Mitchell woman leaving for work at secret CF base

Rita Marshall
FOR THE GAZETTE

MITCHELL – Katie Smith’s work with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan is taking her close to the action, but she can’t say how close.

The 22-year-old Mitchell woman leaves May 17 for a six-month assignment at Camp Mirage, a clandestine CF base that serves as a stopping ground for personnel and supplies travelling between Canada and Afghanistan. Established in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, the Canadian government will only reveal that the base is located somewhere in southwest Asia.

“It’s protecting Canadian security,” explained Smith, a member of the Director General Personnel and Family Support Services, formerly the Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency.
Smith is currently a fitness, sports and recreation coordinator at the Kingston Military Community Sports Centre, a training and recreation facility serving the Canadian Forces Base in Kingston and the Royal Military College.

Her work at Camp Mirage will be somewhat similar to her work at the KMCSC: teaching classes, training, and coordinating sports and activities for the soldiers. A soldier’s lifestyle often combines the stress of combat with long periods of downtime, downtime that many soldiers fill with working out and sports.

“It’s like a big morale booster for them,” said Smith.

The graduate of Loyalist College’s fitness and health program spent a year and a half working at Total Fitness Gym in Mitchell before starting work with the Canadian Forces last April. Smith said the level of intensity the military places on training and fitness surpassed anything she had learned in school.

When a posting came up for a Middle East assignment, Smith said the idea of adventure appealed to her.

“I am a really determined person,” said Smith. “I like to get out there and see what I am capable of.”

The selection and training process was gruelling, said Smith. She underwent a series of interviews and medical and psychological tests before she was invited to a two-week training course in April of this year.

“It was a really intense course,” said Smith. The fitness coordinators taught classes at 5:30 a.m. each morning, attended lectures during the rest of the day and took part in team-building activities at night. Despite Camp Mirage’s relatively secure location, participants were also advised about gas huts, rocket attacks and mine fields.

Smith said she is looking forward to her assignment at Camp Mirage. She has received supportive emails from CF Kingston soldiers currently stationned there, and is excited about her work.

“I want to see why we train the guys the way we do,” she said.

In between Kingston and Camp Mirage, though, Smith will spend some time at home in Mitchell.

Besides her parents Jim and Sharon, she has two sisters, Jaimie and Emily. Her family is hosting an open house at the Mitchell Legion this Saturday for friends and well wishers to catch up with Smith before she heads overseas. Smith said the rest of her time off will be consumed with packing and last-minute preparations.

“It’s not going to be much of a break,” laughed Smith.

The open house for Katie Smith will take place Saturday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Mitchell Legion.