New 12 rotation of the Canadian operation “UNIFIER” begins its work at NGU
In the Main Directorate of the National Guard of Ukraine, the command of the Guard and representatives of the Armed Forces of Canada summarized the results of the work of the 11th rotation of the Joint Operational and Tactical Group of the Armed Forces of Canada in Ukraine (operation “UNIFIER”), and also met with representatives of the 12th rotation.
Recall that the personnel of the Canadian operation in Ukraine changes every six months. The preliminary rotation began its work on March 24, 2021.
“During the 11th rotation, work was carried out on important areas for the NGU. Significant progress has been made in the development and implementation of the advanced leadership course for the sergeant staff (PR-4), basic training courses for the scout, sniper, combat medic of the NGU. Medical training equipment for a total amount of 210 thousand Canadian dollars was also provided and the process of purchasing property for the creation of a language laboratory at the National Academy of NGU was started.
I want to thank you for your significant contribution to the development of a systematic approach to the training of NGU servicemen, as well as assure you that all areas of cooperation started during the 11th rotation will continue in the future,” the commander of the National Guard of Ukraine, Colonel-General Mykola Balan, addressed those present..
Representatives of the operation provided mentoring assistance in various military units and units of the NGU, including the National Academy in Kharkiv, the Training Center in Zolochiv, the International Interdepartmental Multidisciplinary Unit Training Center in Staryi.
Separately, the commander of the NGU noted the significant assistance of Canadians in conducting foreign language courses for NGU servicemen, which are extremely effective.
Colonel Volodymyr Hrabchak, Head of the Department of International Cooperation of the State Department of NGU, also thanked foreign colleagues for the knowledge and experience transferred to the servicemen of the National Guard. In particular, he noted that for the first time a comprehensive training of the personnel of the rapid response brigade for participation in the international exercises “Rapid Trident-2021" was carried out in the NGU with the involvement of representatives of the Armed Forces, the DPSU in joint training. And also the “open doors” initiative was launched, providing for the service of representatives of the NGO in the headquarters of the operation “UNIFIER”.
The commander of the 11th Rotation, Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Lake, expressed gratitude to Ukrainian colleagues for the support provided by the National Guard during all the preparatory activities involving representatives of the Canadian operation. Passing his duties to Lieutenant Colonel Luke-Frederick Gilber, the officer thanked the guards for the experience: “It was a great honor for us to cooperate side by side with representatives of the NGU. We really had a lot to learn from our Ukrainian colleagues and are grateful for the extraordinary respect given to the junior officer and senior sergeant staff of the Canadian Armed Forces. And we are very happy to see the results of the collaboration. You have really been able to create an effective approach to training and demonstrate the determination to continue to implement change.”
Melanie Lake also thanked the specialists of the information and communication departments of NGU for the comprehensive and high-quality information support of the UNIFIER operation.
The Lieutenant Colonel informed her successor about the need to focus on providing mentoring assistance to representatives of the National Academy of NGU and Kyiv Institute of NGU, and especially in the direction of developing training programs for officers.
Captain Pierre-Olivier Lehr will coordinate the interaction of the NGU with Operation “UNIFIER” during the operation of the 12th rotation. There has also already been a transfer of authority to the commanders of some training groups. Thus, the group of professional military education was headed by Major Pierre-Luc Larochel, the head of the individual training group was Major Céline Best.
The final stage of the meetings was the exchange of symbolic gifts, which will remind of cooperation and strong friendly and professional relations between the Ukrainian and Canadian military.
For reference: Operation “UNIFIER” is the contribution of the Canadian Armed Forces to ensuring the security of Ukraine together with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard of Ukraine. Operation “UNIFIER” includes servicemen from the Armed Forces of Canada, Sweden and Denmark.
The training mission is carried out within the framework of the Multinational Joint Committee, which includes Ukraine, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Poland, Lithuania, Sweden and Denmark. Canada joined the Multinational Joint Committee in January 2015.
In May 2018, a Technical Agreement was signed between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the Ministry of National Defence of Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces on conducting military training activities, after which the cooperation of the National Guard of Ukraine with the Joint Operational and Tactical Group of the Armed Forces of Canada in Ukraine began (operation “UNIFIER”)) in the areas of: training of battalion headquarters on the process of military decision-making, development of professional sergeant staff of NGU, engineering training, language training of personnel of NGU in training institutions of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Press service of the NGU
