HMCS Moncton and Summerside Sail toward West Africa for NEPTUNE TRIDENT

DND Press Release 

HMCS Moncton at Sea (DND File Photo)

Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Summerside and Moncton, both Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDV), sailed for West Africa today to participate in Neptune Trident 17-01. Neptune Trident 17-01 is the overarching Royal Canadian Navy deployment to West Africa, and includes engagements with West African nations to support joint training and foster relationships in the Gulf of Guinea region.

While deployed, the Kingston Class Coastal Defence Vessels HMCS Summerside and Moncton, and a detachment of personnel from the Maritime Tactical Operations Group (MTOG) will also participate in Obangame Express 2017, an at-sea maritime training event led by U.S. Naval Forces Africa. MTOG will work with regional partners to support joint training for maritime interdiction which aims to delay, disrupt, or destroy criminal or enemy forces or supplies en route at sea. Obangame Express 2017 is designed to improve cooperation among participating nations in order to increase maritime safety and security in the region.

“The Royal Canadian Navy’s participation in Neptune Trident 17-01 demonstrates Canada’s ongoing commitment to conduct international multi-ship readiness training with like-minded nations. This is an exceptional opportunity for the RCN to work in cooperation with global partners in joint training activities to promote Canada’s ability to successfully work together with partners and allies on multinational operations and missions.” said  Harjit Singh Sajjan, Minister of National Defence

“The officers and sailors of HMC Ships Summerside and Moncton will be exceptional ambassadors of Canada during this important work in West Africa. Neptune Trident is an exceptional opportunity for the operational competencies of the Royal Canadian Navy to be used in a capacity building undertaking in an area of stated interest by the Government of Canada. Already, we have learned so much from the planning of this deployment and through staff visits with African counterparts and look forward to building on the lessons learned from the deployment. I wish the ship’s companies of Summerside and Moncton a most rewarding and memorable deployment.” said Rear Admiral John Newton, Commander Joint Task Force Atlantic and Commander Maritime Forces Atlantic

Previous RCN engagements in the vicinity of the Gulf of Guinea include:

• HMCS Toronto – Circumnavigated Africa as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1, 2007
• HMCS Fredericton – Op Chabanal. Assistance to RCMP counter-drug interdiction off Angola, April-May 2006
• HMCS Halifax – Demo of Canadian Patrol Frigate to South Africa, with port visits enroute, 1997
• HMCS Quebec (cruiser) – Circumnavigation of Africa. A training cruise that constituted first RCN port visits anywhere outside of the Med-Suez-Red Sea route, January-April 1955

MTOG includes specially trained teams prepared to confront a variety of threats in high-risk maritime environments. They deploy onboard Halifax-class frigates and Kingston-class maritime coastal defence vessels and can also deploy ashore on operations. Teams are prepared for inspections and searches for illegal cargo but are also trained in hand-to-hand combat, improvised explosive device identification, close quarters fighting, and tactical shooting.

Port Visits by HMCS Summerside and HMCS Moncton during Neptune Trident 17-01 aim to improve cooperation among participating nations in order to increase maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea. They include:

• Canary Islands
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• Liberia
• Côte d'Ivoire

Obangame Express takes place in the Gulf of Guinea with signatory nations of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct and involves numerous African partners, including Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Cabo Verde, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, and Togo.

Obangame, which means “togetherness,” comes from the Fang language of southern Cameroon and other parts of Central Africa.

Royal Canadian Navy to examine crew mix for Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

The Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels were originally to be entirely crewed by reservists. But over the years that has changed.

HMCS Moncton sits at anchor in Pond Inlet, Nunavut. CAF File Photo (2015)

In a recent interview with Defence Watch, Vice Admiral Ron Lloyd, the head of the Royal Canadian Navy, explained what is happening with the MCDV crews and what will take place in the future. Here is what he had to say:

“Just recently we’ve taken a look at our experience with the MCDVs since their introduction. When we introduced that ship, we said we would have a reserve crewing model; my assessment would be that it probably worked for about the first five years. And then after that, essentially, rather than having a part-time crewing model, we ended up going to basically a full-time sailor.

We took a look at the training and what was required and we were always short of engineers. I think the initial crewing model was extraordinarily logical at the time we went with the reserve crewing model. Over the last several years it’s become clear that it’s unsustainable.”

Lloyd said about two years ago the RCN introduced the 60/40 construct. That saw the MCDV crews made up of 60 percent reserves, 40 percent regular force. “It’s been tremendously popular because the reserves are learning a lot from the regular force, and the regular force are learning a lot from the reserves,” Lloyd explained. “For a regular force sailor to be exposed to those leadership opportunities early in their career, it’s a great developmental opportunity for them.”

So what comes next on the MCDV crewing issue?

“We will continue to look at what the best mix is in terms of regular (and) reserve, recognizing that, as the Chief of Defence Staff and the Minister have said, reserves are more of a part-time, strategic augmentation force,” Lloyd explained. “Currently one could argue that the crewing model for our MCDVs isn’t in keeping with leadership intent. So we’ll be looking at that over the next little bit.”

Two RCN Vessels Leave on Arctic Deployment

Frontline Defence News 

The RCN is deploying two ships to Arctic waters this summer. HMCS Shawinigan and Monctondeparted from their home port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, today to conduct sovereignty and surveillance patrols as part of Operations Qimmiq and Nanook 2016.

While at sea, the ships will also be partnering with Canadian Hydrographic Services, Parks Canada, Canadian Coast Guard, and the Arctic Research Foundation to conduct hydrographic surveys.

“HMCS Moncton’s company is looking forward to meeting new people, working with other government departments to assist with making Canada’s North safer for navigation, and demonstrating our interoperability with other units of the Canadian Armed Forces,” said Lieutenant-Commander Nicole Robichaud, Commanding Officer HMCS Moncton

HMC Ships Shawinigan and Moncton will deploy for seven weeks to Canada’s Arctic in support of Operations Nanook and Qimmiq.

Operation Nanook is Canada’s largest sovereignty and presence operation in the North and takes place annually.

Operation Qimmiq is the Joint Task Force (North) surveillance and presence operation conducted continuously throughout the year in Canada’s North.

HMCS Moncton will be in Rankin Inlet on August 29 and HMCS Shawinigan will be in the Hamlet of Arctic Bay on September 8. HMCS Shawinigan will be donating a quantity of backpacks and school supplies to the community.

HMCS Moncton, a Kingston-class maritime coastal defence vessel sits anchored alongside the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Pierre Radisson for fuelling in Nunavut during Operation Qimmiq on September 14, 2015. (Photo: Corporal Felicia Ogunniya, 12 Wing Imaging Services, Shearwater, N.S)

HMCS Summerside and Moncton Leave for OP CARIBBE

Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Summerside and Moncton will leave Halifax for Operation CARIBBE on Wednesday.

The deployment of HMC Ships Moncton and Summerside marks the beginning of several naval and air deployments scheduled for 2016 in support of Operation CARIBBE, according to the Royal Canadian Navy. Operation CARIBBE 2016 is Canada’s 10th year of contribution to Operation MARTILLO, the multinational campaign against transnational criminal organizations in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean.

Royal Canadian Navy ships deployed a total of 10 times and sailed for a total of 344 days in support of Op CARIBBE 2015, according to RCN.

During that time, HMC Ships Brandon and Whitehorse seized more narcotics during a 44-day deployment last fall than any other duo of Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels during the Operation’s history, with a combined total of approximately 9,800 kilograms, the navy noted.