Defence Team News | Building peace through partnership at KHAAN QUEST 25 in Mongolia
Video / September 10 2025
Transcription
Commander Jonathan Kouwenberg
Task Force Commander
Major Catherine Norris
Commanding Officer of the Central Band
Major Anthony Foster
Infantry Officer
Well, fundamentally, we're here to work with our partner nations, the U.S. being the lead one, and our goal is to help provide some capacity and training for the Mongolian battalion that'll deploy down to South Sudan.
Canada has a long tradition of contributing to peacekeeping missions. For us as Canadians, we're here to both learn because every time we do something like this, we can learn and take away some lessons for ourselves, and also to contribute to overall international peace and security through the UN (United Nations) and through international partnerships like this.
I think here at KHAAN QUEST, having the Canadian Armed Forces participating, it just shows the coordination that we have with all of the countries. And because we're here instructing and mentoring, we're helping bring our expertise to preparing the forces to go on these UN missions.
I'm working in Women, Peace, and Security and it's about applying gender perspectives to all military operations and planning.
Women. Peace, Security is a priority of the UN because we know that when women are fully and meaningfully participating in peace processes and decision making that the peace will last longer.
There has been so many memories here in Mongolia… going to the museums, eating the local food. I tried fermented horse milk. Not my taste, but it was interesting to experience that sort of that little tidbit of culture. Coming to Mongolia on itself and working closely with the Mongolians in their home country…That alone has been a fantastic experience and something that I'll take with me for the rest of my life.