3 x Griffons headed to Jamaica for hurricane assistance

[The Bread Guy]

Stay safe, folks!

Canada will deploy three Griffon helicopters and 65 Canadian Forces personnel to Jamaica to assist with medevacs and search and rescue efforts during hurricane season, Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced Wednesday.

The assistance comes at the request of the Jamaican government as the Jamaica Defence Force lacks helicopters suitable for such operations.

Part of the Military Training and Co-operation Program, the initiative dubbed Operational Jaguar will also involve training exercises in search and rescue.

"Our government is committed to ensuring that our Canadian Forces are ready to assist our allies on the world stage, if and when the call comes," MacKay said in a news release.

"I could not be more pleased that our men and women in uniform will be working alongside members of the Jamaica Defence Force during that country's coming hurricane season." ....

Source:  Postmedia News, 10 Aug 11

- edited to fix subject title - DOHHH! -

 

[Occam]

Hmmm...Sandals Montego Bay, or Breezes Ocho Rios.  Decisions, decisions.  ;D

 

[The Bread Guy]

Hmmm...Sandals Montego Bay, or Breezes Ocho Rios.  Decisions, decisions.  ;D

Sounds sexy, indeed, but methinks it might not be as.... hospitable if a honkin' hurricaine hits.

 

[Occam]

Sounds sexy, indeed, but methinks it might not be as.... hospitable if a honkin' hurricaine hits.

Agreed, but can you think of a nicer place to wait for a passing hurricane?    8)

 

[The Bread Guy]

Jamaican media coverage .....

Minister of National Security, Senator Dwight Nelson last week announced that the Canadian Government, through its Ministry of National Defence, is deploying three CH-146 Griffon tactical helicopters and 65 Canadian Forces personnel to support the Jamaica Defence Force during the 2011 hurricane season. The deployment follows a request from the Jamaican Government. Minister Nelson said he was most appreciative of the Canadian initiative, noting that the three helicopters will shore up the JDF's capabilities. In welcoming the deployment, Nelson added that JDF personnel will also benefit from training with the Canadian Forces. Minister Nelson pointed to the extremely successful long-standing alliance between the Canadian Forces and the Jamaica Defence Force ....

.... and the CF's fact sheet on Operation Jaguar and Task Force Jamaica.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Wanted:  logistical support for the deployment - highlights mine:

.... Deployed Logistics Support Services - Jamaica .... To provide urgent logistic support services under a Regional Individual Standing Offer (RISO) for the ADM(Mat) Directorate of Major Projects of the Department of National Defence, Ottawa, Ontario for deployed forces in and around the area of Jamaica on an as and when requested basis.

The period of the Standing Offer shall be for approximately six months with one additional six month option period for a maximum estimated amount of $4.5M dollars commencing as soon as possible.

Activities on this mission will include provision of goods and services to support: critical casualty evacuation, medical evacuation, search and rescue, and humanitarian operations and disaster relief aviation support ....

Source:  MERX posting, 18 Aug 11

 

[The Bread Guy]

This from a bid document update (attached):

.... (Q1): A clarification was desired regarding the wording "in and around Jamaica" vs. other references within the Statement of Requirement (SoR) speaking of the greater area of the Caribbean. The clarification was oriented to location.

(A1): The envisioned mission is currently focused upon Jamaica, and current  conditions suggest mobilization would occur in Jamaica. However, the SoR allows flexibility regarding the location from where the contractor would provide/headquarter support services. Accordingly, base locations could be nearby (or be moved nearby) Jamaica - but the military operation will be focused to support Jamaica.


(Q2): Most of the Request For Standing Offer (RFSO) documents from the PWGSC office in Halifax, Nova Scotia, are for naval support. Is this RFSO for naval support?

(A2): At this point in time, it is expected that support services would be provided to Army and Air Force elements of the Canadian Forces. However, the Crown reserves the right to engage the holder of the Standing Offer to support naval operations - or other military entities as deemed necessary. It is envisioned initially that services will be provided to support a few Canadian Forces supplied Griffon helicopters and approximately 70 - 80 troops. It is not envisioned that the contractor will be needed to provide helicopters ....

