Working together: Military and police take over Brunette Island for exercise Atlantic Guardian

This week, isolated Brunette Island in Fortune Bay probably saw more activity than it has since the failed experiment in 1964 to introduce bison to Newfoundland and Labrador.

The place was swarming with police and military taking part in Exercise Atlantic Guardian, a joint operation involving the Canadian Navy, Army, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and other agencies. The goal was to see how well they can co-operate and communicate during an emergency or other situations where they have to work together. 

Exercise director, Master Warrant Officer Bruce King, said it started off with navigation, observation and survival training, but during the exercise, participants came across what looked like a stash of narcotics.

'Smugglers' intercepted

"Part of the scenario was for us to observe the drugs for a certain period of time until the RCMP had the opportunity to get in place," said King.

"We had people there to act as drug smugglers who would come ashore at night. They would drop off bails of hay wrapped up in black plastic to make it look like some kind of narcotic." 

"Unknowingly, they were being observed by members of the Canadian Armed Forces with the information being relayed to the command post on Brunette Island, and from there to HMCS Moncton, where it was relayed to the RCMP headquarters in St. John's. And the RCMP would formulate their plan on how they would react," said King.

The last part of that exercise wrapped up Friday morning. "The so-called smugglers came ashore. They were observed loading all their drugs onto their boat. As they were leaving the harbour and heading back out to sea, they were intercepted by HMCS Moncton, and the boat being used by the RCMP," said King.

"The RCMP gave chase and over took the smugglers, and took them into custody. HMCS Moncton came alongside to give them support."

King said it was important to have the ship there, because in a real situation, smugglers might not be willing to hand over millions of dollars of drugs without a fight.

"HMCS Moncton is very well armed to provide support to the RCMP," said King. 

Bad weather upped the ante

King said they picked Brunette Island to test their abilities to bring this scale of an operation to an isolated, desolate place.

"We had about 40 people here on the island and 44 people on HMCS Moncton. When you factor in the RCMP and Fish and Wildlife enforcement, 103 Rescue Squadron, you are looking at about a hundred people.  There's nobody living here. You have to bring your own food; you have to bring your own water and fuel."

He said the elements made the exercise even tougher. "We had to go through a tropical storm. We spent two days here in winds that gusted at times to 84 kilometres an hour, and about 50 to 60 millimetres of rain."

"By the time the exercise is over, people will be asking for their money back," he quipped. 

One final test

King said the exercise has gone well. "We proved that all these different government agencies, the military, can work very well together in the event of a real situation," he said.

"We know how to communicate. We know the equipment that each other has and, in the event of an emergency, could employ all these different elements in the best way possible to react, and probably a lot faster now, to any kind of an domestic emergency."

The last part of the excercise is Saturday when they break camp.

"We will simulate an accident, where three members are walking along a bank that gives way and they fall to the base of the hill. We will call 103 Search and Rescue, and they will come in [with a Cormorant helicopter] and pick up the three people, and take them for treatment."