CANZEX 2007

Legal staff officer from Headquarters 3rd Land Force Group, Captain Leishia Pettigrew, has just returned from a 6 week exchange with the Canadian Defence Force (CANZEX). In the following article she shares her experiences at work and play in Canada.

Work

On 30 April 2007 I finished packing my bags and abandoned Headquarters Third Land Force Group to head to Canada for the CANZEX 07 exchange. 

My initial destination was Victoria, British Colombia, via San Francisco.  I arrived at CANADIAN FORCES BASE (CFB) Esquimalt and quickly settled into the wardroom.

The plan was for me to spend my time in British Colombia at the office of the Pacific Region Assistant Judge Advocate General – AJAG (P).

The so called laid-back introduction to life in a new office lasted about 5 seconds, as I happened to arrive in the middle of a major discipline issue. However, this was not as bad as it sounds since giving legal advice on this occasion meant catching a Sea King helicopter out to the ship HMCS ALGONQUIN at sea.

It was a fabulous day and the aerial tour was appreciated. My host officer Major Philip Drew, assured me this was not how they always did business - but then went off to find something else to top that experience!  

I had arrived just in time to attend the Battle of the Atlantic Formal dinner which commemorates Canada’s involvement in the Battle of the Atlantic during WWII.  

With about 125 people there it was a lively introduction to wardroom life. I was also able to meet the three Royal New Zealand Navy officers serving aboard the HMCS REGINA and HMCS ALGONQUIN.

The dinner was great and meant that I recognised a couple of faces when I headed out on EXERCISE TRIDENT FURY the following week.

EXERCISE TRIDENT FURY is a multi-national maritime warfare exercise involving four Pacific Fleet warships, three United States Naval vessels from Third Fleet, a submarine and a United States Coast Guard vessel. Air assets allocated to the exercise included more than 40 combat aircraft.  I was at sea for four days during which time I observed the firing of warning shots, boards, refuelling at sea and participated in life on board. 

Following my time at sea I set off for Wainwright, Alberta, where I attended EXERCISE MAPLE GUARDIAN, the Canadian pre-deployment training for Afghanistan.  Having been involved in pre-deployment training for NZDF personnel deployments for several years, this was a great opportunity to compare how another nation approaches this operation.

The Canadian Force’s contribution to Afghanistan is significantly larger than the NZDF’s, however the philosophy underlying their mission and training is very similar. 

When this exercise wrapped up I headed down to Edmonton for a tour of CFB Edmonton, including the Service Prison and Services Corrective Establishment.
Since the NZDF does not have a service prison, it was an interesting visit. 

The AJAG (P) office was very busy during my visit.   While all the snow capped peaks are very pretty, if they melt too fast this can be a bit of a problem. This was the case while I was in Victoria, so a significant amount of resources were dedicated in anticipation of Vancouver flooding. I participated in the planning for this domestic operation, which is similar to the New Zealand civil defence tasking. In my last week at CFB Esquimalt I completed the Presiding Officers Training Course. Essentially this is the course required before anyone can conduct a Summary Trial in the Canadian Military Justice System.  It proved to be a useful conclusion to my rapidly growing understanding of the CF Military Justice System.

Once CANZEX was finished I headed across Canada to Kingston, Ontario for an Operations Law course.  Course content focussed on the legal aspects of both domestic and international operations and the lectures and syndicate work were excellent.

My experience during CANZEX gave me a good grounding in relevant Canadian law which shares a number of similarities with New Zealand law.

My 14 course mates were friendly and great to work with. Despite a large amount of homework we managed to get out of barracks on Hockey nights as the local Irish Bar had enough big screen TV, beer and buffalo wings for us all.  

Play

While I certainly made the most of the opportunity to see how the Canadian Defence Force does business, I also got out and about sightseeing as much as possible.  I had an overnight stop in San Francisco which I used to maximum advantage – checking out Alcatraz Island, the steepest street in the world, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

On my way to EXERCISE TRIDENT FURY I was able to see some of Vancouver Island, including Torfino, which is a beautiful area.  I saw black bears on the side of the road which was pretty exciting.  I had a weekend in Vancouver with friends during which I was introduced to the Grouse Grind – a nice walk up a hill, and we checked out the British Colombia Museum of Anthropology and the Vancouver Art Gallery. 

Edmonton has the biggest mall in North America and I figured it would be a little rude not to check it out. It’s going to be pretty big when it includes an ice hockey rink, a water park and a theme park! In Toronto I managed to fit in three shows and an overnight trip to Niagara Falls.

The hospitality of the Canadian people was amazing. My host unit and host officers were very generous and nights out were lively affairs.

It was a great opportunity to see how one of our Commonwealth brethren work, and I recommend the exchange experience highly. 

Ends

CANZEX provides an opportunity for military and civilian personnel from the NZDF to spend time with the Canadian Defence Force. It encourages the two Defence Forces to exchange ideas and experiences etc.  The concept of CANZEX is a targeted approach to promote cooperation and understanding between the participants through:

•  promoting joint capabilities
• enhancing interoperability
• promoting cooperation and capability understanding
• •promoting team building and leadership development

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