Your Navy Today - Volume 4 Issue 8

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.

Canada’s first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship recently checked off two major milestones. Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Harry DeWolf completed its first operational deployment, Operation Nanook 2021, and was the first of its class to sail through northern waters.

Alongside HMCS Goose Bay, ships from the Canadian Coast Guard and the United States Coast Guard, Harry DeWolf participated in exercises that simulated responses to a major maritime incident.

Operation Nanook 2021 ran from August 3 to September 12, 2021, but was only the first leg of HMCS Harry DeWolf’s ongoing deployment – the circumnavigation of North America.

Next up for the ship, after a short ongoing stopover in Esquimalt, B.C., is to set sail for Operation Caribbe, Canada’s participation in U.S.-led enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Currently deployed to the Asia-Pacific region on Operations Projection and Neon, HMCS Winnipeg recently joined the Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG21) for Pacific Crown 21-4 in the eastern waters of the Kanto region of Japan. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force ships and Japanese Air Self-Defense Force aircraft, including Japanese Ship Izumo and an F35, conducted a landing exercise with CSG21, in addition to conducting essential maritime manoeuvres.

On September 10, the ship arrived in Yokosuka, Japan, for a scheduled port visit before beginning its rotation on Op Neon conducting surveillance operations, identifying ships defying United Nations Security Council resolutions against North Korea.

During the visit, Winnipeg was happy to host Canadian Ambassador to Japan, Ian McKay, and Rear Admiral Carl A. Lahti, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Japan, on September 13.

On September 23, the ship made another scheduled port stop in Busan, South Korea. Though the crew did not disembark, they made the most of their stop and made sure they were ready to continue conducting forward naval presence operations in the Asia-Pacific region.

HMCS Fredericton continues its rotation as Flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNGM1), conducting maritime security awareness patrols in the North Atlantic-Norwegian Sea.

It was a busy month for Freddie, as the ship welcomed His Dutch Majesty’s Ship (HNLMS) Van Amstel, a multi-purpose frigate of the Royal Netherland’s Navy, and His Norwegian Majesty’s Ship (HNoMS) Maud, a logistics and support vessel, to the task group before sailing to Glasgow, Scotland, for a short port visit before participating in Dynamic Mariner 21-2.

Dynamic Mariner 21-2 took place from September 18 to 30, and tested NATO's Response Force Maritime Component and interoperability with NATO forces, enhancing flexibility and improving the ability to work together among allied nations.

The exercise brought together 20 surface ships, two submarines, seven maritime patrol aircraft and other air assets, as well as personnel from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Cutlass Fury is a Canadian-led, multinational exercise that takes place every two years. This year’s serials focused on anti-submarine warfare, but included anti-surface gunnery exercises, and incoming missile and aircraft exercises.

“Cutlass Fury 21 provided the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) an excellent opportunity to train the Canadian Atlantic fleet, allies, and joint elements in maritime tactical-level warfare as part of a multinational task group,” said Commodore Christopher Robinson.

This year’s successful iteration took place off the coasts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland from September 7 to 17, and included participation by HMC Ships Halifax, Toronto, Montréal, Summerside, Kingston and Moncton, Her Majesty’s Canadian Submarine Windsor, assets from the Royal Canadian Air Force, the United States Navy and the French Navy.

At sea in the Canadian Arctic on September 11, crew members of HMCS Harry DeWolf solemnly assembled on the starboard bridge wing to unfold, raise and then lower a flag to half-mast.

On that Saturday morning, Lieutenant Junior Grade Kyle Luchau of the United States Navy (USN) thought he would be the only person commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks while attached to this Canadian ship. The exact opposite was true and, as many Canadians did on that day 20 years ago, the crew of Harry DeWolf supported their American friend.

After raising the Stars and Stripes, the bridge watchkeeper began a day-long narration of events from 9/11 over the ship’s intercom system in real time. Each time the bridge watchkeeper announced the next chronological event – planes taking off, their collisions with the World Trade Center towers, the evacuation of lower Manhattan – the crew paused from their tasks to listen and reflect.

