Once in a lifetime experience on Exercise VALIANT SHIELD 2024

By Captain Kylie Penney

June 24, 2024 - Defence Stories

Foster relationships. Improve interoperability. Demonstrate cooperation with allies and partner nations. These were just a few of many objectives the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) wanted to achieve from Exercise VALIANT SHIELD 2024. On the surface these appear to refer to the big picture. However, I learned as the CAF public affairs officer representing Canada within the Combined Joint Information Bureau (CJIB) that these objectives transcend many levels. These objectives can also be achieved by daily interactions with people from different nations, working side by side, in person, to achieve common goals. The CJIB consisted of both enlisted (non-commissioned) members and officers including myself, a Japanese public affairs representative, and both active duty and reserve personnel from the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps, most of whom had never met prior to the exercise.

Previously unilateral U.S.-only, this year’s iteration of VALIANT SHIELD was significant It marked the first iteration of this exercise as multilateral and multinational in addition to the first participation of the CAF. Exercise VALIANT SHIELD took place between June 7 to 18, 2024, with HMCS Montréal and its embarked CH-148 Cyclone helicopter participating at sea in the Indo-Pacific region, three shore-based CAF personnel participating from ashore in Hawaii, and myself, participating from ashore in Guam within the CJIB.

First iterations of any kind of event always come with additional challenges but with challenges, come opportunities to demonstrate problem solving skills, agility, flexibility, and resolve. These qualities were displayed by all members of the CJIB team during the exercise and are exactly what allowed the CJIB to thrive as we set aside any differences and worked together to overcome challenges. While we coordinated, produced, and released public affairs products, we simultaneously fostered our relationships with each other, improved our interoperability and cooperated to complete tasks.

I had never travelled so far away from home or experienced such bad jet lag until I came to Guam, a U.S. territory and island in the Pacific. While I missed my family, this once in a lifetime trip to a place many Canadians never visited, was everything I hoped it would be. I learned a lot. I experienced local Chamorro culture and tried new foods. I watched the most beautiful orange, pink and purple sunsets over the ocean as the palm trees swayed in the breeze after a long day of work. I saw colourful tropical fish in the coral reef while snorkelling in the short time I had to relax on the island. I often heard the roar of aircraft passing overhead as they began their descent to the local airport. Above all, I created memories with people in the CJIB from different nations, whose morale never wavered, and whose cooperation enabled us to achieve some amazing public affairs results in support of exercise VALIANT SHIELD 2024.