Defence Team News: Exercise STEADFAST DEFENDER 2024
Video / May 29, 2024
Transcript
Canadian participation in exercises like STEADFAST DEFENDER demonstrates our resolve to reinforce our European Allies in the time of any aggression. HMCS Charlottetown has deployed in STEADFAST DEFENDER as the naval contribution from Canada for this exercise. This exercise is the largest in recent decades for NATO, and Canada's contribution reinforces the transatlantic reinforcement of our Allies in Europe.
HMCS Charlottetown is participating in a number of exercises that comprise STEADFAST DEFENDER. For Charlottetown specifically, we've participated in the MAREX (Marine Exercise), the DYNAMIC GUARD and JOINT WARRIOR phases.
The exercises that we participated in saw us focused largely on anti-submarine warfare, anti-air warfare, and we also got the opportunity to participate in a number of replenishments at sea.
Participation in exercises such as STEADFAST DEFENDER enable a ship's company to be better prepared for operations simply by working in a task group with our allies, understanding how to work with one another, how to communicate with one another, and how to affect the mission will only pay dividends as you move forward.
Getting to work with our allies, getting to be alongside British aircraft carriers, getting to work with Danish, American, British consorts is simply something that we don't normally get to do on a daily basis back home. So getting to be over here and seeing the crew learning from one another and feeling that camaraderie with our European Allies is something that I'm quite proud of.