STARYCHI, Ukraine – Lt. Col. Ryan Stimpson transferred command of Operation UNIFIER to Lt. Col. Sarah Heer on October 5 at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center (IPSC) in Starychi, Ukraine.
The change of command ceremony observed the transition between Rotations 9 and 10 and the appointment of Joint Task Force-Ukraine’s first female commanding officer, Lt. Col. Heer.
The change of command was held at the IPSC Conference Center’s Flower Room. The ceremony saw the incoming and outgoing commanders’ sign Transfer of Command Authority documents in accordance with all government of Canada COVID-19 Force Protection guidelines. The bulk of the ceremony was held outdoors.
Guests of honor included Canada’s Ambassador to Ukraine Larisa Galadza; the Canadian defense attaché, Col. Robert Foster; Sweden’s ambassador and defense attaché; Denmark’s defense attaché; the commander of Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, Col. Clayton Kuetemeyer; and the commandant of the National Army Academy of Ukraine, Lt. Gen. Pavlo Thachuk.
Lt. Col. Heer will have command over approximately 200 Canadian Armed Forces members as they complete modernization, capability and capacity-building with the Security Forces of Ukraine. Op UNIFIER’s SFCB (Security Force Capacity Building) initiatives are one component of Canada’s whole-of-government approach in support of Ukraine’s security, sovereignty and aspirations to achieve NATO interoperability.
Lt. Col. Heer stated: “Canada and Ukraine have a special, enduring defense relationship. We remain committed to this partnership and our mission to provide defense and security assistance. We will continue to be responsive to the needs of our Ukrainian counterparts and I am confident that the Roto 10 Task Force is well positioned with a diverse mix of skills, experience and knowledge to support the evolving security and defense capacity building needs of the SFU (Security Forces of Ukraine).”
The outgoing commander of the Joint Task Force-Ukraine, Lt. Col. Stimpson added: “We are very proud of the exceptional work that was accomplished during JTF-U Roto 9’s deployment to Ukraine. Despite the COVID-19 environment, we were able to deliver world-class mentoring and capacity-building to one of Canada’s closest allies. The professionalism and dedication reciprocated by the Ukrainians maximized the retention of training being delivered as we worked together with our international partners toward the interoperability of the SFU within NATO.”