Millions spent to upgrade JTF2 site

Just when elite unit will leave Dwyer Hill site remains a mystery

David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen, 11 Nov 06

Millions of dollars of new construction work is under way at the Joint Task Force 2 special forces base on Dwyer Hill Road, despite a pledge by the federal government that the secretive unit is relocating.

Work recently started on the foundation of a new building on property purchased several years ago for the expansion of the counter-terrorism unit's base. Other infrastructure improvements are also under way.

A consultant's report on where JTF2 should relocate has been completed and the government was to have announced the move by this month. But some military officials expect the location of the new base won't be made public until at least December.

Locations in Russell Township, Carleton Place, Canadian Forces Base Petawawa and Canadian Forces Base Trenton are among the sites that have been considered for the new JTF2 installation.

In the meantime, new construction is ongoing at the Dwyer Hill training centre.

"We said all along that whether we moved or not we were going have to have some infrastructure in the short term," said Maj. Doug Allison, spokesman for the Canadian Forces special operations command.

He noted it is doubtful any site selected as a new JTF2 home would be a "turn-key operation" where the unit could immediately move in. Construction would also be required at the new location, delaying any move by the unit.

Maj. Allison said the plan is for JTF2 to completely vacate the Dwyer Hill installation if the government decides it should move. After that, the training centre might be offered to another branch of the Defence Department or another federal government departments. The 80-hectare site is designed for counter-terrorism training and is equipped with a pool, firing ranges and a rappel tower.

JTF2 officers warned the senior military leadership in 1996 and 1997 that the Dwyer Hill site was too small for the unit and that the commando force should move. That advice, however, was ignored and the base went through an expansion phase in the late 1990s when new buildings were added.

Ron Mayhew, a farmer who owns the property next to the JTF2 base, said he has been told the unit is moving, but he has doubts that will happen anytime soon, considering the latest wave of new construction.

"The amount of money they've spent here is amazing," he said. "There was all kinds of work going on in the summer."

Several Citizen readers also phoned with similar observations, questioning why the work was continuing when Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, the member of Parliament for the area, has suggested the base would be relocated. Mr. O'Connor's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Maj. Allison did not have details on how much has been spent on new construction at the Dwyer Hill installation. The government has declined to provide estimates of how much JTF2's new base might cost.

Last year, while in opposition ranks, Mr. O'Connor said JTF2 should be moved to the Ottawa's east end, where the military owns land, or to CFB Petawawa.

"They're very highly trained people who are trained in anti-social skills, I would call it. ... they're trained to kill people in various ways," Mr. O'Connor told the Citizen's editorial board in December. "I would prefer them to be under iron-tight discipline inside a military base."

Last year, Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant said expanding Dwyer Hill doesn't make sense. She noted CFB Petawawa, where JTF2 occasionally trains, already has the necessary infrastructure for the unit, plus housing for the commandos' families.

Lt.-Gen. Marc Dumais told a Senate defence committee last year that the Dwyer Hill site was "bursting at the seams" and that a larger base was needed.

Over the years, JTF2's presence at Dwyer Hill has rankled some area residents, who have complained about loud helicopter flights and the noise of gunfire and explosions from the training base. Area residents have also voiced concerns that the base has created excessive traffic, resulting in delays and lineups along Franktown and Dwyer Hill roads, where the installation is located.

There have also been issues about environmental damage caused by oil spills from the training site and lead contamination on the shooting ranges.

JTF2 officers want their new base located as close to downtown Ottawa as possible, in case the unit is needed to immediately respond to a terrorist attack. Some in the defence community have questioned that, however, noting that RCMP tactical teams would be first on the scene in any terrorist attack and that JTF2 would be brought in later as a force of last resort.

Several months ago, Russell Mayor Michael McHugh said he had been told by Defence Department officials that the township was among the top contenders for the new JTF2 base. He estimated that, with support staff, at least 1,000 personnel would work from the location.

The township includes the villages of Russell, Embrun, Limoges and Marionville.