Canadian Armed Forces Parachute Jump Masters Reach New Heights in Training South of the Border

Article / January 15, 2024 / Project number: 24-001CADTC

By Second Lieutenant Mathieu Sly, Combat Training Centre Public Affairs

A total of six Canadian paratroopers from the Canadian Armed Forces recently participated in Operation Toy Drop, a two-week training exercise held at Fort Liberty in North Carolina.

Jump masters from 14 allied and partner nations, trained together to build readiness, increased proficiency, and standardization in joint airborne operations. Over 2 000 soldiers participated in the event run by the U.S. Army Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) and jumped under the direction of their foreign allies. Once the jumps were complete, participants received jump wings from the jump master’s home nation. This year, the allies involved were Brazil, Canada, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

“The main takeaways I’m going to bring home from 2023’s Operation Toy Drop is the logistics piece,” said Warrant Officer Tyler Henrich from Third Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, who is one of Canada’s jumpmasters at the event. “The Americans do everything on such a larger scale down here and watching them put all these complicated pieces of the puzzle together has been quite impressive.”  

With a name like Operation Toy Drop you would be forgiven if you believed that at some point in the event’s history toys were dropped from aircraft. This has, however, never been the case. Established in 1998, the operation began not only as a training opportunity but also to give back to the local community, helping families in need during the holidays. Participating paratroopers each donated a toy in exchange for the opportunity to jump.   

“Working with allies has been amazing,” said Warrant Officer Henrich, adding that “our allies look at us as the constant professional. We’re always on time. We always do our drills to the absolute highest standard; the standard that we were taught in the school. And we do everything to the best of our ability.” 

Operation Toy Drop may be a fun event for building relationships with allied nations, but it also serves the very real purpose of improving interoperability during combat operations. In conflict situations, we need to be able to communicate and work effectively together. The operation demonstrates to the world that Canada and its allies are united, prepared, and constantly honing their skills.  

Canadian participation was coordinated by the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre in Trenton, ON. It is the Canadian Army’s parachuting centre of excellence and a unit within the Combat Training Centre.

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