Section: Cover Canadian pilots critical role Dateline: Doha, Qatar Canadian Forces fighter pilot Capt.

Christopher Sponder was flying protective cover over coalition warships in the northern Gulf early last Thursday local time when the flash of Tomahawk cruise missiles, launched from U.S. vessels, signalled to him that the offensive against Iraq had begun. As the 34-year-old Sponder later recalled, he felt a pang of regret as he peered into the dark from the cockpit of his CF-18 jet. ``I like playing forward in hockey,'' said the native of Cambridge, Ont., ``so I would have preferred an offensive role.'' He would soon get his preference. As Operation Desert Shield turned into Operation Desert Storm last week, the Canadian government formally altered the mission of its 24 CF-18 fighters based in the Gulf emirate of Qatar. And the military announced that the ``Desert Cats,'' as the squadron calls itself, would begin to escort coalition bombers and ground-attack planes on raids into Iraq and occupied Kuwait. The Desert Cats' name came from the badges of the two squadrons whose members make up the Canadian Gulf air force. Pilots of 416 Squadron, based at Cold Lake, Alta., wear a lynx, and pilots of 439 Squadron from Baden-Sollingen, Germany, wear a tiger. In the five weeks that the two squadrons have been together, they have ``melded well,'' said Col. Romeo Lalonde, the Desert Cats' commanding officer. And although the outbreak of hostilities made their mission more dangerous, Lalonde expressed confidence in the pilots' skills and the advanced technology of their planes. Escort: Not all the Desert Cats' 36 pilots seemed frustrated with their defensive role. Capt. Robert Beardsley, 31, of Red Deer, Alta., who was on patrol at the same time as Sponder, agreed that it was ``very exciting'' to see warplanes streaking towards their targets. But he added: ``I didn't feel that my task was any less important than theirs.'' For his part, Lalonde, 50, of Penetanguishene, Ont., pointed out that the squadron would continue to carry out its original mission, while also being available for escort-and-sweep operations. The Canadian CF-18s, each armed with two Sidewinder missiles, four Sparrow missiles and a nose cannon, would fly ahead of the other coalition planes that they are escorting to clear the way of enemy aircraft. But Lalonde, a 28-year air force veteran, added: ``Our primary mission remains defensive.'' Because Qatar is more than 480 km from the nearest Iraqi airfield, and is well defended, Lalonde rated the chance of any Iraqi air attack on the Canadians in Qatar as ``nil.'' He ranked the risk of a missile attack as ``low''--the Iraqis have a decreasing number of Scuds, and there are many more tempting coalition targets than Qatar. But Lalonde rated the risk of pro-Iraqi terrorist action as ``medium.'' The Canadians are divided between two locations, designated Canada Dry One and Two. Canada Dry Two is inside the heavily guarded perimeter of the main Qatari military airbase. For extra

safety, 100 members of the Royal 22nd Regiment, the celebrated Van Doos, guard the Canadian pilots, groundcrews and aircraft, which include a Boeing 707 air-to-air refuelling plane as well as the CF-18s. But Canada Dry One is clearly more vulnerable. It is located in the desert on the outskirts of Doha, the Qatari capital, in what used to be a camp for immigrant workers. Last week, the Van Doos strengthened its defences. Said public relations officer Lieut. James Robertson: ``We now have complete perimeter security.'' Stealth: Meanwhile, the temporary Canadian Embassy in Doha is keeping a low profile. No identifying flag adorns the suburban villa that has served as Ottawa's diplomatic mission since the embassy in Kuwait, which covered the smaller Gulf states, closed after the Iraqi invasion. ``Yes, it's hard to find us here--we're the Stealth Embassy,'' said Stephen Bennett, Ottawa's chief diplomatic representative in Doha. Bennett, 33, keeps an eye on the welfare of the approximately 100 Canadian civilians, mainly oil technicians and their wives, who remain in Qatar, and has issued them gas masks. But like Lalonde, Bennett says that he has little concern about the Iraqi military threat. As for terrorism, he said that Qatari internal security is ``very tight.'' The emirate expelled 2,000 Palestinians at the start of the crisis. About 8,000 more left voluntarily. ``It's a small town,'' said Bennett of Doha (population 217,000). ``The authorities know who and where everyone is.'' Danger: In effect, the only Canadians in Qatar who seem to face appreciable danger are the CF18 pilots. And the groundcrews who look after the planes are acutely conscious of that fact. ``I admire what the pilots are doing and I do feel concerned for them,'' said Pte. Angela Cowan, 23, of Montreal. Cowan, who maintains the jets' flight-control and inertial navigation systems, added: ``It would be a terrible shock if we lost one.'' But the chances of that happening were clearly higher after the shooting war began--and after Ottawa authorized the Desert Cats to fly offensive missions over Iraq. Photo: Cowan: `a terrible shock if we lost one' ~~~~~~~~ By John Bierman