CAF Participating in Maple Detachment: OP REASSURANCE

Canadian Armed Forces News Release:

Some 50 Canadian soldiers are taking part in Maple Detachment with the 25th Air Calvary Brigade in Nowa Deba, Poland, as part of Operation REASSURANCE.

Maple Detachment consists of ongoing coordinated bilateral training exercises involving Canadian members of the Land Task Force and members of the 25th Air Calvary Brigade, located in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland.

CAF and Polish 25th Air Calvary Members at the Nowa Deba Training center in Poland. December 4, 2015. Photo: DND 

The training includes a series of firing range exercises (levels one, two and three), section and platoon attacks, parachuting, tactical exercises and reconnaissance patrols.

“The goal of the training is to conduct operations that will allow us to assess and improve our interoperability with the Polish Armed Forces,” stated Captain Yannik Trudeau, an officer in the Operation REASSURANCE Land Task Force. “During the training, we alternate between Canadian and Polish command. It’s an extraordinary experience.”

To date, three training exercises have been conducted with the 25th Air Calvary Brigade: three weeks of parachute training in Nowy Glinnik and Leznica Wielka, then helicopter support as part of combat-related first-aid training, and, finally, the training in Nowa Deba.

“Maple Detachment helps foster relations between the Canadian and the Polish armed forces by combining the operations of the Land Force and the 25th Air Calvary Brigade,” noted Captain Nicolas George, Deputy Commander of the Operation REASSURANCE Land Task Force. “In addition to the tactical aspect, Maple Detachment allows Canadian and Polish soldiers to share common values and develop a work ethic.”

The impact of the training provided through Maple Detachment can be measured in multinational exercises such as Ex DRAGON 15, during which Canadian soldiers were paired up with the 25th Air Calvary Brigade.