Go Bold #49: Commodore David Mazur on Exercise Trident Fury 2023 and Saving the Navy

We are proud to welcome as our guest, Commodore David Mazur, the Commander of Canadian Fleet Pacific.Commodore Mazur is responsible for the combat readiness of the Pacific Fleet, and he has over 10 deployers and numerous auxiliary support vessels under his command.For this episode, we were on board His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Winnipeg, a Halifax class surface combatant while it was underway in the Eastern Pacific as the command ship for Exercise Trident Fury 2023, which is the Pacific’s Fleet's premier combined and joint exercise. Exercises like Trident Fury are critical to maintaining the operational readiness of Canadian Armed Forces and allies as it presents demanding maritime conditions in a simulated hostile environment which is shaped by escalating tensions. Commodore Mazur was on board HMCS Winnipeg as the Task Group Commander during Exercise Trident Fury.The exercise had six Canadian Navy ships participating (HMCS' Winnipeg, Vancouver, Ottawa, Edmonton, Yellowknife, Nanaimo), alongside U.S. assets, NATO partners, and some ships of the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) -- JS Kashima and JS Hatakaze.A key participant in the exercise was the Combat Support Ship Asterix, a platform owned and operated by Federal Fleet Services, and is leased to the Royal Canadian Navy to provide multi-mission support, primarily with its ability to provide Replenishment-at-Sea (RAS).Asterix joined into Exercise Trident Fury while it was already underway, and that's because the ship arrived into the Eastern Pacific (on schedule) after it circumnavigated the world while supporting deployed operations of the Royal Canadian Navy.Over 1,000 military personnel took part across all units and platforms, including Royal Canadian Navy ships, numerous Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft (CF-18, CC-130H(T), CP-140), Canadian Army personnel, and units from the United States (EA-18G Growler, P-8 Poseidon, A-10 Warthog), as well as NATO partners, and Japan.Exercise Trident Fury 2023 had a number of other exercises within its overarching umbrella, including:Exercise Unified Vision, the premier NATO event for Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR) activities.Exercise Vital Archer, a bilateral US-Canada exercise focused on counter-terrorism, and counter weapons of mass destruction.Exercise Fox Frenzy, a missile exercise which had CF-18 Hornets engage Vindicator aerial target drones that were launched from HMCS Winnipeg.One of Exercise Trident Fury's primary objectives was pre-deployment training for HMCS Ottawa and HMCS Vancouver's deployment to the Indo-Pacific region. Known as Intermediate Multi-Ship Readiness Training (IMSRT), the training involved a full spectrum of sea and air tactical warfare training, including live-fire exercises, seamanship, maritime interdiction operations, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, air defense, mine counter-measures, and small boat defense.The exercise also served as an opportunity to experiment with ship crewing models for the Royal Canadian Navy, and that's to facilitate the training backlog for sailors in the wake of the training slow-down that happened as a result of the pandemic. Our conversation focused a lot on training because as the Commodore said, it's all about "saving the Navy."As an update to this episode, HMCS Ottawa and HMCS Vancouver achieved their high readiness certifications after Exercise Trident Fury, so these ships and their helicopter air detachments are now in the Indo-Pacific region as part of Operation Horizon.We wish to thank the men and women of HMCS Winnipeg for their hospitality, and we thank Commodore Mazur for the time he spent with us.Go Bold!