Article submitted by MWO D.S. Martin
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Fifteen members of the Canadian Military Engineer Branch participated in Exercise Silver Flag 2026, training alongside and fully integrated with United States Air Force personnel in a demanding expeditionary environment.
Delivered by the 435 Construction and Training Squadron (435 CTS), Silver Flag provided Canadian and American engineers with an opportunity to develop and exchange skills required to establish, operate, protect and recover deployed air operations.
Canadian participants were embedded directly within USAF teams throughout the exercise, conducting training in command and control (C2), expedient airfield damage repair (ADR), chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) operations, and damage control. The exercise also incorporated an evolving operational challenge: responding to the threat posed by uncrewed aerial systems (UAS/drones) and integrating appropriate protective actions into operations.
The seamless integration of Canadian and American personnel highlighted the interoperability between the two forces while providing opportunities to exchange expertise. Canadian engineers brought considerable savoir-faire to the exercise, particularly in expeditionary camp construction and tentage, while gaining valuable exposure to USAF methods, equipment and procedures.
For the Canadian contingent, Silver Flag was more than a training opportunity. It contributed to regaining and strengthening expeditionary engineering capabilities while improving interoperability with one of Canada's closest military partners. Members will now bring the knowledge and experience gained in Germany back to their respective units across Canada.
The Canadian contingent would also like to recognize the 435 Construction and Training Squadron (435 CTS), cadre for their professionalism, expertise and commitment to delivering realistic and valuable training throughout the exercise.
Silver Flag 2026 demonstrated that interoperability is built not only through common procedures and equipment, but by training together, sharing experience and learning from one another before being called upon to operate together.