magazine | June 14, 2016 Estimated reading time 4 minutes, 40 seconds.
The 2016 CF-18 Demonstration Team was the headline of the CFB North Bay Armed Forces Day on June 8, closing the festivities with a bang.
Armed Forces Day at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) North Bay, Ont., was once again the most celebrated incarnation of the day at any base in Canada, hosted by 22 Wing Commander Col Henrick Smith.
Highlighting the event, and celebrating their 45th year, was the Canadian Forces SkyHawks Parachute Demonstration Team. The other headliner was the 2016 CF-18 Demonstration Team, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) featuring a special custom scheme by famed RCAF artist and designer Jim Belliveau, who has been painting commemorative colour schemes on the RCAF CF-18 fleet for over 20 years.
Armed Forces Day provided many hands on opportunities for cadets and the public to check out military hardware up close.
‘The plan’ is being commemorated as one of Canada’s largest aviation commitments to the Second World War, with many thousands of Commonwealth pilots and airmen training at newly built bases across Canada. Most of these bases are now gone, but numerous airports across Canada still celebrate their roots as BCATP fields.
The CFB North Bay show was held at the city’s waterfront. It celebrates the service and contribution made by 22 Wing and Canadian Forces personnel to the community.
It is typically the largest Armed Forces Day celebration in the country, and has been held annually for many years. In the morning of the event, in the marina parking lot on the North Bay waterfront, an impromptu camp consisting of a number of military vehicles and tents were quickly put in place up in time for the 11 a.m. official opening.
The SkyHawks carried out traditional national anthem jumps flying the flags of first the United States for the large U.S. Air Force contingent based at North Bay, followed by the Canadian flag jump, all landing on the large beach adjacent to the marina. They were followed by numerous military, political and local dignitaries giving speeches.
The CF-18 closed the event with a full low show due to the overcast ceiling and high winds.
Thousands of school children from across the region attended, and experienced hands-on the hardware and enjoyed the air display. Those students involved in cadet groups; whether army, air or sea cadets, wore their uniforms amongst their classmates, and helped educate them about cadet programs, and hopefully recruit some to their groups.
The 22 Wing Band provided musical entertainment from many genres, which had many of the children dancing on the lawn. 22 Wing Honorary Col Scott W. Clark was the emcee for the event.
The ranking government official at the Armed Forces Day was Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, who inspected the troops.
Also of note, Member of Provincial Parliament, Vic Fedeli, who is also the Honourary Colonel of the North Bay-based Algonquin Regiment, also gave a moving tribute to North Bay personnel currently deployed on operations.
Despite the overcast and cool conditions, the event was enjoyed by many of the 700 based North Bay and area military personnel and their families, as well as students and the general public alike.
