HMCS Fredericton Welcome Home Initiative

Left: CPO1 Darcy Byrd – Fleet Chief Petty Officer, Canadian Atlantic Fleet  Right: Commodore Richard Feltham – Commander Canadian Fleet Atlantic

Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Fredericton has been deployed on Op Reassurance since January 20th of this year and is scheduled to return from its 6-month deployment on July 28th in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The frigate is part of a range of military activities undertaken by the CAF to support NATO assurance and deterrence measures and demonstrates Canada’s commitment to promote security and stability in Central and Eastern Europe. Not only did the crew deal with the normal difficulties of being deployed and away from loved ones but they were also faced with the COVID-19 pandemic abroad. This significantly impacted their area of operations in Europe starting as early as March and made it increasingly difficult to disembark the ship as most countries had major restrictions. Additionally, on April 29, 2020, six members of the Canadian Armed Forces were killed when a Royal Canadian Air Force CH-148 Cyclone helicopter crashed while conducting maritime surveillance operations with HMCS Fredericton. The conduct, professionalism and resiliency of these brave sailors is truly inspiring and is something that should be recognized.

HMCS Fredericton Welcome Home Initiative acknowledges that our sailors and air detachment have dealt with great adversity throughout their deployment overseas. We wish to provide an avenue for Canadians to show their deepest gratitude and sincere thanks for our men and women returning on board Freddie through various online/social media messages.

Be sure to send them some support on social media on the arrival day (July 28) using your own platforms and link to them via the hashtags and handles (below).

HMCS Fredericton – Social Media Accounts  
Facebook –  @fredericton337
Instagram – @hmcs_fredericton  

Hashtags:
#welcomehomeFreddie
#FreddieStrong
#Stalker22
#WeWillRememberThem
#WeTheNavy

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