A few more details from Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance (partial transcript of Canadian Press video) …
… we’re working on a deployment of approximately 450. That will form the nucleus, consisting of command & control, the support, some of the intelligence functions and providing a rifle company equipped with LAV, as the nucleus for other nations, which we encourage to contribute to form the partnership, an enduring, sustained partnership for the long-term presence in Latvia …
More, from the print version – highlights mine:
… Speaking on the sidelines of the summit, defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance revealed that Canada will send about 450 soldiers along with armoured vehicles to the Baltic state as part of an “enduring” NATO presence in Eastern Europe.
The Canadians will form the “nucleus” of a battle group in Latvia, Vance said, that with the addition of forces from other allies, is expected to grow to about 1,000 troops. Germany, the United States and Britain are leading similar forces in Lithuania, Poland and Estonia.
Allies are expected to begin announcing contributions at a conference next week, while officials indicated the first Canadian troops could begin arriving in Latvia early next year …
Not quite the full battalion that’s been suggested/talked about elsewhere – barring more details to the contrary, it sounds more like a rifle company + a battalion HQ.
It’ll be interesting to see who’ll donate a company or so to Canada’s team.
The good news: this sounds like a reasonably sustainable force to rotate in and out of Latvia every six months or so.
The bad news: stand by for the Liberal haters saying, “See? Trudeau did the very barest minimum to meet this threat instead of sending a more substantive force.” Or words to that effect …
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