The Mission At Hand: Crew of HMCS Brandon never cease to amaze

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/12/2016 (3392 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HMCS Brandon left on extended southern sea operations on Oct. 6. Our friends from sea training accompanied Brandon for the first two weeks of the sail, assessing us in all aspects of life at sea, including damage control, force protection, seamanship, operational planning, food services and administration.

The crew were tested to their limits and despite some technical setbacks and with less-than-ideal weather conditions, Brandon successfully completed the sea training program and was declared operationally ready for the follow-on OP CARIBBE.

After a few days of much-needed rest and relaxation in San Diego, Brandon embarked her United States Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment on Oct. 25 and sailed south to the Eastern Pacific for her mission.

Although not nearly the same as being at home, the Brandon family celebrated both Canadian and American Thanksgivings with amazing meals cooked by our top-notch chefs, trick-or-treated (more treats than tricks) on board with some very interesting handmade costumes, and paid tribute to those who came before us in a combined Remembrance Day and Memorial Day ceremony.

Living and working in a ship used to Canadian waters and temperatures means that everyone worked very hard to ensure all the systems on board were in good working order and ready to respond at a moment’s notice. The boatswains continuously ensured our weapons and small boats were maintained and tuned their eyes to finding the smallest of objects on the water. The operations and communications teams worked together to ensure Brandon was positioned to intercept vessels of interest and maintained communications with both our allies and chain of command.

Our engineers and technicians certainly rose to the challenges of the hot and humid environment, keeping Brandon’s equipment in good working order. When our air handling unit broke, leaving Brandon without any air conditioning on board, they wasted no time in rigging trunking, fan and mobile air conditioning units to keep the temperature on board tolerable and the equipment safe. And when our replacement part arrived, their motivation and ingenuity prevailed as they conducted the difficult repairs in short order, restoring Brandon back to her normal climate.

And as already mentioned, our cooks never fail at providing us with amazing and well-balanced meals, despite the disparity between products from different countries. Their innovation knows no bounds.

And as if their primary duties didn’t keep them busy enough, Brandon’s crew have also been occupied with various charity campaigns on this deployment. Some grew their “staches” in support of Movember and the fight against prostate cancer while at sea. We’ve also uncovered an underground Taylor Swift fan base on board with the purchase of a week’s worth of her greatest hits as morning wakeup songs for charity.

As our chefs continually fed us delicious meals, we realized the only way to ensure our uniforms and “ugly Christmas sweaters” would fit when we return was to maintain a consistent workout regime. Brandon’s goal was to collectively complete 710 hours of fitness while deployed.

Before I sign off, I’ll leave you with some interesting statistics during this deployment. We steamed more than 7,838 nautical miles, consumed more than 3,960 eggs and 440 pounds of bacon, and made more than 72,500 litres of fresh water!

Brandon’s crew never cease to amaze me with their “can do” attitude and phenomenal camaraderie. I’m sure you are already aware of some of the success we have had on this mission. Preventing illicit drugs from hitting Canadian shores is due in no small part to the vigilance and tenacity of the crew and for that I am extremely proud.

» Lt.-Cdmr. Jolene Lisi is the commanding officer of HMCS Brandon.

$28M worth of cocaine seized

HMCS Brandon, in co-operation with the U.S. Coast Guard, seized an estimated 700 kilograms of cocaine in international waters off the Pacific Coast of Central America on Nov. 5.

The cocaine, worth an estimated US$28 million, was recovered from the ocean after being jettisoned by suspected smugglers in a panga-style fishing vessel that had been spotted by a USCG HC-130J aircraft patrolling the region.

HMCS Brandon launched two rigid-hulled inflatable boats with USCG law enforcement teams onboard to pursue the vessel and secure the 14 jettisoned bales.

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