Page 76 - QDG Vol. 9 No. 2 CREST

74 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
Governor General’s Horse Guards
Canada’s military response to the COVID-19 pandemic mirrored many of our allies. The official approach started from ‘preserve the force’ and support Canada and Canadians.
During the initial response, members of the Governor General’s Horse Guards (GGHG) volunteered immediately for Oper- ation GLOBE, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) commitment to active engagement abroad, supporting the repatriation of Canadians stranded aboard amid flight restrictions and border closures. Around 700 Canadians were successfully repat- riated and reunited with loved ones following the mandatory isolation periods.
Almost simultaneously, our soldiers were volunteering for Operation LASER. Despite the unknown health risks, Horse Guards were involved in the supporting overwhelmed long-term care facilities as well as in the creation of dedicated teams reacting to requests for assistance from the Province of Ontario.
As a Reserve Regiment in the CAF, the Governor General’s Horse Guards had almost half of its effective strength on named Operations. This level of Regi- mental deployment has not been seen since the end of the Second World War.
At the start of the pandemic, all non-essential training was temporarily stopped. We then shifted to virtual training and administration to slow the erosion of key Armoured skills. Not only did the soldiers of the Regiment have to adapt to remote training, but they also had to adapt to supporting Domestic Operations in a persistent COVID envi- ronment. Operation LENTUS is the CAF response to natural disasters in Canada. While Provincial and territorial authorities are the first to respond when a major natural disaster occurs, if they become overwhelmed, they may ask the CAF for help. These natural disasters often take the form of forest fires, floods, ice storms, or hurricanes.
In early 2021, the CAF resumed in-person Individual Training, to rebuild key skills and capabilities across the Forces. Where possible, Distance Learning and Virtual Training were used, but the resump- tion of Developmental Period (DP) training courses that provide basic armoured training was permitted, following strict Force Health Protection Measures.
While many of the Regiment’s Senior NCOs and instructors were running or overseeing training courses, key members of the GGHG were also employed on Operation VECTOR with the planning and logistics with Public Health Agency of Canada. Op VECTOR is the CAF’s support to the Federal, Provincial, and Territorial governments for the distri- bution of COVID-19 vaccines.
The remainder of 2021 continued at a blistering pace. With the resumption of overseas Operations, the Regiment continued to provide officers and soldiers for both Operations IMPACT and UNIFIER, supporting the Middle East and Ukraine respectively.
The Regiment conducted Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle
(TAPV) courses locally,
some for the first time.
As the TAPV is our new armoured reconnaissance platform, developing crew and instructor skill set remains a top Regimental priority. The combination of COVID restrictions
and logistics made it impossible for the Armour School at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown to provide the neces- sary training.