Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
Around 330 troops from Jamaica, Belize and The Bahamas are gathered in Jamaica this month for Canadian led training as they prepare to be deployed into Haiti. On March 30th around 70 Canadian Armed Forces CAF members left North America for Jamaica to participate.
According to the Canadian government, the request to train the CARICOM troops came from the Jamaican government.
Jamaica has been vocal about its support for Haiti in the country’s ongoing humanitarian crises and was one of the countries which pledged to join the UN-authorized, Kenyan-led, Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission alongside the US, Canada and others.
While Haitian leaders prepare to restore democratic order they will need help to keep the gangs that have overrun parts of the country at bay. The MSS is supposed to assist with this, holding down key areas to allow the Haitian National Police to engage gangs and bring back order without fear of the gangs attacking critical infrastructure.
Bill Blair, Canadian Minister of National Defence said “By helping our CARICOM partners prepare to deploy on the United Nations-backed MSS mission, Canada is stepping up with important contributions to Haiti’s security. We will continue to support Haitian-led efforts to build stability.”
No date has been shared for deployment into Haiti but for now the countries who have committed to making the trip are using the time to prepare. The deployment into Jamaica has been dubbed ‘Operation Helios.’
In Greek mythology, Helios is the god of the sun.
“Members will provide training on core peacekeeping skills and combat first aid – and carry out validation and integration exercises for CARICOM troops,” the Canadian government says.
This training will take place at the Canadian Armed Forces’ Operational Support Hub in Jamaica which is one of four in the world.
The Canadians are drawn primarily from the 1st Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment from Valcartier, Quebec and are scheduled for one month.It follows the announcement of $80.5 million CAD ($59 million) to support the deployment of the MSS mission.
