Canada leads the charge on multinational Explosive Ordnance exercise
December 30, 2024 - Defence Stories
Estimated read time - 2:00
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Multinational military partners participating in Exercise ARDENT DEFENDER 2024 in a group photo during the final day of the training exercise at 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown in Oromocto, New Brunswick on October 30th, 2024.
Photo Credit: Corporal Bradely Watters, 5th Canadian Division Public Affairs
Author: Lt Jerome Downey
On October 17, 2024, 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown in Oromocto, New Brunswick hosted over 400 members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), alongside soldiers from nine partner nations, for Exercise ARDENT DEFENDER 2024 – a Canadian Army-led international counter-explosive exercise.
Over two weeks, Exercise ARDENT DEFENDER 2024 brought together the best and brightest in Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) from across Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The purpose of the exercise is to validate skills, enhance interoperability and demonstrate the alliance between partner nations’ collective security efforts to deter potential adversaries’ use of conventional and unconventional explosives.
Specialty skills, such as detecting and countering explosive ordinance helps ensure that troops can live, move, and fight on the battlefield safely.
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Soldier conducting explosive ordnance disposal procedures during the tactical field phase of Exercise ARDENT DEFENDER 2024 at 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown in Oromocto, New Brunswick on October 24th, 2024.
Photo Credit: Corporal Brad Upshall, 5th Canadian Division Public Affairs
Before the exercise began, Brigadier-General Mark Parsons, Commander 5th Canadian Division, emphasized the importance of building readiness capacity.
“The realities of modern warfare drive the design, equipment, and training of the Canadian Army,” said Brigadier-General Parsons. “As we continue to modernize our force and build readiness capacity, the value of Exercise ARDENT DEFENDER in preparing Canada and its international partners for current and future threats cannot be understated.”
Responsible for the planning, coordination, and execution of the Canadian iteration of Exercise ARDENT DEFENDER, the CAF Joint Counter Explosive Threat organization is the authority for enabling and synchronizing actions to counter explosive threats on behalf of the CAF. This organization maintains relationships with NATO allies that share a similar strategic mandate to increase interoperability and enhance each other’s EOD and field exploitation capabilities.
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British and Canadian Soldiers conducting material analysis in a laboratory during the tactical phase of Exercise ARDENT DEFENDER 2024 at 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown in Oromocto, New Brunswick on October 24th, 2024.
Photo Credit: Corporal Brad Upshall, 5th Canadian Division Public Affairs
Building trust amongst allied nations and enhancing interoperability was paramount to the exercise’s success. These objectives and goals were enabled by a team of hard-working CAF members, led by Major Vincent Dupont, Exercise Director of Exercise ARDENT DEFENDER 2024, who oversaw the preparation, planning, and execution of the training exercise.
Exercise ARDENT is one of the longest continuous training exercises within NATO, bringing together nations with diverse backgrounds united by a common purpose of professional excellence, collective safety, and global security. This year’s exercise was successfully completed October 30th, 2024.