Operation Reassurance: Many soldiers from Valcartier land in Latvia

A contingent of approximately 175 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel departed Valgardier for Latvia on Saturday evening to participate in Operation REASSURANCE, the largest overseas mission of the Canadian Armed Forces.

“Last year, Canada and several NATO countries announced their commitment to increase their presence in the Baltics. Canada has already been in Latvia for several years, but here we are going to go from a battle group (1000 people) to a brigade (2200),” explains Colonel Cedric Asperault.

This is the sixth in a series of military flights scheduled for August to early August. In total, around 1,200 players from 5 people^e A Canadian mechanized brigade group will also leave Valgardier for Latvia.

“This will be the largest Canadian contribution in many years. In terms of figures for military contributions outside of the country, we’re going back to figures for Afghanistan,” he said.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to Canada Caspars Ozolis was also on hand to greet the troops as they departed.

Commander of NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia (BMN-L), Colonel Cedric Ospiralt, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to Canada, Kaspars Ozoliņš | DIDIER DEBUSSCHERE/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC

“A Big Challenge”

Colonel Aspiralt will also take command once more while NATO is the commander of Latvia’s multinational force.

He will assume command of the new brigade in Riga, which will be made up mainly of Canadians but will also include soldiers from 11 NATO member states. So he will be responsible for all the players and various teams for setting up the mission there.

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DIDIER DEBUSSCHERE/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC

“It’s going to be a big challenge, it’s the first time a team from Quebec is doing it, and it’s our honor. It’s not going to be an easy task, however, it requires a lot of work and reflection,” he emphasized.

Consisting of artillery, armor, mechanized infantry, combat support, combat service support and electronic warfare components, the brigade will train to respond to attack and present a united front against the enemy.