HMCS Protecteur is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 Protecteur-class

Protecteur class auxiliary vessel

Protecteur-class auxiliary oiler replenishment ships are used by the Royal Canadian Navy to resupply ships at sea with food, munitions, fuel and spare parts. They have more sophisticated medical and dental facilities than smaller vessels...

 Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment

Replenishment Oiler

A replenishment oiler or fleet tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds, which can replenish other ships while underway in the high seas. Such ships are used by several countries around the world....

 ship. Built by Saint John Shipbuilding

Saint John Shipbuilding

Saint John Shipbuilding was a Canadian shipbuilding company located in Saint John, New Brunswick. It operated from 1923-2003.-History:Numerous shipyards were located on the shores of Courtney Bay in the east end of Saint John Harbour where extensive mud flats dried at low tide.In 1918 it was...

 and Dry Docks in Saint John, New Brunswick

Saint John, New Brunswick

City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...

, she was commissioned in 1969, the first ship of her class. She is the first Canadian naval unit to carry the name Protecteur; however, there have been several units, including a base, named . The ship is assigned to the Royal Canadian Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

's Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC)

Maritime Forces Pacific

In the Canadian Forces, Maritime Forces Pacific is responsible for the fleet and operations of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Pacific Ocean...

 in Esquimalt, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

.

Crew

• CO:
  Commanding officer
  The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
  
   Commander John Tremblay, CD
  Canadian Forces Decoration
  The Canadian Forces Decoration is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to the Governor General of Canada upon his or her appointment as viceroy, which includes the...
  
  
• XO:
  Executive officer
  An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
  
   Commander Todd Bonnar, CD
• Cox'n:
  Coxswain
  The coxswain is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives us a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from cox, a coxboat or other small vessel kept aboard a ship, and swain, which can be rendered as boy, in authority. ...
  
   CPO1 Barry Petten, CD

Service

In 1991, HMCS Protecteur was part of the Canadian contingent sent to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield and later Operation FRICTION

Operation FRICTION

Operation FRICTION was a Canadian military operation that saw the contribution of 4,500 Canadian Forces personnel to the 1991 Gulf War. The US components, by far the largest, were Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm....

 (the Canadian name for its operations during the Persian Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

). The ship, part of a three-vessel force (the other two being the destroyers and ), saw extensive service in the Central Gulf.

Protecteur was deployed to East Timor

East Timor

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...

 as part of the Australian-led INTERFET

INTERFET

The International Force for East Timor was a multinational peacekeeping taskforce, mandated by the United Nations to address the humanitarian and security crisis which took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the arrival of United Nations peacekeepers...

 peacekeeping taskforce from 23 October 1999 to 23 January 2000.

On 19 September 2011, Protecteur departed from CFB Esquimalt

CFB Esquimalt

Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt is Canada's Pacific Coast naval base and home port to Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters....

 for a two-month deployment off southern California as part of the U.S. Navy's Carrier Strike Group Nine. Protecteur joined the destroyer and the frigate in Fleet Week

Fleet Week

Fleet Week is a United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard tradition in which active military ships recently deployed in overseas operations dock in a variety of major cities for one week. Once the ships dock, the crews can enter the city and visit its tourist...

 activities in San Diego, California, between 26-30 September 2011.

Future

The ship will continue to operate until the Joint Support Ship Project

Joint Support Ship Project

The Joint Support Ship Project is a project undertaken by the Canadian Forces to provide Canada with three multirole naval vessels. The Joint Support Ship will enable a Naval Task Group to remain at sea for up to six times longer than is currently possible...

has been completed.

External links

• HMCS Protecteur