UKRAINIAN CANADIAN DELEGATION VISITS OPERATION UNIFIER
Nadia Gereliouk
Starychi, Ukraine
The International Peacekeeping and Security Centre (IPSC) covers 360 square kilometers and is the biggest military training centre in Ukraine. The IPSC is commonly known as the Yavoriv Training Centre as it is located near Starychi, Yavoriv district, 45 kilometers from Lviv. On April 20, 2018 representatives of Ukrainian Canadian organizations assisting Ukraine and supporting close Canada-Ukraine relations had the honour of visiting the IPSC to witness the Joint Task Forces of Operation UNIFIER (JTF-U). The mission of JTF-U is to provide Security Force Assistance (SFA) to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in order support their efforts in achieving NATO compatibility and enduring sector reform.
Officially launched in 2015, Operation UNIFIER is the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) mission to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). The operation’s focus is to assist with military training to help the AFU improve and build on their military capacity. Following the Maidan Revolution of Dignity and the annexation of Crimea in 2014, in September of 2014 the Government of Ukraine requested assistance, to which Canada’s response and contribution was sending Canadian soldiers and observers to conduct meetings and make assessments on how to best support Ukraine and its military. In April of 2015, the Government of Canada announced that Canada will send a military task force to train, advise, and assist the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In August of that year, Rotation 0 of Operation UNIFIER landed in Ukraine. According to Capt. Karyn Mazurek, Public Affairs Officer of Joint Task Forces under Operation UNIFIER, “Operation UNIFIER has different branches of training while its mentors and advisors are positioned throughout Ukraine.” Maj. Mark Smith, Commander of Charlie Company, adds that “members of the Canadian Armed Forces are positioned alongside their Ukrainian military counterparts in Odessa, Mykolaiv, Vasylkiv, and Desna.”
This military training mission has already conducted 5 rotations; each rotation is comprised of approximately 200 Canadian Armed Forces members and spends 6 months on the ground. According to Deputy Commander Maj. Michael Plaunt, the Canadian Armed Forces deployed with Operation UNIFIER have already trained over 6,363 personnel from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This operation has included combat engineer training, explosive ordnance disposal, medical and military police training, as well as logistics and military planning. The objective continues to be the support of Ukraine’s efforts in implementing Euro-Atlantic standards and NATO interoperability by 2020. Operation UNIFIER is an opportunity to establish productive relationships between the Canadian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This mission can identify new opportunities and expand security force assistance across tactical and operational levels.
The League of Ukrainian Canadians, League of Ukrainian Canadian Women, Friends of Ukrainian Defence Forces Fund, Forum TV, Guardian Angels Ukraine Fund, Ukrainian Echo community newspaper, the Hero’s Companion Project, and the International Council in Support of Ukraine representatives met with both the Armed Forces of Ukraine and members of the Canadian Armed Forces who are part of Operation UNIFIER.
The Head of the IPSC Museum, Stepan Kornienko, presented a brief historical overview of the training grounds. The territory has been used since 1918 to conduct field training by the military units of the Austro-Hungarian Army, and later by the Second Carpathian Rifle Brigade, as well as the infantry division of the Polish Armed Forces. The mission of the training grounds continued to be military in nature during the Soviet period and into the years of Ukraine’s independence. Since 2007, the IPSC has been a part of the joint NATO partnership training and education centre program. Its mission is to train military personnel according to national combat training programs, participate in peacekeeping operations, and liaise with other peacekeeping contingents and international organizations.
The representatives also had the opportunity to meet with Lieutenant Colonel Oleksiy Novikov and Captain Volodymyr Vus to discuss the capabilities of the IPSC, its training fields, various preparatory courses, and international exercises conducted on the grounds of the IPSC.
Lead instructor Major Serhii Hunkalo familiarized the Ukrainian Canadian delegation with the training program on improvised explosive devices (IEDs) found in eastern Ukraine.
There was also an opportunity to briefly witness the military operations mapping course.
Senior Lieutenant Yevhenii Lypoviak presented the Joint Conflict and Tactical Simulation (JCATS) software program which is a constructive battlefield simulation of conflict, both at the individual soldier and vehicle levels. Along with tactical simulations, the Ukrainian Canadian delegation witnessed the field conditions for the combat medical training, led by MCpl. Hanna Jocylyn of LOE 5. This medical course includes first aid training and evacuation procedures which teach the Ukrainian soldiers enhanced medical skills for saving casualties. MCpl. Jocylyn commended the ability of the Ukrainian soldiers to adapt and improvise in the changing environment at hand. Overall, the CAF had positive impressions of Ukraine and Ukraine’s Armed Forces, and expressed great hopes in contributing to regional stability.
