30 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com
submarines
by norman Jolin
A
way from homeport in Es-
quimalt, B.C. for almost
200 days, HMCS Chi-
coutimi, operated from Ja-
pan with the U.S. Navy and
Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force for
the first time in over half a century.
1
At the
same time, HMCS Windsor, deployed to
the Mediterranean Sea for NATO opera-
tions.
2
All that said, given the rather sub-
stantial negative media coverage Canada's
four Victoria-class submarines have en-
dured since their acquisition, one may ask,
but how can this be?
Submarines and their operations – by
nature the most silent part of the "silent
service" – tend to shun the limelight. In
much the same manner that police under-
cover operations are not discussed – but
recognized as being essential to the over-
all success of police forces – so it is with
submarines. The lack of specific informa-
tion as to their activities, while sometimes
frustrating to those that serve, is often a
source of misunderstanding and misinfor-
mation for the general public, particularly
"In AprIl 2018, the nAvy leAgue of CAnAdA
reCognIzed the CAnAdIAn SubmArIne forCe
wIth the preStIgIouS 2018 J.J. KInley AwArd
for "the unpreCedented deployment of
two of CAnAdA'S four SubmArIneS
SImultAneouSly ConduCtIng operAtIonS,
on eIther SIde of the globe, SpeAKS to
the profeSSIonAlISm And dedICAtIon of
CAnAdA'S SubmArIne forCe…".
canada's SUBMARINES
A good newS
Exercise DYNAMIC MONGOOSE - Canadian subma-
rine HMCS Windsor (center) , german submarine U34
(le) and Norvegian submarine HNoMS Utsira (S301)
(back). Photo by WO C. ARTIGUES.
