The final eight aircrew members of 437 Squadron and civilian maintenance contractors returned to CFB Trenton from the Middle East on Monday.

The squadron has been providing air-to-air refuelling for coalition jets fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Using CC-150 Polaris air crafts the air-to-air refuelling allows the jets to fly longer missions, said returning detachment Com. Maj. Jamie Arbuckle.

“With potentially eight-hour missions they would be able to fly continually getting fuel throughout their mission.”

Maj. Arbuckle has spent the last six months in the Middle East but the standard tour for the 100 members of 437 Squadron is two months.

The squadron has been providing refuelling capabilities since 2014 as part of Operation IMPACT which, Arbuckle says, many squadron personnel have served multiple tours.

“Many of them have done five or six two-month tours,” he said. “They’d go for two months, come back, fly the missions we do around here and they go back to do another two-month mission later on.”

437 Squadron’s involvement is in Operation IMPACT is now complete but CFB Trenton Base Commander Col. Mark Goulden says the base’s involvement continues.

“We still have two C-130’s [there]. They’re deployed and provide a great contribution to the coalition doing personnel transport, equipment transport throughout Iraq, and there’s also a deployment of Griffin helicopters that are in Iraq.”

After some rest, Col. Goulden says the squadron will begin training with RCAF CF-18s and play a role in NORAD defence.

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