Showing posts with label Baltic Sea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baltic Sea. Show all posts
Monday, August 21, 2017
CAF divers clear explosive remnants in the Baltic Sea
DND Press Release
Eleven Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) clearance divers and support personnel are participating in Operation Open Spirit 2017 in Latvia from August 18 to 31, 2017.
These CAF members come from the Fleet Diving Units (Atlantic and Pacific) in both Halifax, Nova Scotia and Esquimalt, British Columbia. They are working alongside personnel from the Latvian Naval Flotilla and 13 other partner nations. Their mission is to clear explosive remnants of the First and Second World Wars in the Baltic Sea.
Operation Open Spirit is a multinational naval mine clearance and ordnance disposal mission. It is hosted on a yearly rotational basis since 1997 by one of three Baltic nations – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It aims to reduce the threat of unexploded ordnance throughout the Baltic Sea region, including seabed communications lines, international shipping routes, and fishing areas.
Although the CAF’s participation in Operation Open Spirit 2017 is not part of Operation Reassurance, this deployment of Canadian experts in disposing sub-surface munitions demonstrates the CAF’s reinforced role in NATO and commitment with Allies and defence and security partners in the region. CAF members were previously sent to Latvia as part of Operation Open Spirit 2014.
Operation Open Spirit 2017 is taking place in the Territorial Waters and Exclusive Economic Zone of Latvia. The CAF members are operating from the naval base in Mikeltornis.
Lieutenant-Commander William Barter, Commanding Officer of Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic), is the Task Force Commander of Operation Open Spirit 2017.
Fleet Diving Units (Atlantic and Pacific) members are fully-trained in mine countermeasures, routine and emergency underwater repairs, seabed searches, dive equipment repair and maintenance, submarine rescue, dive training, and support to other government agencies.
Fourteen nations are participating in Operation Open Spirit 2017, including Belgium, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States. The Latvian Naval Flotilla is the lead for this year’s Open Spirit.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Canada considering European troop commitment
By: Murray Brewster, CBC News
Canada's participation in the Baltic operation was discussed Tuesday by the military alliance's defence ministers, including Canada's Harjit Sajjan, at a meeting in Brussels.
This comes just days after the Canadian Security Intelligence Service quietly released an open-sourced global security analysis warning, among other things, that the hard-line policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin are becoming more deeply entrenched and that Moscow is retooling its military for a fight.
The U.S., Britain and Germany publicly committed to the force on Tuesday, but federal sources said that while Canada has not yet made a decision, an answer could come soon and that Canada "supports what NATO is doing in the region."
Putin 'is modernizing conventional military capability on a large scale'
CSIS warns Russia is 'mobilizing for war'
The Trudeau government is considering a request to commit hundreds of troops to eastern Europe and take part command of a new NATO force being assembled to deter Russian aggression.Canada's participation in the Baltic operation was discussed Tuesday by the military alliance's defence ministers, including Canada's Harjit Sajjan, at a meeting in Brussels.
This comes just days after the Canadian Security Intelligence Service quietly released an open-sourced global security analysis warning, among other things, that the hard-line policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin are becoming more deeply entrenched and that Moscow is retooling its military for a fight.
The U.S., Britain and Germany publicly committed to the force on Tuesday, but federal sources said that while Canada has not yet made a decision, an answer could come soon and that Canada "supports what NATO is doing in the region."
 |
| Troops from Canada's 3rd Division participate at a NATO-led exercise with the U.S. Army's 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and Poland's 6th Airborne Brigade. Canada is considering a request to supply troops for a new NATO force in the Baltics. (Kacper Pempel/Reuters) |
Related:
NATO vs. Putin sabre-rattling raises Cold War concerns
Crimean leader urges strong sanctions against Russia
Up to 4,000 troops are envisioned for the force, but the number coming from Canada, along with the type of equipment and vehicles that would be involved, is still being assessed.
The federal cabinet is expected to meet again on Wednesday but it is unclear whether the NATO request is on the agenda.
At the moment, just under 200 Canadian troops are involved in a massive drill — Exercise Anakonda — alongside Polish, Turkish and American forces near a base in Poland.
The Harper government committed Canada to a regular rotation of ground forces for exercises under the NATO's Operation Reassurancebanner following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
But the new proposal goes a step further with the creation of four battalions, which would rotate through bases in eastern Europe and the Baltics, and be on standby for emergencies.
The contingent would be backed by NATO's highly mobile, 40,000-strong rapid reaction force.
Baltic states could be overrun
Federal sources said Tuesday that it's not been decided where Canadian troops might be based, although published reports in Europe, quoting diplomatic sources, offered up two possible locations Poland or Latvia.
The Rand Corporation, a non-partisan U.S. think-tank, released a report last winter suggesting the proposed NATO force would simply be a speed bump for the Russian army should fighting take place. It said the Baltic states — Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania — could conceivably be overrun with 60 hours unless the West was willing to station several, heavily armoured brigades in the tiny nations.
Even before the contingent is finalized, political leaders in the Baltics have privately complained it is too small, according to published reports in Europe.
The request by NATO and the U.S. to fill one of the four slots took some in Ottawa by surprise, where the notion wasn't on the radar as little as two months ago, said one source with knowledge of the file.
It is expected the government will signal its intentions before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau goes to the NATO leaders summit in Warsaw next month.
The potential commitment is unfolding against the backdrop of an increasingly unpredictable Russian regime, said a security analysis released last week by the Canada's spy agency.
Russia 'mobilizing for war'
The report is a distillation of open source academic research and evaluations and not based on internal CSIS assessments.
It does however use stark language, and warned decision-makers not to treat Putin's rearmament drive lightly.
