Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Arsenault

07.05.2016 14:06

The Joint Task Force-Ukraine Commander of Operation UNIFIER, Canada’s training mission in Ukraine

Our training mission in Ukraine is a mutually beneficial project, Canadians have much to learn from Ukrainians

The last two years have shown that Canada is one of the closest friends of Ukraine even despite huge distance between two countries. It is consistently ranked as one of the top three countries in the world in terms of the amount of assistance to Ukraine. Though regarding the speed of response to critical requests of Kyiv, Canada is probably the world champion. However, in addition to valuable financial and material resources, such as soft loans, tens of thousands of military footwear and uniforms, means for demining, goggles, night vision devices, mobile hospitals and lots of other very useful equipment, Canada also conveys its priceless experience. Thus, for more than 6 months around 200 Canadian Armed Forces personnel have been training Ukrainian soldiers at International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Starychi and Demining Centre in Kamyanets-Podilsky.

Ukrinform had an exclusive opportunity to interview the Joint Task ForceUkraine Commander of Operation UNIFIER, Canada’s training mission in Ukraine Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Arsenault.

TRAINING IS CONSTANTLY ADAPTED TO THE NEEDS OF THE FRONTLINE

Canadian military training mission in Ukraine has undergone one rotation already. Have you changed your training course since previous group left Ukraine?

Of course the training is adjusted to theneeds of Ukrainian partners. Compared to how our programme was build before - it has certainly evolved.We are maintaining contacts with Ukrainian soldiers who have been trained here so that they can provide us with lessons learned and we then adapt our training to their needs.

Do you hear back how useful your training is on a real battlefield?

Yes. We are currently completing our second training block. Few weeks ago we had an opportunity to meet with the leadership of the battalion that was here on a first block.They were able to give us a lot of feedback on the training that they’ve received here and how useful it was for them. It was a great talk that helped us update our programme.

Does Ukrainian training mission differ from other similar Canadian missions abroad?

This mission is a little different for us. For example, when we were doing training in Afghanistan, we were starting from zero with military forces that were essentially civilians joining new military units. Whereas here in Ukraine the soldiers are experienced, many of them have already been to combat, in a lot of cases they have experience that’s very different from ours. It is a mutually beneficial mission. We are trying to show Ukrainian soldiers how to do their work differently, offer them diverse options and try to improve proficiency. At the same time we are very open to learning new lessons from them as well.

What exactly can Canadian soldiers learn from Ukrainian counterparts?

Ukrainian army is different from Canadian in many different ways. While we are able to teach such skills as the marksmanship, junior leadership, navigation techniques or first aid, lessons that Ukrainian soldiers bring back are as well important. Canada hasn’t experienced the kind of operationsUAF are currently conducting and thatknowjedgde is very useful to us.

PATRIOTISM AND PROFESSIONALISM OF UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS ARE IMPRESSIVE

You are training Ukrainian soldiers to better use their own weapons, but how can you combine Canadian Western tactics and Ukrainian mainly Soviet equipment?

The equipment actually isn’t really an important factor when we talk about interoperability.Canada has many allies, whichuse different types of equipment that we don’t necessarily have. Where it becomes very important is to be able to talk and plan together. but this crucial factor is not equipment related. There are no real issues regarding differences in equipment.

Have you already formed your own opinion about Ukrainian military personnel?

Ever since we got here in Ukraine, I was quick to notice that Ukrainian culture is very similar to our,we share same values. Two things that have struck me the most are the strong patriotism and professionalism of Ukrainian soldiers that we’ve been working with. They are very good and they want to be even better! They are also very proud and truly appreciate the training that we provide. In the short period of time that we’ve been training,Ukrainian soldiers quicklymade a significant progress.

What are the strongest sides of Ukrainian soldiers?

They are very physically strong and have a high morale, even though they’ve been serving for a certain amount of time already. Young Ukrainians have a very strong leadership and a lot of potential. I would say, that’s probably their biggest strength and that’s what we are trying to build on.

OUR CONTRACTS WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES WORTH $4 MLN

Did you have a chance to communicate with locals? How do they react on the presence of Canadian military?

