Un convoi s’arrête à la suite de la découverte d’un dispositif explosif de circonstance (IED) lors d’un scénario durant l’ex Maple Arch, à Yavoriv, en Ukraine, le 16 septembre (caporal-chef David McCord/Affaires publiques/Armée de terre/5e Division canadienne)

25/09/2013 par Jacques N. Godbout - 45eNord.ca

La phase finale de l’exercice multinational Maple Arch 2013 (Ex MA 13) qui s’est déroulé dans le secteur d’entraînement du Centre international de formation au maintien de la paix, près de Yavoriv, en Ukraine, s’est terminée il y a quelques jours.

Les forces terrestres ukrainiennes et les Forces armées canadiennes étaient conjointement chargées de mener l’exercice de cette année, auquel participaient également des troupes lituaniennes et polonaises.

Plus de 500 soldats provenant de ces quatre pays ont participé à l’exercice qui s’est terminé le 20 septembre: 360 Ukrainiens, 27 Lituaniens, 87 Polonais ainsi que 33 instructeurs et membres de d’état-major canadiens, dont la majorité provenaient de la 5e Division du Canada , l’Armée du Canada atlantique.

L’Ex MA 13 porte surtout sur les opérations de soutien de la paix pour entraîner les titulaires des postes de commandement des bataillons et des compagnies. Il vise également à améliorer les compétences militaires de base des membres de la brigade multinationale lituanienne, polonaise et ukrainienne commandée par les Ukrainiens.

«Cet exercice est une fantastique entreprise qui favorise la création de liens entre le Canada et l’Ukraine, a déclare l’ambassadeur du Canada en Ukraine, monsieur Troy Lulashnyk, rapporte le ministère de la Défense dans le communiqué qui annonce la fin de l’exercice.

Le scénario était le suivant: la force de réaction rapide suit un transport de troupes blindé BTR-70 approchant un village où l’on soupçonne la présence d’insurgés. Pas très loin de là, une colonne de véhicules a été immobilisé par l’explosion d’un engin explosif de circonstance sur la route. Les soldats tirent sur les insurgés et le combat s’engage. Les soldats est européens prennent leur objectif, mettant en pratique toutes les connaissances qui leur ont été communiquées par leurs mentors canadiens durant leurs deux semaines d’instruction.

«Nous constatons que l’instruction de cette année a amélioré l’interopérabilité de nos forces en campagne et les militaires des quatre pays ont travaillé fort pour s’améliorer depuis le début de l’exercice», a déclaré pour sa part le colonel Joseph Shipley, chef d’état-major de la 5e Division du Canada.

TALLINN, May 26 (RIA Novosti)

Estonia completed on Saturday large-scale military drills, which began on May 9 and involved some 5,000 military personnel, including from NATO allies, the General Staff of the Estonian Defense Forces said.

The Spring Storm (Kevadtorm) drills have been held annually in different parts of Estonia since 2003. This year they were held in northern and central Estonia and involved for the first time units from the UK, Belgium and Poland as well as the Estonian navy.

“Our military servicemen gained experience of cooperation with pilots from Poland, air defense experts from Belgium, infantrymen from Britain, Latvia and Lithuania by participating in joint drills,” Estonian Commander in Chief Gen.-Maj. Riho Terras said at a line-up in the village of Kuusalu.

NATO allies were represented by an infantry company from the UK and Latvia each, a reconnaissance platoon from Lithuania and an anti-aircraft missile platoon from Belgium.

The exercise also involved Polish attack aircraft SU-22, Estonia's training jets L-39, light helicopters R-44, light transport planes An-2 and French Mirage F-1 aircraft, according to Estonian newspaper Postimees.

President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves attended the large-scale military exercise on May 17.

Estonia, as well as two other ex-Soviet republics in the Baltics - Latvia and Lithuania, joined NATO in March 2004.

21 May 2013 Ministry of Defence

Royal Marines from 42 Commando have been exercising their hostile action skills with EU partner forces on Salisbury Plain.

The Royal Marines and personnel from Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden and the Netherlands all form the EU Battle Group (EUBG) which provides a military rapid response force. All these countries took part in the exercise which took place last week.

The EUBG is made up of an infantry battalion with additional combat support, combat service support, and enablers, totalling between 1,500 and 3,000 military personnel.

During the exercise, the EUBG personnel were faced with a number of scenarios including dealing with hostile action at a checkpoint and controlling a public disturbance.

Minister for International Security Strategy, Dr Andrew Murrison, who attended the exercise, said:

Our primary focus remains on delivering European capabilities through NATO, but the EU can have a very important role in taking on tasks that are not suitable for NATO.

The UK supports the EU’s complementary defence role and has consistently made it clear that we would like to see many of our European partners do more to generate greater deployable capability, whether that’s through mechanisms such as the EUBG or bilaterally through arrangements such as the UKNL [UK/Netherlands] Amphibious Force, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary.

I found the capabilities demonstrated on Salisbury Plain deeply impressive. The EUBG is an adaptable and capable force and also an effective vehicle for improving the armed forces of member states. It is very clear that the militaries of the 5 contributing nations are at ease with one another and ready to deploy together if the need arises.

The UK supports the EUBG and our participation this year follows similar contributions in 2005 and 2008, when we provided battle groups on a UK national basis, and in 2010, when the battle group was based on the UKNL Amphibious Force.

Salisbury Plain Training Area is maintained by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), which delivers the Training Service.

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Hiskett, Principal Training Safety Officer, DIO Ops Training South West, said:

DIO’s priority is to support our Armed Forces and their allies as they prepare for operations. This exercise was the first of its kind for us and was an essential opportunity for these disparate organisations to come together and conduct joint planning and training.

The size and nature of Salisbury Plain means that it offers excellent training facilities, ideal conditions and the perfect backdrop for complex and diverse exercises such as these.

At over 38,000 hectares (94,000 acres) the Plain is the UK’s largest training area and offers first-class and diverse training facilities to enable the British Army to meet its training requirements to prepare for operations worldwide.