The Canadian Air Force has made its presence known over the several few weeks, as locals regularly crane their necks to spot helicopters and planes patrolling the airspace above.
But on Friday (Feb. 5) local media and leaders got a close-up inspection of the Squamish-based security force, with an invitation from the Air Component Command of Joint Task Force Games, which has a base of operations in Brackendale and at the Squamish airport.
Set up in September and running until mid-March, the Forward Operating Base Squamish, or Camp Squamish - a small Canadian Forces base with about 85 personnel located just off Government Road - is designed to provide support for the 4,500 Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit personnel in the Sea to Sky Corridor during the Olympic and the Paralympic Games.
Friday's tour group was were introduced to arguably the most impressive piece of security equipment in town - a $10 million giant, dual antenna, portable radar system with a capacity to monitor airspace up to 185 kilometres away, all the way into the U.S.
According to Lt. Shalako Smith, the base specifically provides airspace support to the RCMP. The Air Force pilots Griffon helicopters with RCMP members on board over the mountains and collects radar information for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
"Ultimately what's really going on is that this helps NORAD create the air picture of what's going on in the area, because obviously the mountains kind of block some of the natural signals. So this [radar] accentuates what they're doing and helps them fill in that picture to help keep the airspace safe," Smith said.
Sgt. Kent Turriff said the radar system will track airplanes in the corridor but Camp Squamish won't limit who flies where.
"We monitor some gaps within the Rockies but we're not controlling," said Turriff.
Only two portable 10,000-pound radar monitoring systems exist in the country, and for the time being Pemberton is home to the second one.
When camp inhabitants aren't busy flying Griffon helicopters over the mountains into Whistler and the Callaghan Valley they unwind with books, three large flat screen TVs, DVDs gaming systems like Nintendo Wii, Internet access, workouts in a small make shift gym, and best of all, great food.
The food in Camp Squamish is apparently the best in the corridor, because as camp commandant Lt. Lydia Evequoz explained, it's the only Sea to Sky camp that doesn't have military cooks - it has private catering. Some Canadian Forces personnel working in the area have apparently tried to schedule their shifts around the Camp Squamish meal times.
"Some of them try to stay here just to have this food," she said.
The small camp is relatively self sufficient with a fire hall, fire truck, a snowplow, and a small three-person medical unit with a physician's assistant and two paramedics.
Entering a two room tented hospital, Coun. Corinne Lonsdale asked what was the difference between a physician's assistant and a doctor.
Without missing a beat, chief petty officer Gaetan Poulin replied: "About $100,000."
However he did add to his quip.
"As a physician assistant what I do is just about the same as a physician but I'm under his license. I don't have a license to practice medicine."
And always on the lookout for Squamish, a few councillors half-jokingly suggested that the gym's equipment could be left behind for the municipality's use - they include top-line weight machines, free weights, treadmills and yoga balls.
No word yet from the Air Force.
