David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
The Canadian military plans to take part in the world's largest maritime exercise this summer even as the U.S. Navy, which is hosting the event, struggles to deal with coronavirus outbreaks that have sent two of its ships back to port.
There have also been COVID-19 outbreaks on French, Belgium and Taiwanese navy ships. There are COVID-19 cases among the crews of 26 U.S. Navy ships.
But that won't stop the U.S. from holding its Rim of the Pacific or RIMPAC exercise in August.
The Canadian Forces is planning to attend although military officials haven't outlined yet which Canadian ships and aircraft will take part.
“The Canadian Armed Forces remains committed to participating in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise 2020 in a significant way in order to maximize the unique training opportunities this biennial exercise provides as well as strengthen relationships with allies and partners in the Pacific,” Department of National Defence spokesperson Jessica Lamirande said in an email.
She said Canadian military officials are in discussions with their U.S. counterparts and are “currently evaluating options to adapt our participation accordingly.”
“Participation in RIMPAC will balance the requirement to complete critical tasks and high readiness training in support of planned operations, with the requirement to protect the health and safety of our personnel,” added Lamirande.
RIMPAC is usually held in and around Hawaii. In 2018 the Canadian Forces sent more than 1,000 personnel, five ships and a patrol aircraft. They operated alongside approximately 25,000 military personnel from 24 other nations as well as more than 200 aircraft and 50 ships and submarines.
The U.S. military says changes will be made to RIMPAC and that on-shore interactions will be limited. Ships can go into the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii for supplies, but the number of staff ashore for support functions will be limited.
The U.S. Navy has the highest rate of COVID-19 in the U.S. military. There are 2,125 cases in the navy, with around 800 linked to the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt.
The Canadian military does not release statistics on how many of its members have been infected with the virus. It cites security reasons for keeping such details secret.
The Royal Canadian Navy has implemented a number of measures to deal with COVID-19, including trying to practise physical distancing on ships as much as possible and restricting shore leave.
The pandemic has also prompted changes in other Canadian Forces operations.
The military has scaled back the number of soldiers it is sending to Ukraine to conduct training there. It had planned to send a new group of soldiers, numbering 200, to relieve the Canadian troops now in Ukraine. That number will now be cut back to 60 personnel.
The pandemic caused the cancellation of Exercise Maple Resolve, the army's main training event for the year, as well as a naval exercise off the coast of Africa. HMCS Glace Bay and HMCS Shawinigan, which were to take part in that naval training, were ordered to return to Halifax. HMCS Nanaimo and HMCS Whitehorse also cut short their participation in U.S.-led counter-drug operations.
In addition, the Canadian Forces withdrew many of its troops assigned to the Iraq mission, ordering them home because COVID-19 has hindered training of Iraqi military personnel.
The Canadian military has also pulled back its commitment of a transport aircraft for the United Nations because of COVID-19.
The Department of National Defence, however, says it will not change the Canadian commitment to NATO's enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia. A new group of Canadian military personnel arrived in Latvia in January and will stay there until July. There are around 540 Canadian soldiers working in Latvia.
In addition, the Canadian military hopes to take incremental steps to restart training of recruits as early as June.
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Well-maintained infrastructure and well-supported operations are essential to ensure Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) defence capability and capacity. To...
26 octobre 2022 | Local, Naval
Bella Bella, Colombie-Britannique - Les communautés côtières autochtones entretiennent des liens avec les océans du Canada depuis plusieurs générations. Dans le cadre de la prochaine phase du Plan de protection des océans du Canada, le gouvernement du Canada collabore avec les Premières Nations pour améliorer davantage la façon dont nous intervenons en cas d'urgence maritime. Aujourd'hui, la ministre des Pêches, des Océans et de la Garde côtière canadienne, l'honorable Joyce Murray, et la Nation Heiltsuk ont annoncé le lancement du projet pilote de l'Équipe d'intervention d'urgence maritime Heiltsuk, qui vise à améliorer la sécurité maritime sur la côte centrale de la Colombie-Britannique. Dans le cadre du Plan de protection des océans, la Garde côtière canadienne fournit plus de 5 millions de dollars pour lancer immédiatement un projet pilote visant à appuyer la mise sur pied de l'Équipe d'intervention d'urgence maritime Heiltsuk. Cette équipe sera intégrée au système fédéral de préparation et d'intervention maritimes en tant qu'intervenant tiers en cas d'incidents de pollution marine. Le projet comprendra la mobilisation des membres de la collectivité, des exercices et de la formation sur l'eau, l'achat d'équipement, et l'élaboration de stratégies d'intervention sur le territoire des Heiltsuk. Il s'agit de l'une des nombreuses collaborations entre la Garde côtière canadienne et la Nation Heiltsuk. Le gouvernement du Canada et la Nation Heiltsuk continuent de travailler ensemble pour améliorer le rôle de la Nation dans l'intervention environnementale maritime, afin de fournir une capacité d'intervention d'urgence sur les côtes de la Colombie-Britannique. S'appuyant sur plusieurs années de discussions collaboratives, un protocole d'entente a été signé en mars 2021, officialisant un engagement entre la Nation et le gouvernement du Canada à améliorer la capacité communautaire d'intervention en cas de déversement d'hydrocarbures, y compris la mise sur pied de l'équipe d'intervention d'urgence maritime Heiltsuk. Le Plan de protection des océans est une réussite canadienne. Lorsque les peuples autochtones, l'industrie, les collectivités, le milieu universitaire et le gouvernement travaillent ensemble pour protéger notre environnement, faire croître notre économie, et soutenir de bons emplois partout au pays, nous obtenons des résultats concrets. Un Plan de protection des océans renouvelé et élargi préservera la santé de nos océans et de nos côtes, fera progresser la réconciliation, et b'tira un avenir propre pour nos enfants et nos petits-enfants. https://www.canada.ca/fr/garde-cotiere-canadienne/nouvelles/2022/10/la-garde-cotiere-canadienne-et-la-nation-heiltsuk-annoncent-un-projet-pilote-de-5-millions-de-dollars-pour-appuyer-letablissement-de-lequipe-dinter.html
18 juillet 2022 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense
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