210 soldiers of the 1st Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group based in Edmonton, Alberta, are going to arrive in Poland by the end of August.
They are to rotate, and replace their colleagues from the 5th Mechanized Brigade Group of the 2nd Division, taking part in the Reassurance operation since January 2016.

The new detachment is being commanded by major Lonnie Campbell. During the farewell event, the Canadian Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan said that Canada is obliged to support its allies and partners all around the world. Thus, the Reassurance operation allows the armed forces to get an opportunity to cooperate, within the framework of a series of training exercises.

The troops deployed are going to be involved in a series of multinational field exercises, the aim of which is to confirm the component’s readiness for cooperation with the NATO troops, or with the armed forces of the NATO partner nations. The Canadian troops have been present, on a rotational basis in Central-Eastern Europe since may 2014.

The Operation Reassurance has shown, so far, the largest potential of the Canadian Armed Forces, within the scope of support provided for NATO. However, starting from next year, Canada is going to take over the command over one of the NATO battalions in the Central-Eastern Europe. This element will be probably stationed in Latvia.