HMCS Brandon participates in Exercise Arctic Edge 2022

Lieutenant(N) Warner Moczulski, Navigating Officer, takes a bearing during pilotage navigation through Seymour Narrows, B.C. Photo by Lieutenant (N) Pamela Hogan

Lt(N) Pamela Hogan
HMCS Brandon

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HMCS Brandon is participating in the United States Arctic-collective Exercise Arctic Edge 2022 in the Alaskan Command area of responsibility until March 11.

The biannual exercise helps sharpen Canadian-U.S. interoperability and sharing of cold-weather warfare expertise in the Arctic.

Inaugurated in 2018, the exer­cise is carried out in multiple venues across the Alaskan area of responsibility and runs concurrently to related Arctic exercises from late February until mid-March, with

approximately 1,000 participants.

It is sponsored by North American Aerospace Defence and United States Northern Command and planned and delivered by United States Alaskan Command. Canadian Armed Forces units from the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force participate.

For this third iteration of Exercise Arctic Edge, Brandon is the first and only Royal Canadian Navy vessel participating in the naval vignette. The team aboard the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel is exercising Arctic warfare interoperability coordinated by the United States Navy Mine Countermeasures Group Three, which simulates cold weather mine-countermeasure activities. The embarked navy Seabed Intervention Systems team launches a Remote Environment Measuring Unit (REMUS) 100 to scan the area for mock underwater mines laid by Mine Countermeasures Group Three. 

To identify the scanned objects, the team evaluates the acoustic profile graphic of the undersea surface produced by the REMUS 100, and identifies any underwater mines in the image that require intervention by the embarked Clearance Diver team from Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific).

The dive team deploys to either render safe or dispose of potential underwater mines, which Brandon returns to their U.S. counterparts in Juneau, Alaska, before returning to Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in mid-March.

Sailor First Class Aaron Speare prepares to dive during a dive exercise in Perrin Anchorage, B.C.
Photo by Lieutenant (N) Pamela Hogan