Operational Support Hubs (OSHs) are a series of pre-negotiated arrangements with other countries and service providers in those countries to facilitate the movement of people, materiel, equipment and supplies in far-reaching locations.

These arrangements can also be activated in order to provide a location for these services.

It is very important to note that OSHs are not military bases. As Canada does not have military bases on foreign soil, OSHs offer flexibility and cost-efficient ways to launch and sustain international operations and respond to crises, such as natural disasters, in a timely manner.

OSHs help the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to better fulfill the Government’s mandate to make meaningful contributions across a full spectrum of international operations whether the need is for humanitarian relief, peace support, or combat operations. Because the OSH is pre-negotiated, the CAF are able to participate in operations in a country or region far more quickly than they could if they were engaging with the country and its service providers for the first time.

OPERATIONAL SUPPORT HUB EUROPE

The CAF has operated a small European Operational Support Hub in Germany since 2009, with the consent of the German government. Originally located at the United States Air Force base at Spangdahlem in western Germany, it was relocated in July 2012 to the joint military-civilian airfield at Köln-Bonn to take advantage of the broader range of support services readily available in that region. CAF personnel are co-located with the German Air Force on the military side of the airfield.

This location at the large Köln-Bonn airport provides a very capable facility with 24/7 operating hours and infrastructure that can provide great flexibility in meeting the CAF requirements, as well as providing tremendous access to the full range of transportation networks required to support our OSH operations.

KUWAIT

In 2011, Canada entered into an arrangement with Kuwait to establish an Operational Support Detachment in Kuwait to support CAF operations in Afghanistan. The Operational Support Detachment was a transportation point where CAF personnel, materiel, and equipment was transferred between modes of transportation (for example from air to sea), in order to reduce costs. In contrast, an OSH is designed to support a range of CAF operations that may include peacekeeping, development, humanitarian and disaster-relief.

On May 12, 2014, Canada signed a new MOU with Kuwait to establish and maintain an OSH for Canadian Armed Forces personnel, materiel and equipment who will transit through Kuwait to and from their areas of operation outside of Kuwait, or who may be present in Kuwait.