Calgary Herald

‘ I HOPE RUSSIA IS WATCHING’

NATO exercises in Europe send message to recently aggressive Putin

- MATTHEW FISHER

Russia got a privileged window into what Canada’s 1,200 troops have been up to during Operation Trident Juncture — the massive NATO exercise involving tens of thousands of troops taking place in various locations across Europe — when a Spetsnaz ( Special Forces) colonel and other Russian officers dropped by the other day to observe them in action.

Maj.- Gen. Dean Milner, who is overseeing Canada’s largest military operation in Europe in many years, welcomed the visitors from Moscow by giving them a hockey puck and reminding them of all the times Canada has beaten the Russians in internatio­nal hockey. The Russians good- naturedly shot back that players such as Alexander Ovechkin were among the best in the National Hockey League.

The moment of levity could not obscure the fact western government­s and military strategist­s are gravely concerned about Russian’s adventuris­m and bellicosit­y on NATO’s eastern flank.

Operation Trident Juncture was to have been a modest tactical exercise involving 10,000 troops. But after Russian forces invaded Crimea last year and became heavily involved on the side of pro- Moscow separatist­s in eastern Ukraine it morphed into what a senior American general called “a dramatic show of force” involving hundreds of warships and war planes, and more than 36,000 soldiers spread across the eastern Atlantic, the Mediterran­ean, Portugal, Spain and Italy.

“I hope Russia is watching this exercise,” said Lt.- Gen. Ben Hodges, commanding general of the U. S. army in Europe. “We believe a central part of deterrence is not only having deterrence but showing capability in a transparen­t way that will help deter any possible conflict with the Russians.”

Those who thought that because Russia had recently joined the air war in Syria the Kremlin was no longer focused on Ukraine were wrong, he said.

“Ukraine is the place of most importance to Russia, but they went to Syria for three reasons,” said Hodges, who also worked with Canadian troops during combat operations in Kandahar. “President Putin had to get in there before ( President Bashar) Assad fell so that Russia could retain its foothold in the Middle East with its airport and naval base. Secondly, he wanted to show his domestic population and the world that Russia is a global power. And finally, he needed to distract the world’s attention from Ukraine.

“Putin still has 25,000 soldiers in Crimea and there is still a large Russian military presence in Donbass, which is why he won’t let the OSCE in to see what they are doing.”

Lt.- Gen. Steve Bowes, who commands all Canadian troops on operations at home and abroad, agreed that the exercise, on which Ottawa has spent $ 34 million, was meant to make Russia take notice.

“There should be messaging on a number of levels,” Bowes said. “It shows our ability to work together — inter- operabilit­y. It also demonstrat­es political will: these are not insignific­ant resources that each country has contribute­d to this exercise.”

While keeping a close eye on the major logistical challenge involving moving large amounts of gear, five warships as well as aircraft from Canada, Bowes’ command is also waiting for fresh orders from the incoming Liberal government.

“Transition is always a busy time for every branch of government, for senior civil servants and military leaders,” he said. “Government­s that take power have to get briefs in on all the particular issues that are not part of the election campaign. We have extant orders and those orders remain in effect until they are counterman­ded.”

All the political excitement in Ottawa felt very far away Tuesday in the deep mud of northern Portugal.

A dozen NATO generals watched as a Canadian- led multinatio­nal brigade moved 60- ton Leopard tanks and 20- ton armoured personnel carriers across a fast- flowing river with the help of German engineers using a remarkable floating-bridge contraptio­n.

The Royal 22nd Regiment — the Van Doos — had sent out reconnaiss­ance teams including snipers to get the lay of the land before the main force was to sweep forward with infantry and armoured units to throw out hypothetic­al invaders, from a hypothetic­al country.

“I’ve lived through 10 years of peacekeepi­ng, then the 10 years of Afghanista­n but we are reverting a bit back to the army that I joined as a second lieutenant,” said Col. Michel- Henri St- Louis, the brigade commander, who has 2,500 troops from seven nations under his command.

“My focus is on the tactical output, the offensive capability. But as an institutio­n it is as important for the Canadian Armed Forces to be able to project ourselves.”

Dean Milner, who commands the 1st Canadian Infantry Division in Kingston, Ont., which would be the senior headquarte­rs if Canada was ever involved in a major shooting war, said: “This is where we need to be with the world where it is.”

“We need to be prepared. It is all about readiness. It was not just command and not just stability but a war fight. We did it all. There is no doubt in my mind that Putin understand­s there is a significan­t exercise.”

 ?? MASTER CPL. JONATHAN BARRETTE/ CANADIAN FORCES COMBAT CAMERA ?? The Van Doos conduct a foot patrol during an exercise in Santa Margarida, Portugal, last Thursday. Canada is part of the Operation Trident Juncture NATO training, involving tens of thousands of troops across Europe.
MASTER CPL. JONATHAN BARRETTE/ CANADIAN FORCES COMBAT CAMERA The Van Doos conduct a foot patrol during an exercise in Santa Margarida, Portugal, last Thursday. Canada is part of the Operation Trident Juncture NATO training, involving tens of thousands of troops across Europe.
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada