Vanguard Magazine

8 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 www.vanguardcanada.com S Sit REp Canada's Defence Minister and Veterans Affairs Minister met with the Defence Minister of New Zealand, Ron Mark, in late January in Ottawa. "It is always great when we can meet with our international partners and friends to share knowledge and best practices related to our De- fence and Veteran communities," said Lawrence A. MacAulay, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence. Canadian Ministers meet with New Zealand's Defence Minister in Ottawa Having stability in the Asia-Pacific region is important in maintaining global peace and security. Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan highlighted how the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) presence and collaboration with partners and allies in the region are helping to meet this objective. The CAF has participated in several military engagements throughout the Asia-Pacific region, the most recent being Operation PROJECTION and Operation NEON where HMCS Ottawa, HMCS Regina, and NRU Asterix were deployed to help monitor the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions against North Korea. The Middle East situation was also discussed by Minister Sajjan and Minister Mark in underlining the importance of the international rules- based order in the Asia-Pacific. The impact of climate change on inter- national peace and security was also addressed. Both countries made a commitment to continue their partnership to respond to these chal- lenges on a national and international standpoint. "We remain committed to building a peaceful and prosperous Asia- Pacific region based upon the international rules-based order. We will continue to work together on our shared defence and security interests," said Minister Sajjan. In a meeting between Minister MacAulay and Minister Mark, the impor- tance of supporting serving members and Veterans through the transi- tion into life after service was discussed. Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette inspects the Air Task Force members on parade upon her arrival to Mihail Kog lniceanu Airport during Operation REASSURANCE–Air Task Force Romania on December 23, 2019. Photo: DND HMCS OTTAWA conducts ship manoeuvers with JS CHOKAI and JS SHIMAKAZE during Exercise KAEDEX, a bilateral exercise with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, conducted as part of Operation PROJECTION, October 17, 2019. Photo: DND Canada completes fourth Air Task Force deployment in Romania About 135 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel and five CF-188 Su- per Hornets will return home sometime in January after performing a four-month NATO enhanced Air Policing mission in Romania. Canada's Air Task Force (ATF)-Romania consists of members of the 401 Tactical Fighter Squadron and other personnel from 2 Air Expeditionary Wing, 3 Wing Bagotville, and 19 Wing Comox. They participated in the air segment of this mission as part of Operation REASSURANCE, Canada's contribution to NATO assurance and deterrence measures in Central and Eastern Europe. "NATO is the most successful military and political alliance in the world. Canada's contribution to Air Task Force-Romania shows our ongoing sup- port to NATO, one of our most important multilateral relationships," said Harjit Sajjan, Minister of National Defence. This latest mission was Canada's fourth ATF deployment to Romania for Operation REASSURANCE. The first took place from April to August in 2014, followed by deployments in 2017 and 2018 from September to De- cember. Since 2014, Operation REASSURANCE has been integral to show- case Canada's commitment to NATO allies. "Over the past 4 months, Canadian Armed Forces personnel, as part of Air Task Force-Romania, again demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism and skill NATO has come to expect from Canada," said Lieutenant-General Michael Rouleau, Commander Canadian Joint Opera- tions Command. The ATF also participated in regular training with their Romanian counterparts, including flight operations, emergency response, flight safety, aircraft maintenance, command and control, and military polic- ing. ATF-Romania also participated in several multinational joint exer- cises such as Exercise (Ex) Silver Arrow in Latvia, Ex Blue Bridge 19 and Ex Ramstein Dust, according to a news release from the Department of National Defence. "Our efforts have clearly demonstrated Canada's reliability and com- mitment to NATO collective defence from both a deterrence and assur- ance perspective… and further solidified Canada's reputation as a reliable defence partner," said Lieutenant-Colonel Forrest Rock, Commander Air Task Force-Romania.

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