Frigate leaves for six-month North Atlantic mission
HMCS Fredericton and its 250-member crew sailed out of Halifax Harbour on Saturday with little fanfare and barely a ripple of anxiety harkening back to its most recent deployment.
“This is an important mission, a mission that we have been doing steadily since 2015,” Rear Admiral Brian Santarpia, commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic, said before the ship set sail for a six-month deployment to the North Atlantic and northern European waters as part of NATO’S Operation Reassurance.
This time last year, the 134-metre frigate returned to Halifax after 190 days at sea, ending its ill-fated Operation Reassurance tour in the Mediterranean Sea.
Six service members lost their lives in an April 29, 2020, helicopter crash off Sicily. The Cyclone helicopter from 12 Wing Shearwater that had been deployed along with the Fredericton went down in a depth of nearly three kilometres of water in the Ionian Sea.
Santarpia said the crew has been changed over for this deployment and none of the sailors aboard the Fredericton during the tragedy will be deployed on the frigate this time around.
“Even if that tragedy hadn’t occurred, we would still have wanted to switch this crew out,” Santarpia said.
“The ships that we have take quite a bit of maintenance to keep running. Once we get the ship up to that level, it ends up doing multiple rotations. We want to share the workload, the burden, and share the experiences as widely as possible.”
It’s all about resilience, Santarpia said.
“The ship’s company that was there (Ionian Sea), they continued on with the mission, so even when tragedies occur, it’s a very resilient group,” Santarpia said. “We encourage and foster resilience.
"While we recognize the tragedy and while we’re conscious of its effect on individuals and on teams, we also at the same time need to build that kind of resilience so that no matter what happens in crisis or conflict, we’ll always be able to carry on with the mission.”
As was the case when the Fredericton returned last July, family members were restricted by COVID-19
protocols from being at the jetty to see the sailors off Saturday.
“Missing your family is not fun, but they understand it,” said Master Sailor Holly White, a Port aux Basques, N.L., native who was embarking on her second deployment.
White had to say goodbye to her husband Jeff and their two little pooches earlier.
“He's military as well, so he gets it,” White said of her husband.
“It's definitely different. Usually they all are here, wishing us off, but because of COVID, we have to obey the regulations, and that's fine, I get it, it's understandable,” said White, who had previously been deployed on HMCS Toronto for a tour that lasted more than seven months.
“We have a really good crew, so it should be pretty easy for us.”
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Kelly Spicer, originally from Advocate Harbour, has been to much of Europe and the Middle Eastern countries in his previous six deployments. This is his second stint on the Fredericton.
“This isn't my first goaround, and I can't say it gets any easier,” Spicer said of parting with family for a six-month stretch. “You get set in your routine and they get set in their routine and you just go from there.”
Spicer said lengthy deployments away from his wife Terrie and their three children may have gotten easier for his son and two daughters as they've aged. Rebecca is 24, Brandon 21 and Brianna 17, and Brandon has joined the military.
Spicer said the fact that family can't come to the jetty “in some ways makes it a little easier because we already said our goodbyes and we're out the door.”
Lt. Jacki Kavanagh, who is from Shelburne, said the ship becomes a “home away from home,” and the crew makes it comfortable so that the time away passes quickly.
Kavanagh's husband Shane is also in the military, “so he understands what it's like to go away and do the job.”
Kavanagh said COVID-19 precautions have forced the crew to do a lot of planning for events and activities they can do if they are not permitted to go ashore in some of the ports.
“It's going to really depend on COVID in a lot of the places we are going to be,” Kavanagh said. “Hopefully, we'll get ashore in some places, but we do have plans for fun activities and events we can host on the ship.”
The Fredericton's deployment will span several seasons and pull crew members away from family birthdays and anniversaries back home.
Kavanagh said packing for three seasons makes for interesting decisions.
“You'd be really impressed with how much stuff we can fit in a small space,” she said of the gear packed for the six months of sun, rain, snow, heat and cold.
“We get really good at packing things away very strategically so we can bring your personal clothes and all the kit you need, which is a lot,” she said. “You've got to have two toothbrushes, there are a few things you need two of, all the personal hygiene stuff, you need a good amount of that. We get really good at snugging it away in a tight spot.”
And there are always care packages from home sent along to ports the Fredericton will stop at to augment what couldn't be packed in tight spots..
“Some people will be away for birthdays and anniversaries, so if the husbands and wives want to get on our good side, they might send us a gift for Christmas or for our birthday or anniversary,” Kavanagh said. “Otherwise, it's if you want sweets or maybe something from home, maybe you forgot your headphones, whatever you need.”
Spicer said he doesn't see himself as a mentor for personnel experiencing their first or second deployment.
“I'm just hoping that the ports that we go into, since everybody is 100 per cent vaccinated and they started to lift restrictions, that they get the opportunity to go ashore and see the ports ... because that is what makes a huge part of the travelling,” Spicer said.
He said the ship can spend two to four days in one port of call.
“You usually have one day where you're duty, and the rest of the time, you're free to go out and see the sights,” Spicer said. “I've been around this a few times so me missing (port visits) is not such a big deal, but the new guys would definitely miss a great opportunity.”