19 Wing Comox first CF unit to carry the Olympic Torch
19 Wing Comox had the honour of being one of only 10 Canadian Forces bases to have a team carry the Olympic Torch over one kilometre in distance. After months of excitement and anticipation, that very honour reached its pinnacle on November 2, when the flame was finally carried by the 20-member team.
“It was a still moment in my life,” said 19 Wing Chief Warrant Officer Patrick Young. “I don’t even remember touching the ground.”
Elizabeth Burt, Staff Officer for the Wing Commander, recalls the months of anticipation leading up to the historic moment. “It all started over two months ago when it was announced that we had been selected. Then [I experienced] the challenge of [preparing for] the running portion, because I had never done that before. After many hours on the treadmill and in the streets of Comox it all went so quickly; it felt like a hundred metres.”
Members of the 19 Wing Torch Relay Team were the last torchbearers from the Comox Valley to carry the torch but they were the first CF team to be blessed with such distinction. Chief of the Defence Staff, General Walter Natynczyk, ran a leg of the relay shortly after it landed in Canada.
“Holding the torch was a fantastic experience” continues Ms. Burt. “It’s something you will never get to do again in your whole life. You look at that flame and realize it came from Greece and it’s a tradition that is been around for ever. It was a very unique experience.”
The Royal Bank of Canada has chosen Torchbearer Teams from 10 military bases. These include 19 Wing Comox, 4 Wing Cold Lake, Canadian Forces Station Alert, 5 Wing Goose Bay, 14 Wing Greenwood, CFB Gagetown, CFB Valcartier, CFB Petawawa, CFB Shilo and 15 Wing Moose Jaw.
Each team is comprised of 20 torchbearers, made up of members of the Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence, and their families, who will collectively carry the Olympic Flame over one kilometre. The remaining four bases, CFB Esquimalt, 8 Wing Trenton, CFB Borden and CFB Suffield, will have a member of the base carry the Olympic Flame a distance of 300 metres.
