CFB Wainwright training ‘as real as it can be,’ says retired major-general

Training at CFB Wainwright in Alberta is “as real as it can be” to prepare soldiers for combat operations, says a retired Canadian Armed Forces major-general.

Four military members were killed, and dozens were injured after a fire broke out at the massive military base’s training area on Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said at a press conference in Ottawa Sunday.

Retired Maj.-Gen. David Fraser, who spent much of his over 30-year military career training at CFB Wainwright, said that training can involve up to thousands of people depending on the exercise.

Some exercises are individual he said, providing an example of a member shooting a rifle at a gun range. Others are known as collective exercises, which involve two or more members, he said.

“They’re progressive,” Fraser said in an interview Sunday. “You start off with one person and you end up at some stage in the game probably with 5,000 or 6,000 people,” he said.

Fraser said training at the base 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton teaches regular and reserve forces to use every weapon in the military’s arsenal, including aircraft. The exercises can involve firing both unloaded and loaded weapons, he said.

Fraser described the exercises as organized and methodical and said something went wrong at CFB Wainwright on Saturday.

“It’s very procedural, it’s complex, it’s detailed to make it as safe as possible,” he said.

Later Sunday, officials provided more information about how the trouble began.

Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland told a news conference in Edmonton that a grass fire was a kilometre away from the training exercises on Saturday afternoon and was considered sufficiently under control that the exercises were allowed to continue.

But Rutland said conditions — including a violent, sudden windstorm — sent flames racing over the Prairie landscape at lightning speed, landing right on top of the soldiers.

In addition to the four soldiers who died, 39 others were injured, 19 of whom are in critical condition.

CFB Wainwright is adjacent to the town of Wainwright, home to close to 7,000 people and located about 50 kilometres west of the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary.

The fast-moving fire quickly spread beyond the boundaries of the training area on Saturday, and both military and civilian responders worked to control the fire.

Fraser described the base as one of the Canadian military’s premier training areas, which was used to train forces that served on-the-ground in Afghanistan following the 911 terrorist attacks in the United States.

“The training area is essentially prairie with a lot of aspen trees and a lot of rolling terrain, and it’s really good for vehicles to go through,” he said. “It’s an outstanding training area.”

Forces participate in safety briefings before an exercise begins and are given specific instructions on what they are permitted to shoot and what orders they will be given to stop the exercise in the event something goes wrong, he said.

Fraser said the base is fenced off and there are signs advising the public that it is a Department of National Defence property. Additionally, he said personnel put up barriers and red flags to alert people when there are live firing exercises taking place.

He added that forces who undergo this training are well-versed in safety procedures and safety staff oversee the exercises.

“Any training starts off with dry training to refresh your skills, to make sure you’re ready to go and use anything that’s live,” he said.

Fraser said the priority for the armed forces is to notify the affected families and ensure that there is no further damage to the training base.

As well, he anticipated both the Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP will conduct investigations to determine how the fire started.

The prime minister said Sunday family members of those who died have been notified and that those involved came from military bases across the country.

The four deceased have been identified as: Sgt. Morgan Wong of Edmonton;  Pte. Shaun Farrell of Prince Albert, Sask.; Pte. Aidan Goulding of North Vancouver; and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark of Langley, B.C.