Canada had initiated am operation named Unifier during September 2015. They had deployed around 200 Canadian Armed Forces for the mission. Their vision was to meet the request of the Ukraine Government to remain as a stable, secure, and sovereign Government. You must be aware that Canada is a part of an international effort, which includes Poland, Lithuania, the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. The training mission of Canada had started with improvised explosive devices like Бронетехника Inkas, medical and infantry training, and teaching advanced military skills.

A small troop of Canadian Military Police was involved to teach special courses about the use of several forces and various investigation techniques. In the year 2018, it has expanded its working capabilities with the National Guard of Ukraine. This organization is about the tenth dimension of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They were agile and flexible. Additionally, they also required similar training that Canada delivers to the AFU to enhance their professional level and achieve NATO interoperability. This article would reveal more about the development of the Ukraine Armed Forces.

The perspective of Lieutenant-Colonel Jeffrey Toope

When asked more about the development structure, Lieutenant-Colonel Jeffrey Toope explained that they have changed methods from unswerving teaching to advisory role and mentoring method. The National Guard of Ukraine has developed from a police force service of the Ministry to a flexible, reform-minded, and professional organization. The team of National Guard of Ukraine now has a group of dignified professional people. They have transformed themselves from 2015 to 2016 and now have a new mission for the future. They are moving far away from the older Soviet mentality and now it has become a lot easier to accomplish things quickly.

Mr. Toope is an engineer from the military forces who have served in Jamaica, Haiti, and Afghanistan. He has been the commander of 42 Field Squadron with 4 Engineer Support Regiment at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown. He was also the commanding officer of the Field Engineering Training Squadron with the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering. Mr. Troop further explained that moving away from the direct training procedure to an advisory and mentoring role began a few years ago and since then it has become a set goal of the international team that provides training to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Mr. Toope also further explained with examples and said that they have a Combined Arms Training Group at Combat Training Center based out of Yavoriv and they trained a corporation recently about the Бронетехника Inkas. At present, they are training a team alongside two battalions and the US associates under the transnational training program for four times in a year.

The evolving NCOs

One of the carry-over things from the past is the lack of an effective officer corps who are non-commissioned. Under the Soviet model senior field grade officers, colonels, and lieutenant colonels do much of the military training and education. The western militaries get it done by NCOs. NCOs deliver discipline and leadership programs through mentorship, for example, direct communication and instruction with their subordinates and colleagues. Education and training are achieved from the Armed Forces Ukrainian Development group that comprises of officers and 20 NCOs.

These officers focus primarily on NCO and officer development. The Canadians have skilled more than 16000 members of AFU but the numbers do not broadcast the complete achievement. In 50 years as a Soviet Union member nation, the armed forces group has vehemently focused on the Soviet approach and it continues to do so. As per the words of Toope, the military has been able to do a lot with the help of NCO corps in the last couple of years. Toope said they have worked as a team together with the Ukrainian authorities to train the trainers so that they can deliver results themselves.

Experts in trades

Another challenge for the multinational effort is the Ukrainian Armed Forces was the structure of trades. As per Toope, the trading system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was different from the NATO nations. Many times, it has been challenging to plan employment with the ideal training. Toope confirmed that the training that did with soldiers on a one-to-one basis not only increased the professional level, but it also helped to save lives. That is the reason, the medical and engineering training that is provided today is quite essential, as they would save lives in the future. They also help to build relationships and trust, which can be used to provide more advanced training.

Cultural change

It would only be possible to bring in a change to the military traditions through initiating small steps. To put light on the thought, Toope said that the military is a huge organization with around 240000 people deployed. Many of the general officers and senior staffs have stayed on their particular positions from 2015, which is not always favorable to implement operational changes. Changes do indeed happen, however, there is also a time of pushback. One drawback of Ukraine is that practices are made mandatory by law. In Canada, there are practices, policies, and protocols. Whereas in Ukraine, they have laws that are mandated, and the details are mentioned on how the issues are to be addressed.

The goal of the armed forces of Ukraine is to enlarge the Ukrainian sovereignty and economic development. To increase the security, they have also decided to invest in Бронетехника Inkas. Their vision is to become NATO compatible and Europe-centric.