PolskiDetails
Platoon of the mechanized company from the Canadian Army’s 22nd Regiment was involved in a joint training operation, conducted in collaboration with the Polish 7th Air Cavalry Squadron. The awesome imagery from that event, showing the Soviet-made Mi-8 and the Polish W-3 Sokół helicopters in their natural operating environment, collaborating with the Western allies, is a perfect example of the interoperability seen between the allies.
Even though the NATO activities on the Eastern Flank seem to be limited, we may see, in the provided material, that substantial training initiatives are being undertaken and continued.
According to the Polska Zbrojna outlet, some difficulties within the training emerged, since communication with the Canadians was hampered by the fact that the unit hailed from Quebec, creating a language barrier – as it was stated by Cpt. Łukasz Ogrodowicz, commander of the Polish unit involved in the training operation, interviewed by PZ. Moreover, the exercise was also interesting due to the fact that the Canadian unit is a mechanized infantry element, not an airborne one.
The Canadians got acquainted with the Polish operational procedures related to use of the helicopters, with involvement of mock-ups and trainers. Two W-3W Sokół and a single Mi-8 rotorcraft were being used within the framework of the event, by multinational platoons. Fast-rope insertion is an indispensable element of such exercises, and, as the Canadians claimed, this was one of the most important components of training.
Parachute training was also a part of the operational activities. The jumps were executed within the military airfield traffic zone, from altitudes ranging from 700 to 1200 meters. W-3W helicopters acted as the platform which carried the jumpers.
This is not the first Canadian deployment to Poland. Last year, Polish 25th Cavalry Brigade trained together with the Canadian soldiers hailing from the 3rd Regiment of the Royal Canadian Army.
Text: Jacek Simiński
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