(Ottawa) Lieutenant-Colonel Sarah Heer is horrified to see, from a distance, that friends and comrades she helped train in the Ukrainian army a year ago are now forced to fight for their country.
Posted at 6:10 p.m.
Mme Heer completed her term as commander of Canada’s military training mission in Ukraine last winter and has now returned home. But despite the distance, the conflict seems very close for her and for hundreds of other Canadian soldiers who have been there in recent years.
“It’s very difficult because part of our role in Ukraine was to build relationships, that’s how we build trust,” says M.me Heer in an interview. We don’t just watch people we’ve worked with: we watch our friends go through it all. »
She recalls that everyone who worked in Ukraine is worried that their friends and allies are currently fighting, and they are doing their best to encourage them, while watching the events with a mixture of fear and pride.
“It’s so inspiring,” she says. It’s difficult. It’s excruciating and difficult to watch what happens. But I think all Canadian Armed Forces soldiers can also be motivated and inspired by what they see in Ukraine. »
Canada had established a military training mission in Ukraine in 2015. It was then a direct response to Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula and Moscow’s supply of weapons, ammunition and even from troops to pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The goal of the Canadian mission, which evolved several times before being suspended before the Russian invasion, was to help Ukraine transform its post-Soviet military into a modern fighting force capable of defending the country. This military training is now being put to the test, as Ukrainians fight to protect their country, while the rest of the world watches.
Mme Heer had taken command of this training mission in September 2020. For the next six months, she and 200 other Canadian soldiers worked with the Ukrainian military, teaching them the intricacies of the trade.
In contact with Ukrainians
Lt. Col. Melanie Lake took over command in March 2021. She says she is in daily contact with the Ukrainians she met while deployed, which helped counter some of the helplessness she felt. and others feel.
“We’ve all been through a range of emotions feeling like we wish we could do more,” says Ms.me Lake. “So most people, like the rest of Canadians, are just looking for whatever we can do to help. Whether it’s just checking in or sending a little message of support, or trying to raise money or (gather) materials to send it over there,” she adds. .
Yet, mixed with concern for their former comrades, both officers underscored a sense of pride in the performance of their former students and the role Canada played in helping them prepare for this dramatic moment.
“I certainly wouldn’t want to take credit for the determination you see and the will to fight you see from the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” said Mr.me Heer. But I think when you look at our Canadian mission […] and what is happening right now, we are seeing tangible benefits. »
For example, Canadian trainers preached to their Ukrainian counterparts the importance of decentralization, including the empowerment and trust of subordinates with regard to information and decision-making.
Not only has such an approach helped the Ukrainian army defend itself on multiple fronts, Canadian officers say, but it has allowed the force to remain nimble and operate in ways the Russians might not expect.
“Look at these teams of ‘tank destroyers’, small units, small teams that come out with some of the light armored weapons donated by NATO,” says Mr.me Lake. We give them discretionary power and we give them a purpose. And they go out and do a lot of things. »
Which is not to say that these images are easy to watch. Mme Lake was devastated to see the cultural heart of the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, hit by a deadly barrage of Russian missiles and rockets last week.
“It just seemed impossible that anything could happen in this magical place. It was like the happiest place in Ukraine, she says. It’s so hard to imagine now that this place, which used to be so happy, is being bombed and hit by cruise missiles. »
Despite their clear interest in this war in Ukraine, Lieutenant Colonels Heer and Lake both remain focused on their current roles. Mme Lake commands the 2e Engineer Regiment, Petawawa, Ontario. Mme Heer, meanwhile, is preparing his artillery unit for a possible deployment to Latvia, where the federal government recently promised to reinforce a Canadian-led NATO battlegroup.