There are a lot of contacts with local population. Recently we did a fundraising activity for the Dzherelo rehabilitation centre in Lviv:soldiers raised money, went to the centre and donated for the children.We are trying to show the community that we are here to support Ukraine. In the end that’s what Canada wants to show Ukraine. Also most of our sustainment is based on local contract system so we invest significant amount of money in the local economy to run our mission. As of today we’ve signed contracts with local businesses worth of around $4 mln.

Do you have people of Ukrainian descent in your team? Do they feel anything special about this mission?

Yes, we do have some Ukrainian descendants. Their language skills arevery useful for our mission. So it is good to have them with us. They also provide advices on cultural issues: the differences between our Christmases or Easters and things like that.

There are more than 200 CAF personnel in Starychi and Kamyanets-Podilsky. Is it enough to perform necessary tasks?

I would say it is, because even very few people are able to make a significant difference. To use the example of something that really pays of is our first day training when we had only 5 Canadians, who trained over 250 Ukrainians. Overall even with a very small number of personnel we are able to organize training process efficiently.

UKRAINIAN TROOPS SHOW PROGRESS EVERY SINGLE DAY

Do you only train personnel or do you also give your advice on the reform of UAF?

We do provide advice but at the tactical level. In particular here, in Starychiwe offered our views on howtraining centre can be further developed. We currently don’t have any senior advisers doing institutional development, which is addressed at the strategic or governmental level. All advices we provide are on the level of a leadership we work with on a daily basis.

Can you see the differences in the level of initial training of Ukrainian soldiers? Is there a unit that is markedly better prepared than others?

I’m not able to point the unitthat is better prepared. But I can tell you, that there is a tangible difference on proficiency and overall performance from when students arrive to when they leave. That is very encouraging for our personnel.

What is your opinion on Ukrainian military motorised vehicles?

BMP-2 was a very interesting piece of equipment to me because it was something that we would study inschool and not necessarily see in person. It is very interesting for us, Canadian soldiers to train with the equipment that we have here. What attracts me the most though is how good Ukrainian soldiers are at maintaining theirequipment.It has been around for some time but is still in perfect working conditions thanks to the way soldiers are maintaining it.

There are also military personnel from the UK and the US doing training in Ukraine at the moment. How do you divide your duties?

We are all working under the auspices of the Multinational Joint Commission. Every few months there are meetings where coordination happens at that level, but we all stay in contact almost on a daily basis to better do our job. Thecooperation is very good. We stand united for Ukraine, and it is important to have that typeof an approach if you want to make a difference in the country.

BASIC SKILLS IN FIRST AID SHOULD BE IMPROVED

Except of what your team is currently teaching Ukrainians, what additional knowledge are they lacking?

The point that we message the most with the senior leadership in Ukrainian army is the necessity to developjunior leadership, empower them and delegate responsibilities that are kept on a very high level here. We are trying to show Ukrainians that if they want to have military that is interoperable with Western armies, they have to delegate those responsibilities to lower levels and trust their junior leadership. It is really important to move forward.

There are quite a few volunteer organisations in Ukraine that provide a medical military training. Do soldiers that are coming to the training camp now have more knowledge on that matter than their predecessors?

Generally speaking the basic knowledge in first aid is very low. The most problematic though are the equipment and the means to evacuate wounded that are often not available to Ukrainian soldiers. But still they leave our hands much more skilled.

Do you still provide your students with individual medical kits?

Yes, every single Ukrainian soldier that has been trained by Canadian medic receives a first aid kit. And it is exactly the same as our own individual medical kits.

Do you take into consideration crucial differences in logistics between Canadian and Ukrainian military? What is possible in Canada not always can be done in Ukraine.

Yes, absolutely, but Canadian military is small and sometimes has to deal with what is available. So we are able to give different option to Ukrainian partners based on the equipment that is available to them.

What does Canadian Armed Forces personnel feel about their job in Ukraine?

Canadian soldiers are really proud to work in Ukraine. We don’t feel we are not at home even despite the distance. Ukrainians are great hosts, they’ve been very hospitable. By participation in this mission we are helping to developmodernised and capable Ukrainian forces and we are seeingthe real results in that respect. Overall, it is a fantastic mission and a great experience for us.

Maksym Nalyvaiko, Ottawa.