"Russia is not modernizing its military primarily to extend its capacity to pursue hybrid warfare," the 104 page report said, referring to the Kremlin's use of irregular tactics to take over Crimea. "It is modernizing conventional military capability on a large scale; the state is mobilizing for war."
The West has primarily responded to the annexation and Moscow's support of separatists in eastern Ukraine with economic sanctions.
The prevailing wisdom is that fiscal pain will bring Putin around, but the report dismissed that notion, saying two years after war erupted in Ukraine, the Kremlin "appears to be coherent, durable and united" at the centre.
"Western assessments that Russia is vulnerable to economic collapse and disruptive internal discontent are exaggerated," said the assessment, titled 2018 Security Outlook.
"Russia is adapting to adversity; the economy is deliberately tilted to security rather than economic freedom."
Polish president wants more Canadian troops
Crimean leader urges strong sanctions against Russia
Up to 4,000 troops are envisioned for the force, but the number coming from Canada, along with the type of equipment and vehicles that would be involved, is still being assessed.
The federal cabinet is expected to meet again on Wednesday but it is unclear whether the NATO request is on the agenda.
At the moment, just under 200 Canadian troops are involved in a massive drill — Exercise Anakonda — alongside Polish, Turkish and American forces near a base in Poland.
The Harper government committed Canada to a regular rotation of ground forces for exercises under the NATO's Operation Reassurancebanner following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
But the new proposal goes a step further with the creation of four battalions, which would rotate through bases in eastern Europe and the Baltics, and be on standby for emergencies.
The contingent would be backed by NATO's highly mobile, 40,000-strong rapid reaction force.
Baltic states could be overrun
Federal sources said Tuesday that it's not been decided where Canadian troops might be based, although published reports in Europe, quoting diplomatic sources, offered up two possible locations Poland or Latvia.
The Rand Corporation, a non-partisan U.S. think-tank, released a report last winter suggesting the proposed NATO force would simply be a speed bump for the Russian army should fighting take place. It said the Baltic states — Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania — could conceivably be overrun with 60 hours unless the West was willing to station several, heavily armoured brigades in the tiny nations.
Even before the contingent is finalized, political leaders in the Baltics have privately complained it is too small, according to published reports in Europe.
The request by NATO and the U.S. to fill one of the four slots took some in Ottawa by surprise, where the notion wasn't on the radar as little as two months ago, said one source with knowledge of the file.
It is expected the government will signal its intentions before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau goes to the NATO leaders summit in Warsaw next month.
The potential commitment is unfolding against the backdrop of an increasingly unpredictable Russian regime, said a security analysis released last week by the Canada's spy agency.
Russia 'mobilizing for war'
The report is a distillation of open source academic research and evaluations and not based on internal CSIS assessments.
It does however use stark language, and warned decision-makers not to treat Putin's rearmament drive lightly.
"Russia is not modernizing its military primarily to extend its capacity to pursue hybrid warfare," the 104 page report said, referring to the Kremlin's use of irregular tactics to take over Crimea. "It is modernizing conventional military capability on a large scale; the state is mobilizing for war."
The West has primarily responded to the annexation and Moscow's support of separatists in eastern Ukraine with economic sanctions.
The prevailing wisdom is that fiscal pain will bring Putin around, but the report dismissed that notion, saying two years after war erupted in Ukraine, the Kremlin "appears to be coherent, durable and united" at the centre.
"Western assessments that Russia is vulnerable to economic collapse and disruptive internal discontent are exaggerated," said the assessment, titled 2018 Security Outlook.
"Russia is adapting to adversity; the economy is deliberately tilted to security rather than economic freedom."
Polish president wants more Canadian troops
Monday, May 16, 2016
CAF Divers Helping Clear WW1 & WW2 Explosives from Baltic Sea
Eleven Canadian Forces clearance divers and support personnel began participation in OP OPEN SPIRIT 2016 on May 13 in Lithuania.
These members of Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic) from Halifax, Nova Scotia, will work alongside personnel from the Lithuanian Naval Flotilla and 12 other partner nations until May 27 in order to clear explosive remnants of the First and Second World Wars in the Baltic Sea, according to the Canadian Forces news release.
Operation OPEN SPIRIT is a multinational naval mine clearance and ordnance disposal operation conducted on an annual basis since 1997. This mission aims to reduce the threat of unexploded ordnance throughout the Baltic Sea region, including seabed communications lines, international shipping routes, and fishing areas.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
CAF Divers in Estonia clearing WW1 & WW2 Ordnance
Last week DND released its information with regards to OP OPEN SPIRIT 2015 - where Canadian Armed Forces Divers are joining Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the US in Baltic waters - searching for and clearing unexploded ordnance from the world wars. The Operation started May 15, 2015 and runs to May 28 2015.
The CAF have sent 14 clearance divers and support personnel based out of Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic) from CFB Halifax.
OP OPEN SPIRIT 2015's aims are to reduce the threat of unexploded ordnance throughout the Baltic Sea region. The region saw heavy fighting during both the First and Second World war, which included air bombardment, naval battles, mine-laying, and submarine warfare. As a result there are remaining ordnance which failed to detonate - causing a danger to maritime shipping and fisheries in the area.
The CAF have sent 14 clearance divers and support personnel based out of Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic) from CFB Halifax.
OP OPEN SPIRIT 2015's aims are to reduce the threat of unexploded ordnance throughout the Baltic Sea region. The region saw heavy fighting during both the First and Second World war, which included air bombardment, naval battles, mine-laying, and submarine warfare. As a result there are remaining ordnance which failed to detonate - causing a danger to maritime shipping and fisheries in the area.
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