R22eR Taking over Niger Training Mission From Special Forces

By: Murray Brewster, CBC News 

As many as 25 Canadian soldiers, based out of Valcartier, Que., will soon take part in a revamped mission to train security forces in the troubled western African country of Niger.

Last summer, CBC News reported that regular army troops would take over an ongoing deployment, known as Operation Naberius, from Canada's elite special forces.

A handful of the highly-trained soldiers have since 2013 helped train the Niger Armed Forces in marksmanship, reconnaissance and other basic military skills.

National Defence confirms troops from the French-speaking 1st Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment, will assume that responsibility and carry out "periodic" instruction of local forces from now on.

There will be two deployments per year and each will last between two and three months. The military will not say precisely when the first team will be in the field.
Mission flies below the radar

The intent, according to spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier, is to buttress "regional efforts to counter the influence of violent extremist organizations in the Sahel region of Africa."

Members of the Royal 22nd Regiment, better known as the Van Doos, parade at the Citadel in Quebec City last September. Members of the Van Doos' 1st battalion will head to Niger to train military personnel there. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press)

Unlike other high profile training missions in Iraq and Ukraine, there has been virtually no attention paid to the latest mission.

There has been no formal announcement by National Defence and the news comes after requests for comment by CBC News and the online military publication 45eNord.ca.

The mission is separate, but could be complementary to the Liberal government's long-promised return to United Nations peacekeeping, which has been in a holding pattern.

Walter Dorn, a professor of defence studies at the Royal Military College of Canada, says there is anticipation and some impatience among planners at the UN.

"Countries are eagerly awaiting the government's decision," said Dorn. "They're surprised it has taken this long."
Dithering causes distress

Last summer, the Liberals committed to deploying 600 soldiers and 150 police officers into a series of UN missions, with details expected by the end of last year.

That didn't happen as the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president forced politicians and decision-makers in Canada to take stock of how each policy would be perceived in by the new administration in Washington.

Walter Dorn, professor of defence studies at the Royal Military College, says Canada's decision on a peacekeeping mission is eagerly awaited. (Mike Blanchfield/Canadian Press)

The UN had held open command of the peacekeeping mission in Mali for a Canadian, but that appointment has now gone elsewhere and allies in New York are drumming their fingers.

"The dithering has caused problems with UN planning," said Dorn.

The training of local forces in Niger does not fall within the mandate of the world body because the UN does not conduct counter-terrorism operations.

Le Bouthillier would not say why the switch is being made, other the notion that the military "continually examines and reviews all operations."

Last summer, defence sources told CBC News that officials now believe the basic-level training is best delivered by regular army soldiers.
Precarious security

A small reconnaissance team visited Niger in the fall of last year and the Quebec-based troops have been preparing for the handover ever since, Le Bouthillier said.

The operation flew almost entirely under the radar since it was first ordered by the former Conservative government, which faced repeated calls from the international community to help beat back Islamic militants, who in 2014 had overrun a large swath of territory in neighbouring Mali.


Le Bouthillier said the government of the day determined that special forces, which usually operate in secret, were "best-suited for this type of capacity-building operation."

The mission has also been precarious.

Canadian trainers briefly pulled out of a town in Niger that had been the scene of heavy fighting between government troops and Boko Haram militants in 2015.

No Canadians were involved in combat at Diffa, which sits on the border with Nigeria, but the incident served to underscore the instability in the country.

The deployment is being funded by Global Affairs Canada, which has counter-terrorism capacity building program.

R22eR Van Doos Perform in Brazilian jungle heat at UNITAS 2015

DND Press Release: Article / January 22, 2016 / Project number: 15-0186

By Lynn Capuano and Steven Fouchard, Army Public Affairs

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — Canadian soldiers from 2nd Canadian Division proved they can perform not only in the hot and cold extremes of Canada but also excel in steaming Brazilian jungle conditions during an annual U.S.-led allied sea exercise in South America.

