In the Arabian Sea Region. TOR was employed in Combined Maritime Force (CMF)/Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 conducting counter terrorism and maritime security operations. One of CTF l50’s main objectives was to disrupt the trafficking of narcotics between Pakistan and Africa, a known source of funding for Middle—Eastern terrorist organizations. TOR was immensely successful, conducting nine interdictions and intercepting more than 2300 kg of heroin and 6000 kg of hashish. This accounted for more than 85% of narcotics seizures by CMF. The Sea King was instrumental in these successful seizures, providing sensor coverage “over the horizon”, allowing for the search, timely detection, and identification of vessels of interest and providing overwatch during boarding operations with her C—6 machine gun. The HELAIRDET was also called upon to provide medical evacuation of civilian workers from two, separate merchant vessels, several medevacs of ill crewmembers, and the rescue of a man overboard. All of this was accomplished as a result of the combined determination and skills of the HELAIRDET’s technicians and aircrew, keeping the venerable Sea King airborne and highly productive for more than 1000 hrs during the 13-month deployment.
Of particular note, the TOR HELAIRDET provided the rapid rescue of a man overboard, recovering a shipmate who might otherwise have perished. During an emergency exercise on TOR, a crewmember was knocked overboard by an unsecured door. While on approach to the ship, the crew of the Sea King spotted the man in the water and reacted quickly and professionally, providing a timely rescue of their shipmate.
By the time the rescue was conducted, the man was under water and unresponsive, and would have drowned if not for the quick response and rescue by the helicopter crew.
The HMCS TOR HELAlRDET’s resourcefulness and determination directly contributed to the overwhelming success of HMCS TOR in the war on terrorism, intercepting and destroying a signiticant amount of illegal narcotics. The substantial success achieved by HMCS TOR and her HELAIRDET has had a direct impact on the security in the region, significantly reducing the funding available to terrorist and extremist groups. These highly commendable achievements support my nomination of the technicians and aircrew ofthe TOR HELAIRDET for the Golden Hawks Trophy.
English/Anglais
SW2014-0381-01
Nov 27 2014
12 Wing Shearwater, Nova Scotia
The RCAF Golden Hawks Award is presented in recognition of outstanding contribution to military aviation, it is a reminder of the Golden Hawks, a precision flying team formed in 1959, and disbanded since.
This year’s award was presented to 423 (MH) SQN, HMCS Toronto Air Det. November 27, 2014 Shearwater, Nova Scotia.
Credit: Cpl Chris Boudrias
12 Wing Imaging Services, Shearwater, N.S
© 2014 DND-MDN Canada
HMCS TORONTO HELAIRDET AWARDED GOLDEN HAWKS TROPHY
12 Wing Public Affairs
The men of HMCS Toronto’s (TOR) HELAIRDET were awarded the prestigious Golden Hawks Trophy Thursday, 27 Nov at 12 Wing Shearwater. The HELAIRDET was awarded this trophy due to their outstanding contribution to Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, conducting counter terrorism and maritime security operations 14 Jan, 2013 – 27 Feb, 2014 as part of Op ARTEMIS in the Arabian Sea.
One of CTF 150’s main objectives was to disrupt the trafficking of narcotics between Pakistan and Africa. Over the period of 13 months, TOR was immensely successful, conducting nine interdictions and intercepting more than 2300 kg of heroin and 6000 kg of hashish. These interdictions accounted for more than 85% of narcotics seizures by all of Combined Maritime Forces during that time.
The Sea King was instrumental in these successful seizures, often departing and searching a wide area more than 100 nm away from the ship. The Sea King provided extended sensor coverage over the horizon which allowed for the search, detection and identification of vessels of interest and providing over-watch during boarding operations with her C-6 machine gun.
Accepting the trophy on behalf of the HELAIRDET was Maj Blaise Boutilier, HELAIRDET Commander.
“Being part of HMCS Toronto’s HELAIRDET was one of the highlights of my career,” stated Maj Boutilier. “The level of professionalism, dedication and teamwork demonstrated by the technicians, aircrew and our Navy colleagues was truly inspirational. Receiving the prestigious Golden Hawks Trophy with such a great group of aviators was a true honour and something I will be very proud of for a long time to come.”
The HELAIRDET was also called upon to provide medical evacuation of civilian workers from two merchant vessels, succeeding in airlifting two injured persons to shore despite challenging environmental conditions. In addition, the Sea King detachment provided several medical evacuations of ill crewmembers, bringing them to shore for eventual repatriation to Canada. Of particular note, the TOR HELAIRDET provided the rapid rescue of a man overboard, recovering a shipmate who might otherwise have perished. While on approach to the ship, the crew of the Sea King spotted the man in the water and reacted quickly and professionally, providing a timely rescue of their shipmate.
All of this was accomplished as a result of the combined determination and skills of the HELAIRDET’s technicians and aircrew, keeping Sea King airborne and highly productive for more than 1000 hrs during the 13 month deployment. The HMCS Toronto HELAIRDET’s resourcefulness and determination directly contributed to the overwhelming success of TOR in the war on terrorism, intercepting and destroying a significant amount of illegal narcotics. The substantial success achieved by HMCS Toronto and her HELAIRDET has had a direct impact on the security in the region, significantly reducing the funding available to terrorist and extremist groups.
