Editor’s note: This story is an update on a Canadian Armed Forces submitted story we ran on Nov. 11, 2021 about Sgt. Kelly Press.
Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania – As part of Operation REASSURANCE, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) deploys an Air Task Force (ATF) to Constanta, Romania with approximately 175 CAF personnel and up to six CF-188 Hornet fighter jets to enhance air policing, with two additional CF-188 Hornets to participate in NATO’s training exercises.
The Romanian air base is less than 200 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, and roughly 500 km across the Black Sea from Russian-occupied Crimea.
The current task force deployed in August and will remain in Romania until Dec. 2. The task force’s mission is to augment the air policing capabilities of the Romanian Air Force. It’s the seventh time Canadian Armed Forces jets and personnel have taken part in Operation REASSURANCE in Romania.
In 2021, former Prince George resident Sgt. Kelly Press, along with fellow personnel from 409 Squadron at 4 Wing Cold Lake deployed to Romanian for three-and-a-half months.
A graduate of Prince George Secondary School, and daughter of a member of the Royal Navy, Press always wanted to join the Canadian Armed Forces.
In 2008, she did just that, signing up as an Aircraft Structures Technician in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
After completing Basic Military Qualification Training – more familiarly known as boot camp – at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden, Ont., then-Private Press remained at CFB Borden for the ten-month ACS Tech course.
This multi-faceted trade has three main parts.
The core part is metal work, fabricating and refinishing aircraft.
In recent years, the trade has acquired Life Saving Systems, which entails maintaining equipment critical to keeping aircrew safe, such as ejection seats, parachutes and survival kits.
The third part is Aviation Life Support Equipment, which consists of maintaining equipment that is worn by aircrew, such as helmets, oxygen masks and life preservers.
As an ACS Tech in the CAF, Press has had many unique opportunities.
Two that stand out in her mind are the time she was selected to stand guard on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for a month in 2012.
Press says it was both a great experience, and a great honour.
The second is her month in Japan as part of Operation DRIFTNET.
The operation’s aim is to aide in efforts to protect wild fish stocks worldwide from the threat of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Press found the work very rewarding, and being able to experience the culture of Japan was a life-long dream.
Travel is something Sgt. Press enjoys, and as a CAF member, she has been fortunate to travel all over the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii.
She has deployed to Curacao as part of Operation CARRIBE and to Kuwait as part of Operation IMPACT.
Operation REASSURANCE is Canada’s contribution to NATO assurance and deterrence measures, demonstrating Canada’s ability and willingness to react rapidly to international crises and to work side by side with its NATO allies to reinforce NATO’s collective security.
This is the seventh time that Canada has deployed an ATF to Romania as part of NATO’s enhanced Air Policing mission, which has augmented and supported Baltic and Eastern European countries’ own forces on a continual basis since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Under NATO command and control, the ATF conducts surveillance of Romanian and allied airspace, trains with their NATO counterparts, and if required, intercepts, identifies and/or escorts aircraft that enter the Romanian Air Defence Identification Zone.
“Ever since Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Canada has been steadfast in demonstrating our commitment to NATO’s collective defence across Europe,” Defence Minister Anita Anand said in a statement regarding the deployment. “Air surveillance and policing is a critical part of maintaining a nation’s security in the face of aggressive nations that continuously seek to test the defences of their neighbours, something Canada has its own experience with in the Arctic. Our mission in Romania allows us to contribute to NATO’s collective defence, and allows us to deliver capabilities that are a tangible symbol of Canada’s resolve to NATO’s collective defence.”
