HALIFAX – Despite the freezing cold temperatures hundreds of friends and families were at the Halifax ship yard Tuesday morning to send off the crew of HMCS Fredericton.
The ship and its 250 crew members were deployed to join NATO assurance measures in the Mediterranean Sea.
For families, saying goodbye without knowing a return date, is difficult. “I have mixed feelings,” said Brenda Longphee who’s son is part of the crew. “I’m proud of him, but it‘s emotional, it‘s his first time going.”
The Halifax-class frigate is replacing it’s sister ship HMCS Toronto, which joined the mission in July 2014. HMCS Fredericton is the first of the fully modernized Halifax-class frigates to be deployed. Described as the workhorse of the Royal Canadian Navy, Defence Minister Rob Nicholson said the frigates are, “the back bone of our current naval force.”
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Nicholson, Mayor Mike Savage and Premier Stephen McNeil were among the dignitaries at the Halifax naval yard for the deployment. The ship’s mission will include, “surveillance, monitoring, regional defence, diplomatic engagement, and capacity building,” said Nicholson.
For the families left behind, the commanding officer of HMCS Fredericton passed on some advice that his sons gave him. “Don’t think of it as goodbye, think of it as a really long game of hide and go seek,” said Commander Jeff Murray.
The ship is expected back home in the summer.
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