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CFB Kingston training exercise helps prepare Canadian troops for Mali mission

Click to play video: 'Training exercise prepares troops for Mali'
Training exercise prepares troops for Mali
Canadian troops continue to train for Mali mission including here in Kingston – Oct 19, 2018

If you saw helicopters circling downtown Kingston on Friday, don’t worry, it was just a drill.

Canadian troops are currently training for their mission in Mali. Some of that training took place at CFB Kingston where a medical evacuation scenario played out. Captain Mike Wilkinson with the Royal Canadian Air Force says the exercise was very much a learning experience.

“Our primary mission is to provide medical support for anybody who is hurt, whether they’re local inhabitants or U.N. members or [our] own members, if they were to,” Wilkinson said. “We’re able to provide that capability with this type of training.”

WATCH: Treacherous conditions for Canada’s troops in Mali

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Exclusive: Treacherous conditions for Canada’s troops in Mali

One Chinook and a couple of Griffon helicopters were involved, as were around 40 people. Wilkinson says it was one of the bigger Air Force exercises, and in the end, it’s all about being better prepared for whatever the real world might throw at them.

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“There’s always lessons to be learned,” Wilkinson said.  “There’s different ways of doing things.”

Friday’s exercise took place on the McNaughton parade square at Base Kingston.

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