Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the multinational collective training activity “MAPLE ARCH” remains a cornerstone of Canadian defence diplomacy.

August 19, 2024 – Defence Stories

Exercise MAPLE ARCH has been conducted annually in Europe since 1999 with support from the 5th Canadian Division and the Military Training and Cooperation Program (MTCP) under the Assistant Deputy Minister (Policy). Leveraging the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian Brigade as a backbone, it trains battalion HQ staff from participating nations on the development and execution of large-scale, multinational exercises to NATO standard.

Exercise MAPLE ARCH 2024 (Ex MA24) will be hosted by North Macedonia from November to December 2024 and consist of a computer-assisted exercise combined with a field exercise led by the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia. In total, Ex MA24 is expected to include 620 personnel from across all participating nations.

Approximately 60 planners, including 11 CAF members, along with soldiers from Allied and Partner armed forces in Eastern Europe, participated in the Ex MA24 Main Planning Conference near Skopje from 8-12 July 2024. Officers and NCMs from Canada, along with their counterparts from the armed forces of Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Ukraine, and Georgia, took part. These participants and the Primary Training Audience, comprised of battalion HQs from their respective countries, will join the final exercise.

“DMTC is thrilled to be celebrating MAPLE ARCH’s 25th anniversary! We are incredibly fortunate to mentor and learn from our NATO Allies and partner nations. MAPLE ARCH is a proven, strategic capacity-building tool that enables participating militaries to better plan and execute multinational, large-scale training activities to NATO standard,” said Major Sean Clark, the MTCP lead planner for the exercise.

“Ex MA24 allows the CAF and participating nations at the battalion HQ staff level to identify realistic challenges in peace support operations, drawing lessons from the asymmetrical battlespace currently unfolding in Ukraine. The bonds we share, and the experience gained make us stronger together,” added Major Clark.

“It has been a pleasure working with the CAF,” said Colonel Ivica Cvetkovski of the North Macedonia Army, the officer with primary responsibility for the exercise. “Their expertise in NATO planning, adding to our own, helps us with analysis and interoperability, fostering cross-military exchange of information and best practices. This ultimately improves how participating nations’ armies train together and strengthens the regional defence structure, enabling it to respond to global defence and security challenges.”