UNIFIER

From the Government of Canada:

"Operation UNIFIER"

 

Operation UNIFIER is Canada’s contribution to support Ukrainian forces through capacity building, in coordination with the U.S. and other countries providing similar training assistance. Military assistance is one component of Canada’s support to Ukraine across development, security, democracy, and humanitarian aid. As part of Canada’s response to requests from the Government of Ukraine, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), with support from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), is providing military training and capacity building to Ukraine forces’ personnel to support Ukraine in its efforts to maintain sovereignty, security, and stability. The training mission occurs under the rubric of the Multinational Joint Commission which includes Ukraine, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Canada joined the Joint Commission in January 2015, and co-chairs, with Ukraine, the Sub-Committee on Military Policing.

 

The Task Force:

Canada is deploying approximately 200 CAF personnel to Ukraine until March 31, 2017. CAF members will come from all parts of Canada, depending on the skillset and capability that they bring to the conduct of a particular training program. In large part, the first group of CAF personnel will come from 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group at Garrison Petawawa. Any follow-up deployments will include troops mostly from 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group at CFB Valcartier. CAF members will be deployed on both a sustained and periodic basis depending on the type of training being conducted. The CAF’s primary focus will be on tactical soldier training, also known as small team training, which consists of individual weapons training, marksmanship, moving, communication, survival, and ethics training.

Other training activities will include:

• explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and improvised explosive device disposal (IEDD) training;
• military police training consisting of Use of Force and Basic Investigative Techniques courses;
• medical training that provides casualty evacuation and combat first aid training;
• flight safety and language training;
• reconnaissance and mechanized operations training; and
• logistics system modernization.

The training began in summer 2015 and is taking place primarily at the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre (IPSC) in Starychi. Training is also taking place at the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence Demining Centre in Kamyanets-Podilsky and other locations in western Ukraine. The language and flight safety training will take place in Canada. Furthermore, the CAF are partnered with Ukraine in the Military Training and Cooperation Program (MTCP), an ongoing engagement that will continue to offer a series of opportunities to enhance peace support operations, interoperability, military capacity building, and professional development. Military assistance is one component of a broad Canadian support in the fields of development, security, democracy and humanitarian aid. Since January 2014, the Government of Canada has announced more than $700 million in additional assistance to Ukraine, including a broad range of initiatives to strengthen security, promote economic stability and growth, advance democracy, human rights, rule of law, and to promote a civil society. Canada’s assistance to Ukraine includes the purchase and shipment of non-lethal military equipment. This includes the ongoing process of procuring and shipping specialized equipment such as tactical communications systems, a mobile field hospital, explosive ordnance disposal equipment, tactical medical kits, and night vision goggles. This type of equipment is helping to enhance the capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

 

Canada and Ukraine

• 28 November 2014 – The first shipment of donated non-lethal military supplies (cold weather clothing including approximately 3 000 pairs of boots 2 400 coats, 3 500 pants and 3 300 pairs of gloves) arrived in Kyiv Boryspil Airport, Ukraine via Royal Canadian Air Force CC-177 Globemaster.
• 8 December 2014 – Rob Nicholson, Minister of National Defence announced that Canada had signed a Declaration of Intent with Ukraine for joint military training and capacity building.
• 10 January 2015 – The first of two sealift shipments of non-lethal military supplies arrived in the port of Odessa, Ukraine.
• 29 January 2015 – The second of two sealift shipments of non-lethal military supplies arrived in the port of Odessa, Ukraine.

Mission timeline

• 14 April 2015 – Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Canada will deploy approximately 200 CAF personnel to Ukraine until March 31, 2017.
• 13 June 2015 – Approximately 8 personnel in the field of EOD and IEDD departed for Ukraine to liaise with Ukrainian military partners, observe training, and prepare training plans. They were augmented in late August by approximately 12 combat engineers.
• 20 June to 4 July – A team of approximately 30 CAF personnel in the field of tactical soldier training observed U.S. instructions to Ukrainian forces and further refined the CAF training plans.
• 5 August to early Sept – A theatre activation team of approximately 90 personnel deployed to Ukraine to set up the CAF facilities and support structure necessary to the deployment of the Task Force.
• 25 August – Approximately 60 personnel from the main task force – including Headquarters (HQ), Small Team Training unit and support personnel – arrived in Ukraine.
• 31 August – A second group of approximately 90 CAF personnel, to complete the deployment of approximately 150 CAF personnel as the main Task Force, arrived in Ukraine.
• 14 September – The beginning of the military training mission was marked with dual ceremonies at the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Starychi, and at the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence Demining Centre in Kamyanets-Podilsky.
• 14 September – The Counter Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IED) training portion began at the Demining Centre in Kamyanets-Podilsky.
• 19 September – The first class of Ukrainian military personnel trained by the CAF graduated from C-IED training at the Demining Centre in Kamyanets-Podilsky.

 

^ It's interesting to see just what the Canadian Military is doing to help the Ukrainians. There has been lots of talk and speeches made by many different people, but this is real concrete aid. The world as a whole has done little more than talk with regards to the Ukraine, the Russian annexation of the Crimea or the Russians supplying soldiers and weapons to the ethnic Russian terrorists in eastern Ukraine. Now even less is being done (or said) to support the Ukraine because of the refugee crisis in Europe and the Russians bombing Syria. I am curious to see what will happen now in the Ukraine - will the US, Canada and EU just accept things as fact - which they should never do - or will there ever be real peace in the Ukraine? It will also be interesting to see what the new Canadian Prime Minister (Trudeau) will do with regards to the Ukraine. He already said he will stop the Canadian bombings in Iraq and Syria against ISIS. Of course there is a large and powerful Ukrainian-Canadian population within Canada so he may have to address the situation in the Ukraine along with all his numerous domestic campaign promises he made. ^

http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/operations-abroad/op-unifier.page