The busy seaport of Manila, the Philippines was HMCS Regina’s third port of call during her Operation ARTEMIS deployment and it provided a welcome five day break for the ship’s company from operations at sea.
In between some well deserved rest and relaxation ashore, a number of HMCS Regina’s sailors participated in community outreach activities that were designed to improve the lives of some of the city’s poorest citizens.
On day two of the port visit, HMCS Regina’s sailors accompanied the wife of the Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines, Irene Reeder, and Project Pearl outreach workers on a guided tour of Helping Land, one of Manilla’s shantytowns, and visited local children at the community school. Helping Land is located on the outskirts of Manila and is home to hundreds of people who survive and earn a living by recycling and repurposing garbage from the city’s landfills.
Following the tour, the children were bused back to HMCS Regina where they toured the ship and were provided with a hot meal in the crew café. Afterwards, they were brought to a local museum before returning home at the end of the day.
“It was obvious from all their smiling faces that they had a wonderful experience and if the kids had half as much fun as we did then the day was a huge success,” said CPO1 Janet Graham-Smith, HMCS Regina’s Coxswain. “This day would not have happened without the outstanding efforts of the ships company who put their hearts and souls into this initiative.
HMCS Regina departed Esquimalt on Monday, January 6th to join Operation ARTEMIS, replacing HMCS Toronto, which had been on the mission from February to December 2013.
Regina completed her last set of mission specific training and achieved high readiness in the Pacific Ocean waters east of Guam on January 22, 2014. This was the culmination of months of preparations for their deployment to the Op ARTEMIS Joint Operations Area (JOA).
Once operational, HMC Ships undergo a period of sea training to either achieve standard readiness or high readiness. High readiness means a ship is capable of conducting the full-spectrum of combat operations, rather than being solely capable of conducting core naval training and executing assigned Canadian Armed Forces continental and expeditionary missions that do not entail the possibility of high intensity, full spectrum combat.
“HMCS Regina achieved mission high-readiness due to the outstanding dedication, hard work and positive attitude of the ship’s company,” said CPO1 Janet Graham-Smith, HMCS Regina’s Coxswain. “They took each challenge in stride and did whatever it took to get the job done.”
Op ARTEMIS is Canada’s contribution to Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150), a multinational maritime task force combating terrorism across the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman. As part of this multinational force, HMCS Regina will work alongside coalition partners to promote security, stability and prosperity, in an area that spans over two million square miles and encompasses some of the world’s most important shipping routes connecting the Far East to Africa, Europe and North America.
[mappress] Press Release, February 26, 2014, Image: Canadian Armed Forces