A long way from home, Sailor Third Class Kaleb Vivier is currently off the coast of Hawaii as part of a six-month deployment on board HMCS Winnipeg.
Born and raised in Campbell River, Vivier was a member of Captain Brian Barker 363 Air Cadets, where he learned ceremonial drill and basic aviation knowledge. He also played for the Campbell River Ravens Lacrosse Association for 10 years, winning a provincial championship in that time. After graduating from Carihi Secondary School in 2018, and perhaps influenced by his submariner stepfather, he decided to join the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and so he applied to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).
His application was accepted and processed, and in February 2020, Vivier was sent to St. Jean, QC for the Basic Military Qualification Training (BMQT), more familiarly known as Boot Camp.
While there “I got to rappel off towers, do midnight patrols, be tear gassed, do basic topography and navigation, shoot my service rifle, and sleep in the rain. It was great!” Vivier said.
After completing BMQT, S3 Vivier was sent to CFB Esquimalt for the six-month Sonar Operator course. Sonar Operators learn to hunt, track, and neutralize hostile submarines, as well as conduct post-analysis on detected submarines, including classifying the country of origin and type of submarine; Sonar Operators also handle the firing of torpedoes. Upon completion of his course, S3 Vivier was posted to HMCS Winnipeg, based at Her Majesty’s Canadian Dockyard Esquimalt. He primarily works in the Operations Room, but can also be found in the torpedo magazine; so far his favourite part of the job is being in the magazine and launching the torpedoes.
On June 14, 2022, S3 Vivier set sail on HMCS Winnipeg for his first deployment. This trip will be six months and includes the Rim of the Pacific exercise, or RIMPAC, which takes place off the coast of Hawaii and is the largest international maritime warfare exercise in the world.
From there HMCS Winnipeg transitions to Operation PROJECTION, where she will conduct forward naval presence operations in the Indo-Pacific region as well as conduct cooperative deployments and participate in international naval exercises with partner nations. Operation PROJECTION shows Canada’s ongoing commitment to global peace. The deployment of sailors, ships and submarines shows how the RCN is ready to defend Canada’s interests around the world.