The base commander at CFB Trenton underscored the importance of community during a web presentation to members of the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce on Friday.
Colonel Ryan Deming and Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Baulne both took part in the webinar, which touched on the base’s current pandemic-related operations and other missions.
Colonel Deming also went over some financial figures, noting that 8 Wing has an annual budget of close to $170 million, with a local economic spinoff of around $400 million.
Colonel Deming says over the past few years, personnel at the base annually raise about $100,000 for the United Way, as well.
When it comes to the ongoing work around Operation GLOBE, which involves repatriating Canadians from abroad and producing equipment and PPE to help deal with the pandemic, Colonel Deming says there have been lots of other missions keeping personnel busy.
He says to balance everything, some focus has been taken off non-essential training in the meantime and that “our personnel have been our priority” during the pandemic.
One of the ways they did that was implementing a personnel rotation to keep military members’ spirits up.
And Colonel Deming says, none of those ongoing missions would be possible without the continued support of the community.
Col. Deming also took a moment to recognize the work of late former Mayor and Honourary Colonel John Williams, whom he called an important part of the base and the business community.
You can listen to the full presentation here:
