Canada has withdrawn the last six CF-18 fighters from Aviano as NATO winds down the air patrols over the Balkans and moves to return control of the local airspace to civilian authority. Canada had 18 fighters and 300 ground personnel at Aviano during the height of the Kosovo War. There are now only 120 Canadian ground crew at Aviano, and these will be steadily withdrawn over several months. Leaving a few of them there for that time, however, gives Canada the option to send aircraft back quickly should they be needed.--Stephen V Cole