By Canadian Press

HMCS Halifax sets sail on 6-month deployment on New Year’s Day

Jan 1, 2021 | 12:32 PM

HALIFAX — A naval ship based in Nova Scotia left the country today bound for a six-month deployment in support of a long-standing NATO training mission.

The HCMS Halifax is set to join NATO’s Operation Reassurance, which the Department of National Defence describes as the country’s largest current international military mission. 

The naval ship, manned by a crew of 252 and commanded by Commodore Bradley Peats, set sail from Her Majesty’s Canadian Dockyard Friday to join Standing NATO Maritime Group One.

Peats says the Halifax will be the 15th Canadian warship to be sent on the operation since 2014 and will help demonstrate solidarity with other Allied naval forces.

The departure ceremony was limited to military personnel and civilian dignitaries on the jetty, which would usually be filled with friends and family seeing the ship off, due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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The Canadian Armed Forces has previously had members serve on the operation in central and eastern Europe, conducting training exercises to ensure the force is ready to work with Allied partners in the event of a conflict.

The Halifax departure follows one out of southern Ontario of the HMCS Toronto that left on its six-month deployment on the operation this summer and returned in December.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 1, 2021. 

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press