DUNDURN, SASK. - BMQ/SQ

[FlightSergeantRose]

Is anyone else here going to Dundurn this summer for basic?  Would be nice to know if some others were going.

 

[jane]

Hey, I'll be doing my BMQ and SQ in Dundurn. Did you get your kit list and all that jazz already? It won't be long until we are in Basic hell, eh? Later.

 

[Beatty1]

I just got a call saying I'll be able to enrol this Friday.
Being in Saskatoon I'm most likely taking basic in Dundurn, but we will soon find out.

 

[1feral1]

Ah. Good old Sunny Dunny. Have any of you been there before? I spent many years there, but the last time thru in 2000 on Ex Longlook as a member of the ADF, I noticed many of the wooden huts gone, and now the latest INTEL has many of the grey besa brick ones demolished too. However the tower still stands. Landmarks to remember are Survey Point, Starfish Tower, Strathcona Camp, and The Pines. There is many more.

We used to go out the back gate of Strahcona Rd and get to the South Sask River for a swim.

Remember, 'go hard or go home', and give us a SITREP on how things are going.

Good Luck, and Good trg! :soldier:

I gave ya's all a 'good chit' for doing the right thing. Have a great summer.

Regards,

Wes

 

[Pve Noesgaard]

I just joined up in Saskatoon a couple days ago and i guess i'll be out there for BMQ and SQ.

Any on here from N Sask R?

 

[stukirkpatrick]

I spend last summer there, its not a bad place.  Now its basically a ghost base though, with only a small permanent staff (cooks, range control, fire dept, MPs)...  and a heck of a lot of empty H houses.  The terrain in the Training Area is nice, with enough rolling hills and bush in some parts to make your Nav ex fun.  And the grenade hut should be fun, its a tin shack that can get quite hot in the middle of August, when you are wearing a flak jacket  :evil:

 

[PTE Gruending]

Good luck on your courses in Dundurn this summer folsk... as has been mentioned before, there is not a whole lot going on at that base. Just watch out for cactus! On the plus side, at least you guys are only 20 minutes out of Saskatoon for the summer, to enjoy the odd weekend off.

 

[rdschultz]

My experience with Dundurn is not exactly the most pleasant, but it was interesting.

My dad is a hot air balloon pilot in Saskatoon, and he happened to be flying over the area.  It is of course a restricted air space, so he was following the required guidelines.  Due to a malfunction, there was a small fire onboard the aircraft, which then caused it to descend (while the fire was being extinguished) and get caught up in some trees.  This of course caused some damage to the fabric, and he had to make an emergency landing in the munitions storage area.  Fun stuff.  I was on the chase crew, so we got to wait at the Guard Building for a rather long time trying to figure out what was happening.  The MP's and the fire truck were called out (one of the first times the firefighters got to use the new truck, we were told by the Commissionaire at the guard shack).  We then got a MP escort out to pick up the balloon, and we had to take the helium and nitrogen tanks out of our trailer (two inert gases, but our propane tank was left in;  I guess they use propane for forklifts or something, so they weren't concerned about it, but were unsure if there would be any adverse reactions with the ammunication with the other two gases), get inspected, and we went and picked him up.

He also had another fun run-in with the MPs when he was approaching Dundurn.  Remembering his last experience, he landed in a pasture before the restricted air space in what he thought was a farmer's field.  Turns out it was still part of Dundurn, just the very edge of it.  They didn't mind the first time, because it was an emergency, but I guess they were less than pleased the second time he landed there.  They brought him in for questioning, asked if he wanted a lawyer and did the whole shebang.  He thought it was a llittle over the top, but I suppose if there's nothing going on there its good practice for them.  Plus, you can never be too careful, and they were only doing their job.

 

[1feral1]

Good one Hoser. The CFAD is quite the place, and that was 10 yrs ago I was there last.

Cheers,

Wes

 

[FlightSergeantRose]

Those of you going, how long have you been in and such. I've been in since September, they didnt process my medical paperwork in time so I got screwed out of going last summer. I can't wait to go now, especially since I have learned so much over the year.

 

[stukirkpatrick]

Just remember not to be overconfident, or a knowi-it-all to the rest of your coursemates because of what you learned with us, a very large part of Basic training is learning to work as a team.  It'll be fun though, basic training is a real eye-opener to all that you take for granted 

 

[Spr.Earl]

Ahh lovely Dundurn I did 3 month's there in 95.

Kirkpatrick if I think where you are talking about in Dundurn they are not natural rolling hill's.
They are the old Bomb Craters from WW2 when Dundurn was a practise bombing range for Bomber Crews being trained out of Moose Jaw.Also it was a P.O.W. Camp,back in 95 when I was last there some of the building's were still standing.

 

[stukirkpatrick]

Wow.  That makes sense, as the base was apparently very active during the WWII years...  I shall now live in fear and respect of the mighty power of air support...  Maybe the airforce isn't so bad after all

 

[Spr.Earl]

Wow.   That makes sense, as the base was apparently very active during the WWII years...   I shall now live in fear and respect of the mighty power of air support...   Maybe the airforce isn't so bad after all

If you get time go into the Village of Dundurn just about 10 minutes south of the Camp,they have a Pub in the Hotel.The locals are great people!!They will take you under their arm.

Had many a good chat's on local history i.e During the War there was a local rail commuter line from the Camp to Saskatoon that ran every hr on weekends for those posted there.
Hope you enjoy the local's as I did,they are great people!

Good luck on course.

 

[Dragoonian]

I am also going to be in Dundurn this summer but not so much on the receiving end. Wes.. You were DS on my course a while back ( about 17 years ago). Anyway bring lots of insect repellent. The mosquitoes are pretty bad out there right now. I was there for 5 years as Range Control up until this last Christmas and moved on to Regina Garrison for another task. Some facts about Dundurn: To the contrary it never was a POW camp. It was however a labor camp to employ many local folks during the depression. Also the area IS in fact natural rolling hills with respect to the majority of the northern part of the training. The area is quite sandy and the place gets windy during the afternoon with this in mind the wind causes blow outs (or craters) if you will that gives the area more of a rolling type of terrain and not the bombs from WWII. Truth be known however there is an old WWII Air Bomb Range in the impact area and was well used for sure. Good Luck this summer and remember it's all about working together.

 

[Infanteer]

Hello Dragoonian - this thread was from last summer, so all these troops have probably been through Dundurn already.

Cheers,
Infanteer

 

[1feral1]

Tiz truly a small world   ;D

Sask D's, eh I am trying to place a face.....

I was thru Dundurn last Jul, and I was saddened that so many of those brick huts are gone now. Spoke to Miriam at Bldg 101, and Kitley at Bldg 10.

PM me.

Cheers,

Wes