Defence Team News: HMCS Vancouver and HMCS Ottawa’s Indo-Pacific Deployment
Video / October 20, 2023
Transcript
I’m Corporal Matthew Kearney. I’m currently on His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Vancouver. We’re on Operation NEON in the Indo-Pacific. We’re currently working with our partners in the Indo-Pacific region to help support the United Nations Security Council resolution and the sanctions against North Korea through surveillance of the area.
I am Petty Officer First Class Forest. I am the director of anti-submarine warfare aboard the HMCS Ottawa. Our mission is to promote peace and stability in the region. As director, I am in charge of planning and executing anti-submarine exercises and of training and managing 12 sonar operators. We are currently working with our allies. By maintaining international relations, we can stay united when dealing with players in this region.
Something really memorable for me for this deployment is that when we were in South Korea, we got to visit the Demilitarized Zone between North and South, specifically Tunnel 3, I think it was, which was the tunnel dug under the border. Being in the DMZ, it really kind of reinforced the idea of what we’re doing here; it’s important. That for Korea, for people on both sides of that, it’s not a memory, like… It’s still a very real thing. Being here in the Indo-Pacific, I think it really is important, still. That really reinforced that for me.