The Canadian Army doesn’t have a specialized amphibious force and comes from a country more closely associated with extreme cold than heat. Nonetheless, 47 members of Compagnie B, 2e Bataillon, Royal 22e Régiment (2 R22eR) more than held their own during exercise UNITAS-AMPHIBIOUS, which took place in Brazil from November 14 to 25, 2015.

Members of the R22eR Van Doos board a VH-22 Osprey next to their U.S. Marines counterparts during the South American exercise UNITAS-AMPHIBIOUS in Brazil (November 2015) ©2015 DND-MDN Canada.

“We were able to demonstrate that we, while small, are a force to be reckoned with. We are very well trained, very well experienced. Canada doesn’t have a Marine Corps, so anytime there’s an amphibious operation that requires Canadians, we send in the Army to do the job. We have the versatility,” said Captain Ken Wang of 2 R22eR, who commanded a Canadian infantry platoon. “So we demonstrated that, even though we’re not Marines, as Army infantry soldiers we have the ability to operate at their level.”

“We were able to demonstrate that we, while small, are a force to be reckoned with. We are very well trained, very well experienced. Canada doesn’t have a Marine Corps, so anytime there’s an amphibious operation that requires Canadians, we send in the Army to do the job.”

Captain Ken Wang, 2 R22eR

UNITAS-AMPHIBIOUS 2015 involved U.S. Marines and armed forces representatives from Canada and six Latin American countries: Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Paraguay, Columbia and Peru.

“UNITAS-AMPHIBIOUS is a multi-national exercise designed to increase interoperability in amphibious operations between participating countries,” said Canadian Contingent Commander Major Rodrigo DeCastro. “This year, the Canadian participation allowed for a professional development opportunity at the tactical level and in the various headquarters.”

Lieutenant-General Marquis Hainse, Commander of the Canadian Army, said multinational exercises like UNITAS are about more than just preparing for combat. He noted that by helping to build the capacity of regional institutions, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) contributes to the security of the Americas, advancing freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

“Joint military exercises offer valuable opportunities for the CAF to practice working together with our partners in the Americas in areas such as counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, and efforts to counter illicit trafficking,” noted LGen Hainse.

The exercise scenario revolved around an amphibious landing using the Americans’ remarkable V-22 Osprey, which is half-helicopter, half-airplane. With its tilting front rotors up, the hybrid combat aircraft takes off, hovers and lands like a helicopter. With the rotors tilted down, it has the speed and range of a fixed-wing airplane.

“Overall for Canada, it’s a chance to participate in an exercise with foreign nations from the Americas and exchange best practices when it comes to amphibious operations,” Capt Wang explained. “We’re talking about leaving the ship and landing so that doesn’t necessarily always mean boats, but also aircraft such as, in the case of this particular exercise, the Osprey.”

Before moving out to the field, Capt Wang said, the participants spent three days in an “academic phase” indoors to share their different practices and get familiar with the Osprey and other vehicles involved.

Once in the field, he added, his troops upheld Canada’s reputation for punching above its weight.

The Canadians, along with a group of U.S. Marines, were transported by Osprey to a small island southwest of Rio de Janeiro and tasked with securing and defending an airstrip from a fictional enemy force. While the temperature contrast, which at times exceeded 40°C, between 2 R22eR’s home base of Quebec City in November and the humid Brazilian jungle was stark, Capt Wang said his troops, many with combat experience from the Afghanistan mission, acquitted themselves well.

“There was a day where it was really hot,” he said. “We were holding a defensive position under the sun, the humidity – and that’s where some guys collapsed from the heat. The Canadians, we held on and we worked pretty well. It all comes down to training and grit, I guess and it’s one of those things Canada can pride itself on. We have very well-trained soldiers, well-seasoned.”

Maj DeCastro added that this year’s UNITAS exercise was unique in his experience in that it was the first with four languages in play: English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French. Canada’s participation was also a success in terms of communications, he said. Maj DeCastro is himself tri-lingual, fluent in English, French and Portuguese.

“I think we clearly demonstrated the strength of our multilingual army and our ability to operate in a multinational context. In terms of performance on the ground, the soldiers of the R22eR held their own, serving as willing mentors and mentees.”