Canada hosts NATO exercise aimed at countering chemical, biological and radiological agents

July 10, 2017 – Ottawa – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring Canada remains strong at home, secure in North America, and engaged in the world. To achieve this the Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Armed Forces must meaningfully contribute on the international stage; including through the exchange of lessons learned and best practices, and enhancing interoperability with allies and partners, through exercises and joint operations.

Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), an Agency of DND, hosts until July 28 Exercise PRECISE RESPONSE (EX PR17) at Canadian Forces Base Suffield. The 14^th annual NATO exercise is part of ongoing Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) defence training and will be the largest ever.

EX PR17 will bring together nearly 420 CBRN specialists representing 11 NATO Allies and partners nations (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States and Austria) to test their skills and improve interoperability in a real-time environment. Training during this exercise provides specialists with knowledge and expertise they need to respond to real life CBRN threats quickly and effectively.

In today’s uncertain security environment, dealing with CBRN events, responding to a crisis alongside NATO Allies and partners, or deploying to the site of a suspected terrorist attack are some of the potential situations that specialists must be ready to face. EX PR17 provides participants with the capabilities and skills they will need to succeed.  

Twenty five Canadian soldiers from the 2nd Canadian Division will plan and execute the Canadian Army contribution to the exercise by providing various Command and Control capacities and forming one decontamination element.

Through EX PR17, Canada continues to uphold commitments made at the 2002 NATO Summit in Prague, providing our partners a safe and secure site for CBRN training. The Exercise reinforces the vision outlined in Strong, Secure Engaged, Canada’s new defence policy, of a globally engaged Canada that can to anticipate emerging threats and challenges and assist other government departments and law enforcement agencies in support of Canada’s national security and the security of Canadians abroad.