Cameroon: Military Thrills Public with Air Show
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Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé)
21 May 2008
Posted to the web 21 May 2008
Fred Vubem
Inhabitants of the capital city were last Monday, May 19, treated to a great air show by the Cameroonian military at the 101 air force base in Yaounde. The show consisted of demonstrating the capacities of the air crafts and the capacity of the Defence Forces to guarantee the security of Cameroonians and their property. At first, the show consisted of dropping parachutes only. But since 2000, it includes demonstrations of air crafts, said a senior air force official Didier Badjeck, head of the communication unit of the air force.
The whole show dubbed "Operation Colombe" took the form of a fictive war where there is trouble in a certain part of the central African region and a light helicopter known as Aloutte II used, gathers information and medical evacuation is sent to evaluate the situation. The advantage of the Aloutte II is that it is easily malleable and can make forward and backward movements or stand still in mid air.
From the report of the Aloutte II, a military intervention is necessary to restore order and a special helicopter used in transporting troops in hostile territory known as Puma, is sent to drop troops in the theatre of action. According to Flight Lieutenant (captain) Joseph Alingwa, chief of bureau for Press and Information in the Air force, the advantage of the Puma, is that it can dissimulate itself behind vegetation cover since it can fly at very low altitude and only emerge at the scene of action. The Flight Lieutenant said the helicopter is usually used in search and rescue missions both on seas and on land be it in the night or day time. While dropping the soldier by rope from the craft, a soldier is wounded and is evacuated with the same helicopter as the other soldier secure the scene of action in what was referred to as occupying the field in military jargon.
Then came the dropping of parachutists which was highly applauded by the public.
The heavy carrier of the Cameroon Air force, C130 dropped soldiers at 400 metres without guns, and then 400 metres again with guns and ammunition. Parachute jumps from 1000 metres and 2000 metres respectively closed the show and the public cheered each time a soldier landed without falling on the ground.
The air show was watched by the Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence, Remy Ze Meka and other members of government, top military officials, diplomats and a special unit from the Equatorial Guinea military.
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Copyright © 2008 Cameroon Tribune. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
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