The visit concluded at JTF-U’s Canadian Headquarters with an exchange of Ukrainian and Canadian flags, and drawings and cards written by the Yuri Lypa Ukrainian Heritage Academy in Toronto. In gratitude, members of Roto 5 of Operation UNIFIER signed two Canadian flags to be taken back to Canada.
Nadia Gereliouk
Officially launched in 2015, Operation UNIFIER is the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) mission to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). The operation’s focus is to assist with military training to help the AFU improve and build on their military capacity. Following the Maidan Revolution of Dignity and the annexation of Crimea in 2014, in September of 2014 the Government of Ukraine requested assistance, to which Canada’s response and contribution was sending Canadian soldiers and observers to conduct meetings and make assessments on how to best support Ukraine and its military. In April of 2015, the Government of Canada announced that Canada will send a military task force to train, advise, and assist the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In August of that year, Rotation 0 of Operation UNIFIER landed in Ukraine. According to Capt. Karyn Mazurek, Public Affairs Officer of Joint Task Forces under Operation UNIFIER, “Operation UNIFIER has different branches of training while its mentors and advisors are positioned throughout Ukraine.” Maj. Mark Smith, Commander of Charlie Company, adds that “members of the Canadian Armed Forces are positioned alongside their Ukrainian military counterparts in Odessa, Mykolaiv, Vasylkiv, and Desna.”
This military training mission has already conducted 5 rotations; each rotation is comprised of approximately 200 Canadian Armed Forces members and spends 6 months on the ground. According to Deputy Commander Maj. Michael Plaunt, the Canadian Armed Forces deployed with Operation UNIFIER have already trained over 6,363 personnel from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This operation has included combat engineer training, explosive ordnance disposal, medical and military police training, as well as logistics and military planning. The objective continues to be the support of Ukraine’s efforts in implementing Euro-Atlantic standards and NATO interoperability by 2020. Operation UNIFIER is an opportunity to establish productive relationships between the Canadian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This mission can identify new opportunities and expand security force assistance across tactical and operational levels.
The League of Ukrainian Canadians, League of Ukrainian Canadian Women, Friends of Ukrainian Defence Forces Fund, Forum TV, Guardian Angels Ukraine Fund, Ukrainian Echo community newspaper, the Hero’s Companion Project, and the International Council in Support of Ukraine representatives met with both the Armed Forces of Ukraine and members of the Canadian Armed Forces who are part of Operation UNIFIER.
The Head of the IPSC Museum, Stepan Kornienko, presented a brief historical overview of the training grounds. The territory has been used since 1918 to conduct field training by the military units of the Austro-Hungarian Army, and later by the Second Carpathian Rifle Brigade, as well as the infantry division of the Polish Armed Forces. The mission of the training grounds continued to be military in nature during the Soviet period and into the years of Ukraine’s independence. Since 2007, the IPSC has been a part of the joint NATO partnership training and education centre program. Its mission is to train military personnel according to national combat training programs, participate in peacekeeping operations, and liaise with other peacekeeping contingents and international organizations.
The representatives also had the opportunity to meet with Lieutenant Colonel Oleksiy Novikov and Captain Volodymyr Vus to discuss the capabilities of the IPSC, its training fields, various preparatory courses, and international exercises conducted on the grounds of the IPSC.
Senior Lieutenant Yevhenii Lypoviak presented the Joint Conflict and Tactical Simulation (JCATS) software program which is a constructive battlefield simulation of conflict, both at the individual soldier and vehicle levels. Along with tactical simulations, the Ukrainian Canadian delegation witnessed the field conditions for the combat medical training, led by MCpl. Hanna Jocylyn of LOE 5. This medical course includes first aid training and evacuation procedures which teach the Ukrainian soldiers enhanced medical skills for saving casualties. MCpl. Jocylyn commended the ability of the Ukrainian soldiers to adapt and improvise in the changing environment at hand. Overall, the CAF had positive impressions of Ukraine and Ukraine’s Armed Forces, and expressed great hopes in contributing to regional stability.
The visit concluded at JTF-U’s Canadian Headquarters with an exchange of Ukrainian and Canadian flags, and drawings and cards written by the Yuri Lypa Ukrainian Heritage Academy in Toronto. In gratitude, members of Roto 5 of Operation UNIFIER signed two Canadian flags to be taken back to Canada.