 

[The Bread Guy]

.... good to go, according to the Jamaican government Info-Machine:

The Jamaica Defence Force's (JDF) search and rescue (SAR) efforts will be enhanced during the current hurricane season with the support of Operation JAGUAR, under which a Canadian military team will provide assistance.

Launched on Tuesday August 23 at a flag raising ceremony at the JDF Air Wing in Kingston, Operation JAGUAR resulted from a request by the Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, for aviation support from the Canadian Forces (CF) for the 2011 hurricane season.

The task force comprising a crew of over 65 aviation personnel and three Griffon Tactical Utility helicopters, in the event of a hurricane, will provide critical casualty and medical evacuation, search and rescue humanitarian operations and disaster relief and emergency medical care support for the Government of Jamaica and the JDF.

Commanding Officer of Operation JAGUAR, Lieutenant Colonel Christian Lalande, said the initiative marked the first time Canada has deployed its Griffon helicopters, with air crew and support personnel, to hold a search and rescue posture with combat support and primary SAR resources outside of Canada ....

Jamaica Defence Force’s (JDF) Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier Rocky Meade (second right), speaking with, from left, Canada’s High Commissioner to Jamaica, His Excellency Stephen Hallihan (second left), Commanding Officer of Operation JAGUAR, Lieutenant Colonel Christian Lalande and Commanding Officer of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Air Wing, Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Roper, during a flag raising ceremony at the JDF Air Wing, Up Park Camp on Tuesday (August 23), to launch Operation JAGUAR. Under Operation JAGUAR, a Canadian Forces team is assisting the JDF with search and rescue efforts during the 2011 hurricane season.

Commanding Officer of Operation JAGUAR, Lieutenant Colonel Christian Lalande (right), presents a special coin to Lieutenant Jermaine Francis of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Air Wing, in appreciation of his liaison work with the Canadian military contingent in Jamaica for Operation JAGUAR. Occasion was a flag raising ceremony at the Air Wing, Up Park Camp to launch Operation JAGUAR, a Canadian military/JDF collaboration on search and rescue efforts during the 2011 hurricane season. Seated in the background are Canada’s High Commissioner to Jamaica, His Excellency Stephen Hallihan, and his wife Cathy.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Tuesday, 23 August 2011, was a big day for Task Force Jamaica. In the morning, the CH-146 Griffon helicopter detachment declared full operational capability and formally raised the Maple Leaf flag at the Canadian compound at Up Park Camp, the home of the Jamaica Defence Force Air Wing. That afternoon, the task force conducted its first no-duff medevac mission.

The call from the Jamaica Defence Force came in at 1:00 p.m. local time: a patient with kidney failure could not be stabilized at the health centre in tiny St. Ann’s Bay, on the island’s north coast, and needed the facilities and expertise of the University Hospital of the West Indies in downtown Kingston, on the south coast. The crew of five — two pilots, one flight engineer and two search-and-rescue technicians — took off immediately ....

CEFCOM info machine, 26 Aug 11

 

[The Bread Guy]

.... shared three weeks later:

Task Force Jamaica achieved a significant milestone on Monday, September 19, with the CH-146 Griffon fleet flying their 100th sortie since deploying to Jamaica in early August.  “Reaching 100 sorties is important as it helps mark the progress we are making not only in Force Generation training, but also in our mission support to the Jamaica Defence Force when called upon,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Christian Lalande, Commander of Task Force Jamaica.

Of those 100 sorties, seven have been flown in support of the Jamaica Defence Force. Six of the missions have been casualty evacuation missions, while one was a brief search and rescue (SAR) mission in the Montego Bay region. Five casualties, ranging in age from one day old to 54 years, have been transported to Kingston area hospitals by Griffon helicopters since the mission achieved full operational capability on Tuesday, August 23.

The majority of the sorties, however, have been for pilot and flight engineer training.  To date, 10 pilots, 5 flight engineers, and 11 search and rescue technicians have participated in Force Generation training, resulting in 14 qualifications achieved so far ....

CEFCOM Info-Machine, 11 Oct 11

 

[The Bread Guy]

For over four decades, Canada trained the helicopter pilots and mechanics of the Jamaica Defence Force. But last year, Jamaica decided to bring home the training and do all the work itself.

However, its mechanics couldn't keep up with the demand and after a while the Jamaicans found themselves in the very uncomfortable position of not having enough working helicopters, meaning no way to conduct high-stakes rescues and medical evacuations.

