Canadian Armed Forces to conduct naval exercise in Kingston

This weekend, people in and around Kingston’s roadways and waterways may see an increased military presence and activity near the Cataraqui and St. Lawrence Rivers.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are participating in a naval exercise RIDEAU GUARD from Saturday, Oct. 15 to Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. According to a release from the Canadian Forces, the exercise will not impact road or water access, and participants will remain respectful of commercial shipping, pleasure craft, local fishing vessels, and other maritime activity.

“Please be aware that no live ammo will be on site and all activities will remain safe for participants and the public, as well as environmentally friendly,” the CAF stated.

This CAF naval exercise will host multiple Naval Reserve Divisions based in Ontario, including His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Cataraqui, HMCS Carleton, HMCS Hunter, HMCS Star and HMCS York.

Exercise RIDEAU GUARD is an annual naval exercise for Ontario-based naval reservists to train together to share knowledge, enhance core operational skills, and enhance their readiness to respond to emergency domestic operations when called upon, the CAF stated.

There will be over 100 naval reservists in attendance performing a variety of training activities to maintain readiness for emergency domestic operations, according to the release. This year’s event will be much larger than those which occurred over the past few years, as pictured above, as pandemic-related restrictions have loosened. The CAF shared that the activities will focus on a variety of skills including small boats capabilities, command and control, communications, operational planning and logistics.

For questions or concerns, residents are invited to contact the exercise Public Affairs Officer, Sub-lieutenant David Chan, at [email protected] or 613-620-9884.