Naval Security Team

The Naval Security Team (NST) (Équipe de Sécurité Navale, ESN) is an organization within the Royal Canadian Navy's Naval Reserve tasked with force protection. The NST also performs tactical and intelligence support and is also designed to give reservists more overseas opportunities. It is primarily composed of Naval Reservists, with Regular Force members rounding out the team when required. Having only been established in November 2016, it is relatively small in size having up to 60 members. It reports directly to Maritime Forces Pacific at CFB Esquimalt. The NST was deployed in 2017 for the first time when escorting the HMCS Winnipeg during its port visit to Busan, South Korea. Since then, it has also visited the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Fiji and Greece. The Greece visit was organized to aide in the transfer of responsibility from sailors on the HMCS Ville de Québec who were on leave. In June 2019, the first NST members to receive their qualification certification were sent on duty.