Your Navy Today - Volume 2 Issue 11

Your Navy Today is a monthly newsletter highlighting your Royal Canadian Navy’s current Operations, stories about our sailors and historic naval heroes, new equipment and technology and the top photos and videos. Click here to subscribe to the monthly email.

Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Halifax, serving as flagship for Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) while on Operation REASSURANCE, was in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea participating in DOGU AKDENIZ 19 this month. The Turkish-Pakistani-led cooperative deployment held in a multi-threat environment, which ran November 12 to 20, focused on interoperability and included participation from a number of allies and partners including Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Romania, Spain and the United States.

This year’s iteration was the most heavily attended since the serial’s inception, boasting 4,700 personnel and 48 ships and submarines from 15 nations.

HMCS Ottawa, currently deployed on Operation PROJECTION Asia-Pacific, was in the Philippine Sea to participate in ANNUALEX 19, an at sea engagement with the U.S. Navy, the Japanese Maritime Security Defense Force and the Royal Australian Navy.

This larger scale cooperative deployment involved more than 25 ships, submarines and aircraft and aimed to enhance interoperability in anti-submarine warfare scenarios. The final phase of the deployment included a multi-domain warfare scenario.

After ANNUALEX’s conclusion, HMCS Ottawa is off to participate in PACIFIC VANGUARD 19 with the South Korean Navy, the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy.

HMCS St. John’s concluded its Great Lakes Deployment November 13. The crew spent the last four weeks visiting communities in the Great Lakes and along the St. Lawrence Seaway. They hosted nearly 10,000 Canadians who wanted to see what life in the RCN is really like.

Highlights from this deployment included hosting a citizenship ceremony while alongside in Toronto; a special visit from former Montréal Canadiens player George Laraques while in Montréal; and giving Canadians the chance to experience becoming “Sailors for a Day” in Montréal and Québec City.

DUGONG 19 is a Royal Australian Navy hosted cooperative deployment that invites Five Eyes member nations to collectively practise contemporary mine warfare and dive salvage techniques.

Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific) and representatives from the New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States were in Perth, Australia this month to participate in the two-week event. Scenarios included shallow water mine countermeasures, explosive ordnance disposal, improvised explosive device countermeasures, underwater damage repair and expeditionary reconnaissance and clearance activities.

When the First World War broke out in 1914, the RCN was only four years old. Among its 350 members were four bright and young Maritimers: Malcolm Cann, John V. W. Hatheway, William Archibald Palmer and Arthur Wiltshire Silver. Following their graduation in 1914, they were selected to serve in the Royal Navy’s West Indies Squadron and assigned to His Majesty’s Ship (HMS) Good Hope.

Cann, Hatheway, Palmer and Silver were the first RCN and Canadian casualties of the war.

When HMCS Ottawa departed Esquimalt, B.C. for Operations NEON and PROJECTION it carried the ashes of seven veterans – two who served in the Second World War – that had been entrusted into the care of Ottawa’s crew by their families.

Lieutenant (Navy) Andrew Klinger, Ottawa’s padre, performed a Committal of Ashes to Sea on November 10.

“I am humbled to be able to honour the wishes of these veterans and their families,” said Padre Klinger.

Master Seaman (MS) River Leggat and the Command team of HMCS Carleton were recently recognized and received the Liz Hoffman Memorial Commendation on October 17.

The Liz Hoffman Memorial Commendation recognizes individuals and groups who have exceeded expectations in helping their colleagues resolve a difficult problem, or have helped bring about positive and lasting change to the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

Bravo Zulu!

While retreating from a daring raid on a heavily defended German U-boat base at the port of Ostend, Belgium, Rowland Bourke heard cries from the water. Even though his vessel had taken heavy fire at close range, he was able to rescue three of his fellow sailors and escape with his vessel in one piece.

On November 25, the Federal Court of Canada approved a settlement for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Department of National Defence (DND) sexual misconduct class action. This settlement affects people who experienced sexual assault, sexual harassment, or discrimination based on gender, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation.

To learn more about the approved settlement, visit the class action website at http://caf-dnd-sexualmisconductclassaction.com/ or call 1-888-626-2611.

In the summer of 2017 the RCN began the process of upgrading the Naval Combat Dress (NCD) uniform. This month a comprehensive trial of the NCD’s replacement, the Naval Enhanced Combat Uniform or NECU, is set to begin and will include approximately 400 participants. Participants will include members aboard fleet ships and shore units, as well as Naval Reserve (NAVRES) Headquarters and select NAVRES Divisions.

The trial is expected to conclude in May 2020. Any changes made to the current specifications will be based solely on user feedback.

Meet MS Dany Nadeau. He was selected for sentry duty at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during this year’s Veterans’ Week. To be nominated for this honour, a CAF member must achieve a high standard of work and reflect and represent the values of the CAF.

Meet Lieutenant (Navy) Sean Place. He had the opportunity to visit 22 different communities on the Putumayo and Amazon Rivers as part of his six-week REGULUS exchange in the Peruvian Navy.