At bases and Naval Reserve divisions across the country, military and civilian members of the RCN team marked the inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30. Honouring Survivors of Indian residential schools, their families, and communities, the day establishes a formal public commemoration of the tragic, painful and ongoing history of Indian residential schools that will remain a vital component of the reconciliation process.

The RCN shares the same duty all Canadians have to honour First Nations, Inuit and Métis Survivors, their families and their communities, and to ensure that commemoration of our shared history and the legacy of Indian residential schools remain an essential part of reconciliation

Healing is a long process, which must pass through the education of each and every one of us.

Resources are available to you through the Member Assistance Program for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel or the Employee Assistance Program for civilian Defence Team members. You can reach both programs by calling 1-800-268-7708 (or TTY for people with hearing impairments at 1-800-567-5803).

A National Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support to former Indian residential school students. You can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-Hour National Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419.

Indigenous personnel can access the Hope for Wellness Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or connect to the online chat through their website: https://www.hopeforwellness.ca/.

When six young Canadian women decided to become nurses, they couldn’t have imagined they would be serving at sea at the beginning of the First World War.

Motivated by patriotism, loyalty, a sense of duty and in many cases, a sense of adventure, Elizabeth Pierce, Mabel Ogilvie Lindsay, Penelope Mellen, Annie Dover, Bessie Watson and Emma Gertrude Black helped contribute to a new social perception of women’s capabilities and potential in the early 20^th century.

These nurses were the first women to be officially accepted into the RCN and served during August 1914 in His Majesty’s Canadian Hospital Ship Prince George, the only Canadian hospital ship to sail with the RCN.

Retired naval reservist and friend to the RCN, Lieutenant (Navy) (Lt(N)) Peter Ward, was honoured earlier this month for his efforts in saving part of RCN history.

Lt(N) Ward is a founding member of Haida Inc., a group of five who saved the RCN’s “fightingest ship”, the Second World War Tribal-class destroyer HMCS Haida, from disposal. On October 4, he was virtually presented with the Naval Association of Canada’s Admirals’ Medal in recognition of his contribution to the advancement of maritime affairs. Vice-Admiral Craig Baines, Commander of the RCN, congratulated Lt(N) Ward, and said, “hearing your moving story has made me a prouder sailor and a prouder Canadian."

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has released a new peaked cap for its sailors. Issue of the new cap will be phased in incrementally as stock becomes available, with the goal of having the new peaked cap fully available to all members of the RCN by November 2022. The bowler cap will remain available. During this transition period, both the old sea service cap and the new peaked cap may be worn. Once the transition period is over, the old peaked cap will not be allowed.

The new caps will be made available to non-commissioned members first, beginning in September, and to officers in early 2022, based upon production and delivery schedule.

Naval non-commissioned members and naval officer cadets can submit their online order now for the new peaked cap through the Logistiks Unicorp website. The initial issue of the first full cap ensemble is at no cost to members. After the initial issue, members will be able to order an additional cover using their Logistiks Unicorp points. Sizing is the same as is used for the current sea service cap.

Current and former CAF members, and current and former employees of the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Staff of the Non-Public Funds, Canadian Forces affected by sexual misconduct in the military workplace have one month left to submit a claim as part of the CAF-DND sexual misconduct class action settlement. Sexual misconduct is inconsistent with CAF-DND values and ethics and is a problem that is being taken very seriously. This settlement is an important part of this commitment.

The individual claims process component of the CAF-DND sexual misconduct class action settlement commenced on May 25, 2020, and allows those affected by sexual misconduct in the military workplace to submit a confidential claim for financial compensation and apply to participate in a Restorative Engagement program, until the period to file a claim closes on November 24, 2021.

Meet Sailor 1st Class (S1) Fanny Fontaine. S1 Fontaine is a naval reservist and was a cook onboard HMCS Calgary during its latest deployment on Operations Projection and Artemis.

Having always had a passion for art and design, S1 Fontaine explains in the video her process in designing the morale patch for the deployment, as well as the many other creative projects she undertook while at sea.