Canadian soldiers leave Edmonton for Latvia as part of ongoing mission to support NATO

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches a grim three-year anniversary, 180 members of the Canadian Armed Forces are leaving Edmonton this week and heading to Latvia as part of an ongoing NATO mission that has been extended, in part, because of the war.

On Wednesday, CAF members being sent to the northern European country said farewell to family members as they prepared for a six-month deployment as part of a mission dubbed Operation Reassurance.

Operation Reassurance first began in 2014. In March 2022, the federal government announced a multi-year renewal of the operation a year ahead of schedule because of “the changing security situation in eastern Europe.”

Chief petty officer Whitney Ell is leaving her young son as she prepares for her second tour of duty.

“Before I really only had to worry about myself, and that’s not the case now,” she noted. “You kind of leave half of your head and your heart here, and then you bring the other half with you — so that’s tough.”

Sgt. Gabriel Houde told Global News he has been serving with the military for over eight years and is looking forward to the opportunity to be deployed and apply his skills.

“I finally get to cross the start line and actually go and deploy,” he said. “It’s a little bit like if you train for a marathon and finally you can get to the race. So I am really excited.”

The members being deployed are led by the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), Canada’s only tank regiment. They will be part of what is currently the CAF’s largest mission overseas.

“The newly created Canadian-led NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia is part of the biggest reinforcement of NATO collective defence in a generation,” the CAF said in an email, adding that the mission the Canadians will be part of is aimed at supporting “NATO deterrence and defence measures in central and eastern Europe.”

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“By being there, we demonstrate a willingness of NATO as an alliance to support all of its alliance members,” Col. Sean French said.

Lt.-Col. Darryn Gray said those being deployed will have access to “the best of our equipment.”

“We are trained and we are ready to be able to support our NATO allies.”

Those being deployed have trained nearly a year for this particular mission, which involves a total of about 2,000 CAF members.

–with files from Jaclyn Kucey, Global News