As the coronavirus spread, the Canadian military pulled back most of its personnel from various overseas land, sea, and air exercises and missions abroad. Now that the virus situation is easing, a first slow renewal of those missions has begun
Operation Unifier normally involves about 200 Canadian personnel who are providing training for the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU). With the outbreak of the virus, in March, the majority of soldiers were pulled out leaving a skeleton group of about 60 in place as a sort of caretaker group for the mission.
After a review of the situation and health protection measures, a spokesperson for the Canadian Armed Forces told The Canadian Press that plans are in place to add an additional 90 people to the mission this month.
The group will observe a 14-day isolation period and then rejoin the training mission. Another 50 soldiers will be sent at an unspecified future date as conditions permit.
The Canadians have been on the training mission for Ukraine’s NGU force with training groups being rotated normally on a 6-month basis. Plans are for the programme to continue until 2022.
The Canadians are providing individual and group tactical training, engineering, explosive device disposal, military police techniques, and medical training in casualty evacuation and combat first aid.
Canada is also providing some $700 million in non-lethal military gear such as communications equipment, mobile field hospital and other supplies.
As for other missions, Canadian Press reports no word yet on the deployment of naval and air resources to resume enforcement of U.N. sanctions against N. Korea, a transport plane and related personnel to a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Africa based in Uganda, or the Iraq mission involving a NATO training component and a special anti-DAESH Islamic militants group. Only about 100 CF personnel remain for the time being. The future of that mission is under discussion.
The CF as of May maintains only a handful of members on peacekeeping missions in Mali, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cyprus and the Middle East.
However, there are still some 900 members involved with Op Reassurance, as part of a NATO training and solidarity force in Latvia. The frigate HMCS Fredericton was operating in the Mediterranean as part of that mission when the ship’s helicopter crashed killing six on board on April 29. The ship with over 200 crew has resumed operations.
Canadian soldiers take part in NATO operations near Skrunda, Latvia on June 11, 2018. as part of Op Reassurance- as part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence in the region (Cpl. Jean-Roch Chabot/Combat Camera)
Five Canadian CF-18 fighter jets and associated personnel based in Romania as part of the mission are typically deployed in September to December.
In an email to RCI, the Canadian Forces says that in spite of COVID-19 and the reduction, cancellations, or delays in various missions and assignments, there are still some 2,000 Canadian Forces personnel deployed worldwide on 20 different missions
additional information-sources
- Gov’t of Canada: Operation Unifier
- Canadian Press( via TorStar): L Berthiaume: Jun 14/20: Ninety Canadian troops to leave for Ukraine as Canadian military looks to resume mission
- Gov’t of Canada: National Defence- current operations list
- The Guard: Lt.Ben Zuo: Jun 4/19: Op Reassurance- role of National Support Element
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