<\/a>Sailor 3rd Class Travis Coleman, left, and Cpl. Hugo Montpetit look at Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Brandon as they prepare to go aboard on March 6, 2022 as part of exercise Arctic Edge 2022. (Michael S. Lockett \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
The Brandon joins the Army, Navy and Air Force in the biennial exercise as more than a 1,000 servicemembers arrive in Alaska.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“This was the first time I think our navy has participated in this exercise,” said the Brandon’s captain, Lt. Cmdr. Mike Wills, in an interview. “We’re trying to improve our cold weather experience and capabilities.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
[Military holds major Arctic exercise across Alaska]<\/ins><\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The ship is employing a remote environmental monitoring units unmanned underwater vehicle to scan the seabed in designated training areas on the other side of Douglas for simulated mines, said Wills.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “I think the U.S. Coast Guard laid the targets. Our primary task is to exercise, essentially using the REMUS to find everything that’s on the bottom,” Will said. “(The target is) shaped exactly like a regular mine.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Sailor First Class Khye Krolikowski, in yellow hard hat, directs an anchor detail aboard Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Brandon as they drop anchor near the Stephens Passage on March 6, 2022 as part of exercise Arctic Edge 2022. (Michael S. Lockett \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t The partnerships in the joint exercise allow the RCN to practice new scenarios, Will said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “The scope is a little bit bigger,” Wills said. “Some of the things we’re doing here, we can’t necessarily do back home.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The Brandon arrived in Juneau several days ago before heading out to the Stephens Passage, where the training area for the exercise is located.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “The U.S. Coast Guard in particular was very welcoming. We used their dock and their port services,” Wills said. “We’re very fortunate because when we show up everything’s already sorted. If the local community doesn’t support it, this exercise doesn’t happen.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Royal Canadian Navy sailors load the remote environmental monitoring units unmanned underwater vehicle onto a small boat in Stephens Passage on March 6, 2022, as part of exercise Arctic Edge 2022. (Michael S. Lockett \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Safety at sea<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Mining a strait, passage or port has long been a warfighting tactic for some countries, said Petty Officer 1st Class Chris Nevue, the REMUS petty officer. Mines were used in the Gulf War, the Kosovo War and other conflicts, Nevue said — Russia, in particular, is suspected to have thousands of mines.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “Mine use is becoming a cheap and effective way of blocking a port,” Nevue said. “The biggest thing is not putting an MCM vessel into a threat area. The autonomous vehicle takes care of that.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t This exercise is the first time his team has taken the REMUS aboard the minesweeper, Nevue said, and a unique opportunity to test the UUV in a colder environment than the unit’s homeport of Victoria, British Columbia.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Lt. Cmdr. Mike Wills, captain of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Brandon, a minesweeping vessel, looks at a small boat deployed from the ship in the Stephens Passage on March 6, 2022 as part of exercise Arctic Edge 2022. (Michael S. Lockett \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t “Cold weather obviously is an issue. The actual temperature is about 4 degrees Celsius (7.2F) colder than we’re used to in Victoria. It’s a bit windier. Snow, obviously,” Nevue said. “Currents is another one. This particular area has some strong currents. That’s obviously an issue with a battery powered UUV.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The cold affects the battery by a small but noticeable amount, Nevue said. But despite limitations imposed by the battery, Nevue, it’s still a much safer method of clearing an area suspected to be mined instead of taking the entire vessel into harm’s way.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “The biggest thing is not putting a mine countermeasure vessel into a threat area,” Nevue said. “The autonomous vehicle takes care of that.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Targets can be difficult to identify, Nevue said, with all the debris that can accumulate on the seafloor.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “All of us really enjoy this job. It’s a really interesting, challenging job,” Nevue said. “Even as good as the sonar images are, it’s hard to pick out what’s a rock or a tree or something.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Royal Canadian Navy divers navigate aft of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Brandon to go investigate a simulated naval mine in Stephens Passage on March 6, 2022, as part of exercise Arctic Edge 2022. (Michael S. Lockett \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Divers below<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Once a target is identified with a high degree of confidence, divers will investigate, and if necessary, neutralize a mine, Khabian said. There’s additional challenges that come with the limited space available for staging aboard the minesweeper alongside the dive team’s equipment, including the hyperbaric chamber, a requirement for all dive operations.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “The goal is to take full advantage and do as many dives as possible, weather permitting. In Juneau, the temperatures are the same in March as they are in Victoria in December,” Khabian said. “So far we’ve done four dives.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t For the divers, exercises are an opportunity to compare gear and practice with divers from other militaries.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>