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Word that the British military won’t be mounting a full withdrawal from CFB Suffield has come as welcome news to Medicine Hat businesses that benefit from their presence.
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But there’s concern troop levels will be reduced at Canada’s largest military training centre, which would deal a blow to the local economy.
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Earlier this week, British news outlet The Telegraph reported their country’s military was ending its 49-year use of the vast training ground 50 kilometres northwest of Medicine Hat in favour of conducting exercises in the Mideast nation of Oman.
But that was quickly contradicted Wednesday by British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who told a U.K. media outlet the British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) would remain, though with changes.
“Of course, we’ll change what we do there because some of those forces we might use elsewhere, but no, we’re not closing BATUS,” he told the U.K.’s Forces.net .
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“We are being present where it matters, and the Middle East matters.”
He said the country is looking to deploy its military to Kenya in East Africa, with British defence officials saying doing so would put them in closer proximity to trouble spots such as Ukraine.
In a tweet on Wednesday, the U.K. Defence Ministry said BATUS “will continue to be a vital training base for the British Army.”
The ministry has said nothing about changes to its use of CFB Wainwright southeast of Edmonton and couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.
Any reduction of that Alberta presence would be felt economically, said Jeff Gyorkos, co-owner of Dayzoff Pub in Medicine Hat, which regularly counts British soldiers among its customers.
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“They definitely help us, so whenever you lose something, it hurts,” he said.
“They spend money in town, not just in pubs — it’d be sad to see (some of them) go . . . They’re a staple around Medicine Hat.”
Another Medicine Hat business owner whose livelihood depends partly on BATUS said he fears Wallace’s comments could mean a significant drawdown of troops, who are well-regarded in the city.
The tract of rolling prairie that sprawls across 2,700 hectares has long been prized by the British military for its wide-open spaces that aren’t available in the U.K.
The landscape allows them to conduct live-fire exercises while training combined combat groups of infantry, artillery, armour, air defence, engineers and logistics.
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BATUS’s website states they employ 1,000 vehicles on the site, including armour such as British Challenger 2 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.
That British presence also employs 400 permanent and 1,000 temporary staffers, many of whom live in Medicine Hat and other locales off the base.
Each battle group that rotates through BATUS comprises about 1,400 soldiers, says the U.K. Ministry of Defence.
Medicine Hat business leaders are eager to know more details about the British government’s plans for the base and expect to hear more later this week, said Lisa Kowalchuk, executive director of the Medicine Hat and District Chamber of Commerce.
“Hopefully they can clarify that,” she said.
But for now, the chamber is looking on the bright side, with Wallace’s assurances BATUS isn’t pulling up stakes, said Kowalchuk.
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“I’m quite pleased to see the public statement from the minister of defence because we’ve had such a positive, long-standing relationship, which has proven to have a significant economic impact on our area,” she said.
“We’re hoping to maintain that relationship for another 50 years.”
Another function of the base is Canadian military research, carried out by Defence Research and Development Canada, which assesses chemical and biological weapons and explosives.

According to 2016 statistics, the annual payroll sum from CFB Suffield, with BATUS a large part of that, amounts to $150 million while spinning off $8 million in goods and services, said Kowalchuk.
Local businesses have contracts with BATUS for such things as food catering.
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In past years, concerns have been raised about the conduct of some British soldiers at Medicine Hat watering holes.
But pub co-owner Gyorkos and others said they’ve posed no more of a problem than any other patrons.
“They’re like any other customers. There’s good and bad and I’ve never had any problems with them,” he said.
Probably the best-known trainee at BATUS in recent years was Prince Harry, who took part in live-fire exercises there in 2007 before being deployed twice to Afghanistan.
The then-22-year-old prince made headlines by visiting Calgary’s Cowboys Dance Hall where he was reportedly attracted to a female staffer.
British troops posted to BATUS have frequently exhibited military equipment at Spruce Meadows during equestrian tournaments.
BKaufmann@postmedia.com
Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn
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