Major Paul Bosse shouldn’t, couldn’t and wouldn’t say what’s inside the tents attached to the dozen all terrain vehicles parked side by side at the centre of camp.
A metal case catches the eye when it reflects the sun’s glint as a gust hoists a loose canvas flap and reveals a glimpse of something interesting. What’s in the case and deeper inside the tents’ shadows, though, is anyone’s guess. Is it ammunition? Other military ordinance?
“I can’t go into details,” the commanding officer says.
“For security reasons.”
He does, however, concede the several metal probes piercing the air about two stories high are antennae, “for communications”.
A work group of soldiers dressed in fatigue camouflage fastens in place a connection running from one of the tents to one of the probes. The Leader’s photographer snaps a shot.
“I think you’ve probably seen enough, don’t you?” Major Bosse says.
Operation K-Country
G-8 Security shut down Kananaskis this week. But beyond the roadblocks, past the armed security, and behind the locked gates the valley is a hive of martial activity.
Major Bosse, from the Canadian Forces Base, Edmonton, escorted the Leader Saturday (June 15) through a temporary army barracks located off a power line access road between the Nakiska ski resort and Marmot Creek.
Hundreds of Canadian Armed Forces personnel have established the camp in a clearing once used for overflow parking during the Calgary Olympic Games nearly 15 years ago.
“It’s a small town,” Major Bosse said, pointing out dormitory-style A-frame sleeping quarters, field kitchen facilities and a common mess area amid a myrtle green canvas sea.
He wouldn’t talk specifics, but the Major said the Army has been there since June 11 to provide “unique military capabilities” for G-8 Summit Security when a core group of the world’s most effectual political leaders meet at Kananaskis Village next week, June 26 and 27.
Major Bosse couldn’t say, but the perceived threat seems less to do with protesters — like those met with riot squads and tear gas outside the G-7 finance ministers’ meeting in Halifax last weekend — and more to do with the kind of nightmare terrorism that has had the G-8 power elite on edge since 9/11.
“What I can tell you is that there will be a significant military presence,” Major Bosse said.
“We’re just one of the (many) military facilities that will be set up throughout the valley for the G-8 Summit.
“We’re here to assist the RCMP.” (The police are heading up the Canadian-led G-8 security order). “We will be here until the RCMP say they no longer require our services,” he said.
Security areas scattered throughout K-Country’s world heritage listed wilderness were cordoned off on Monday (June 17) in preparation for the G-8 entourage’s arrival over the next week.
Major Bosse’s tented city lies at the heart of Summit Central around one kilometre — roughly the same length as the fence surrounding the barracks — from Kananaskis Village.
The G-8’s meeting point is the most heavily guarded area in the valley, radiating a circular no-go zone through the woods, 13 kilometres in diametre.
Perceived threat
Corporal James Johnston says event security is not what it used to be.
“September 11 has raised the bar in the level of security expected at an international event of this nature,” the RCMP’s chief spokesperson for G-8 Summit Security said Monday (June 17) while walking sectors of Alberta’s mainstream media through temporary housing facilities for summit police at Nakiska ski hill.
He confirmed with the Leader that Major Bosse’s camp is a specialist “communications unit” and indicated there are several military bases like it (and some less conspicuous) across the valley.
The RCMP’s chief spokesperson for G-8 Summit Security said there are several challenges for police and military securing Kananaskis next week. Terrorist activity, like the two hijacked planes that speared Manhattan’s World Trade Centre and killed thousands when the twin towers collapsed, is a major concern.
Cpl. Johnston said he is confident the level of security required to combat 9/11-like terrorism is in place in K-country, but he would not elaborate on details.
He mimicked the same directive that muzzled Major Bosse.
“We won’t talk numbers, tactics or strategies,” Cpl. Johnston said, for security reasons. He reiterated the support role of National Defence and the “unique military capabilities” it provided.
Cpl. Johnston acknowledged RCMP officers from across Canada have been brought in and identified 260 single and double-dwelling trailers at Nakiska set aside for RCMP during the meetings. You do the math, he told media.
Local intelligence
A military red cross on a white background flutters behind a cluster of trees. Armoured trucks, heavy-duty transporters and four-wheel drive vehicles – too many to count – lay idle in Major Bosse’s camp like sleeping giants.
But the military coverage in Kananaskis is not resigned to the ground. Mount Assiniboine Lodge owners Barb and Sepp Renner say they are sharing the Mount Shark Heliport with a Canadian air offensive.
The Lodge, located in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, B.C. is accessible only by helicopter, hiking, or skiing.
The Renners use the Mount Shark strip as a port for their high-mountain guests but G-8 security is shutting their business out from June 25 to 28.
“Before that, we’re co-sharing the heli-pad with the military,” Barb Renner said.
“We’re still allowed to go in and fly in there with the big guys (until the 25th).”
Cpl. Johnston indicated there will be regular air patrols during the meetings and said the offensive will have access to flying water tankers in the event of wildfire.
“It’s a little bit of a bizarre concept for us that live here in the bush,” Barb Renner said. “As locals we’ll all be glad to go back to our normal lifestyles.”
Classified details
Major Bosse estimates the fenced area surrounding the camp is about 1,000 metres in circumference.
A sign at the entrance reads: “Unauthorized Entry Prohibited By Order: MND,” in English and French, leaving no room for misunderstanding.
The major’s tone is similar when he asks if we think the Leader has seen enough.
Again, there is no room for misunderstanding, caked in compound meaning. We agreed we’d seen enough, despite being left to speculate on the unmentionables in the metal case and the exact extent of the military’s presence in the valley — whatever it was Major Bosse and Cpl. Johnston shouldn’t, couldn’t and wouldn’t talk about.
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