Jules Xavier
Shilo Stag

Maj Jürgen Miranda is ready for his next military mission, this time deploying across the Atlantic Ocean to prepare Ukrainian Army recruits to face invading Russians on the snow-covered battlefield.
It’s a mission the 16-year CAF veteran is looking forward to once Op UNIFIER-UK pre-deployment training concludes at CFB Shilo, and the more than 100 Patricias augmented by Reservists bus to 17 Wing Winnipeg for their flight overseas.
This will be Maj Miranda’s — 2PPCLI’s B Coy OC — second international deployment. In 2019, he deployed as adjutant to Latvia with 2PPCLI as part of the Enhanced Force Presence Battle Group (eFP BG-LVA) on Op REASSURANCE Roto 19-02.
His domestic deployment includes his participation in Op LENTUS 13 following the floods in Alberta, when he was a platoon commander with 3PPCLI.
Born in Vitória, Brazil, Maj Miranda moved all over Southern Ontario in his youth, in addition to living Warsaw, Poland while growing up. However, he’s spent the majority of his time in Kitchener-Waterloo.
“Honestly, wherever I lay my head is home,” he offered.
Maj Miranda joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), starting with the Reserves as part of the Toronto Scottish Regiment in December 2005 — infanteer NCM — before conducting a component transfer to the Regular Forces in June 2007 under the Regular Officer Training Program (ROTP) at the University of Waterloo.
“I was influenced to join the infantry from a young age from a close family friend and later through high school friends who were in the Reserves,” he recalled. “Through my infantry training and later through my direct chain-of-command, I was approached about consideration for officer training, of which the leadership element piqued my interest.”
What piqued his interest in the Canadian Army’s infantry?
“The physicality and comradery of the infantry were elements of the occupation that captured me. I would say the kinship I fostered on course and in high school with my Reserve friends, and the tactical [on the ground] leadership I observed in training were all reasons why the infantry stuck out to me.”
He added, “From a service perspective, the Canadian Armed Forces was always in the cards for me. As an immigrant with military service a requirement for men in Brazil, I always saw service to the country that took me in as an important way that I could give back.”
It also helps when you have military history on the family tree.
“Service has always been in my family, with most recent examples being my uncle, posthumously promoted to brigadier-general in the Brazilian Air Force’s Medical Corps,” he recalled. “My grandfather was a sergeant in the Brazilian Cavalry, and I had a great-uncle [who] was a colonel in the Brazilian Army.”
Having just completed media awareness training with 1CMBG PAO Capt Ryan Bartlette, the Shilo Stag conducted a Q&A with the deploying Officer Commanding (OC) with Op UNIFIER-UK Canadian contingent. He’s on Roto 15, with his soldiers responsible for basic training of Ukrainian Security Force recruits on the second rotation in the UK, taking over from 3PPCLI.
Shilo Stag (SS): What is 2PPCLI’s involvement in Op UNIFIER-UK compared to when former 2PPCLI CO LCol Wayne Niven and 200 soldiers travelled to Ukraine in the summer of 2016 on Op UNIFIER Roto 2?
Maj Jürgen Miranda (JM): “Op UNIFIER-UK is focused around training recruits to be ready for combat in war. As attrition is high in conventional war, the latest incarnation of Op UNIFIER is aimed at force generation to provide as many soldiers as possible for the Ukrainian Security Forces to be able to fight. Therefore, time constraints are a very real factor. Our operational mandate is to train recruits that are able to shoot, move, communicate and medicate – key skills every soldier must have to be effective on the modern battlefield. Comparatively, the former version of Op UNIFIER [conducted in Ukraine] did not have these same constraints and mandate, meaning there was greater opportunity to focus on leadership development and more advanced tactics, which are beyond our current operational scope.”
SS: What are you personally doing on this Op? How many recruits will be under your tutelage on this mission?
JM: “As the Officer Commanding the Canadian Contingent, the two training teams, headquarters, and our embedded support elements are all responsible to me, in ensuring our operational mandates are being conducted at the requisite standard. Currently, our overall aim is to instruct approximately 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers during our rotation, subject to amendment, split roughly evenly between the two training teams.”
SS: With 3PPCLI leaving after its deployment, what does your rotation comprise when you arrive in the UK to begin training Ukrainian recruits?
JM: “There will be a fairly extensive handover to ensure our rotation is set up for success. This will involve some theatre-specific training in country and a shadow period where our contingent will have the opportunity to observe 3PPCLI while they lead the training.”
SS: What are you teaching your Ukrainian recruits during your six-month deployment to the UK?
JM: “We will be teaching Ukrainian recruits the basic skills of a soldier: basics on Law of Armed Conflict/ marksmanship and weapons handling; basics of offensive and defensive operations in several settings; and basics of first aid in a combat environment.”
SS: With your responsibility as OC, how does it feel to be part of the training process for these raw recruits before they return to Ukraine to face Russian invaders in defending their homeland on the battlefield?
JM: “This is an amazing opportunity. Deployment on an operation with true tangible impact on an increasingly uncertain environment is an opportunity I do not take lightly and I am thankful and humbled to have been trusted with command of this mission. I look forward to serving alongside our brethren from the UK, and am certainly excited to continue to push this operation forward in a positive way that further supports the Ukrainians in their hour of need.”
SS: What type of training have you and your fellow Patricias done to prepare you for this “teaching” deployment working with Ukrainian recruits?
JM: “We have tailored our training to ensure our leadership is proficient in instructional techniques and all our soldiers are at a high level of competency in basic soldier skills in such a way all our members can contribute and support training and teaching. We will have big shoes to fill as 3PPCLI is a highly professional and well-trained unit, though I am confident we are ready to take up the torch.”
SS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to ad to what you see your role is as part of Op UNIFIER-UK? What will you miss back at home during your time away?
JM: “It is my honour to lead our soldiers internationally on a mission such as this. I truthfully believe the tangible impacts Canada is having in supporting this operation cannot be understated, and it is a mission that directly supports our strategic aims, while further bolstering our relations with our allies. The conviction I have seen from our contingent is humbling, and I make no reservation in saying 2PPCLI and our supporting soldiers are up for the challenge. Personally, as an individual that has not previously travelled to the UK and have had only limited interaction with their Armed Forces, I am looking forward to working with them, learning from them, and if possible, seeing more of their country. My wife and kids in Winnipeg will be the ones I miss during the deployment, though they understand the requirement of my job; I’ll have to make it up to them when I get back.”

Members of 3PPCLI from Garrison Edmonton act as range safety officers during a live fire range with Ukrainian recruits on Op UNIFIER-UK. Photos Cpl Eric Greico/CAF 

CAF members from 1 Combat Engineer Regiment teach Ukrainian recruits how to identify and avoid explosive ordnance. Photo Cpl Eric Greico/CAF

Canadian soldiers from 3PPCLI continue to train Ukrainian recruits as part of Op UNIFIER in the UK. Training last November included patrols, fighting withdrawals, and simulated casualty care and extractions. The skills these Ukrainian soldiers learn in the UK will help them to defend against Russia’s ongoing illegal invasion of their homeland. Photos Cpl Eric Greico/CAF

Instructors from 3PPCLI are teaching recruits from the Security Forces of Ukraine to conduct care-under-fire in the event they have to evacuate fellow soldiers to a safer area for medical treatment and care. Photo Cpl Eric Greico/CAF