With a very bad hurricane season predicted, officials there were worried. So they called up Canada and asked if we could send down some of our world-class search and rescue crews.

Canada agreed and, in mid-August, sent along three Griffon helicopters and 65 Canadian Forces personnel — only the second time in history that Canada's search and rescue teams have been deployed in another country.

Normally, the crews of the bright yellow choppers are responsible for rescuing sailors at sea, or finding the survivors of a plane crash, or hoisting those trapped by floodwaters.

In Jamaica, they're doing much the same thing. But there's a bonus in this for Canada — the training. In recent years, every one of Canada's helicopter squadrons has been deployed to Afghanistan.

But the problem is that, while there, they've been flying combat support, which is very different from search and rescue. And SAR, as its known, is one of those skills that fades when you aren't doing it ....

CBC.ca, 11 Oct 11

 

[The Bread Guy]

Ottawa is negotiating an arrangement with Jamaica to allow the Canadian military to stage out of the Caribbean island in the event of trouble — or even natural disasters in the regions.

The two Commonwealth partners have been quietly developing closer ties, something that recently manifested itself with the deployment of three CH-146 Griffon helicopters to back up the Jamaican defence force.

"We have a great partnership in the region," said Lt.-Gen. Stuart Beare, who's in charge of Canada's overseas military force. "Geographically, it's in a perfect spot."

He said the country's position — centrally located in the Caribbean — puts it at "an interesting cross-roads" in the region, which has suffered its share from disasters ranging from the 2010 earthquake in Haiti to repeated hurricane devastation.

The Defence Department has been quietly scouting locations around the world to establish staging bases, small-scale depots that can be quickly expanded to support operations should the need arise. Defence Minister Peter MacKay recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Kuwait to create such a hub to support military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia ....

The Canadian Press, 24 Oct 11

 

[The Bread Guy]

The Canadian Forces (CF) mission deployed in Kingston, Jamaica, formally lowered the Maple Leaf flag today to mark the end of Operation JAGUAR and celebrate the successful completion of its mandate.

“Canada and Jamaica enjoy close, long-standing and historic bilateral relations. The Canadian Forces have enjoyed a productive 45-year relationship with the Jamaica Defence Force, which has been mutually beneficial,” said the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence. “I'm proud our Forces are building on their long-standing traditions of working with allies and making a difference in the lives of others.”

Operation JAGUAR began with a request from the Government of Jamaica for military aviation and search-and-rescue support.  Task Force Jamaica, the team deployed on Operation JAGUAR, arrived at Up Park Camp, the headquarters of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Air Wing, on August 10, 2011, with three CH‑146 Griffon helicopters and 65 Canadian Forces personnel under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Christian Lalande.

“It was an honour to participate in the flag lowering ceremony today that marked the end of Operation JAGUAR. We recognize those Canadian men and women who have had the opportunity to serve in Jamaica these past few months,” said General Walt Natynczyk, the Chief of the Defence Staff. “We were privileged to have had this time to strengthen our relationships, through training and experience, with our partners in the Jamaica Defence Force. It's my hope that we will continue to work together, both in the Caribbean and wherever we may be called upon to serve next.”

Brigadier Rocky Meade, Jamaica’s Deputy Chief of Defence, also attended. “The relationship between the Jamaica Defence Force and the Canadian Forces has been a long-standing one and is an embodiment of the mutually beneficial relationship shared over the past four decades,” he said. “The Jamaica Defence Force would like to recognize the efforts of the Canadian Forces for their commitment to the task. Notably, Operation JAGUAR serves as a testament to the continued collaborative efforts between the Jamaica Defence Force and the Canadian Forces.”

The recently concluded Operation JAGUAR assisted in fulfilling the mandate of the JDF while enabling the Canadian Forces to conduct mission-essential training for search-and-rescue operations. Since August 16, when flying operations began, Task Force Jamaica supported the JDF with 29 search-and-rescue missions, casualty evacuation missions and medical evacuation missions, assisting 31 Jamaicans. Search-and-rescue training – more than 445 hours in total as of November 14 – resulted in qualifications for 17 pilots and flight engineers ....

CF news release, 15 Nov 11