RCAF Detachment Standoff

Military Decommissioning. The airfield was built for a specific wartime purpose and was closed following the end of World War II. Its function was tied directly to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), which officially concluded on March 31, 1945. With the training programs shutting down, the auxiliary airfield was no longer required by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

The site is now privately owned agricultural land located within the Kainai Nation (Blood Tribe) reserve in southern Alberta. It is actively used for farming and cattle grazing. While all original buildings and infrastructure have been removed, the faint outline of the three runways in their characteristic triangular pattern is still clearly visible in satellite imagery. The former runways are now grass and dirt tracks used by farm vehicles.

RCAF Detachment Standoff was a key support facility within the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), one of the most ambitious and successful aircrew training programs in history. Constructed as a Relief Landing Field (RLF), its primary role was to serve as an auxiliary airfield for the much larger and busier RCAF Station Pearce, which housed No. 2 Flying Instructor School (FIS). It was also utilized by other nearby training establishments, including No. 5 Elementary Flying Training School and No. 8 Bombing & Gunnery School, both based in Lethbridge. The airfield's purpose was to provide a safe, uncongested environment for student pilots and instructors to practice fundamental flight maneuvers, particularly take-offs, landings, and circuit flying, in training aircraft like the Avro Anson and Airspeed Oxford. Like many BCATP fields, it was constructed with a standard triangular runway layout to allow for take-offs and landings regardless of wind direction.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the Standoff airfield. The original infrastructure is completely gone, the land has been fully repurposed for agriculture for over 75 years, and the region's modern aviation needs are met by nearby airports such as Lethbridge Airport (CYQL) and Cardston Airport (CEA3).