1 CMBG Headed to Brazil for Ex.STEELE LEOPARDO

BY: David Pugliese, The Ottawa Citizen 

Soldiers from Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), an armoured unit within 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, will take part in an exercise in Brazil starting Oct. 30, the Canadian Army says. The unit, based in Edmonton, will be participating in Exercise STEELE LEOPARDO 2016. That exercise runs until November 12.

“During the Exercise, participants will be focusing on information and knowledge exchange with their counterparts from the Brazilian Army Armoured Corps,” the Canadian Forces noted in a news release. “Armoured training techniques include performing direct fire and surveillance tasks, as well as target acquisition and reconnaissance.”

A gunner from 4th Canadian Division loads a shell into the C3 105mm Howitzer during Exercise STALWART GUARDIAN 16 on August 19, 2016 at Garrison Petawawa, Ontario.

6,000+ CAF Members to Participate in MAPLE RESOLVE-16

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

Over 6000 Canadian Forces personnel will participate in Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 2016, the Canadian Army’s largest training event of the year. Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE will take place in Wainwright, Alberta, from May 23 to June 6.

The exercise is hosted by the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre and will provide Canadian Army soldiers, leaders, and other military personnel an opportunity to enhance their combat readiness, according to the army’s news release.

Equipment and Personnel before Ex. MAPLE RESOLVE-15 (Canadian Forces - Flickr)

The training will confirm the readiness of 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG); 1 CMBG to assume its responsibilities as the Canadian Army’s High Readiness brigade on July 1.

During the exercise Canadian soldiers serving with 1 CMBG based in Edmonton, Alberta and Shilo, Manitoba will train with elements of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the United States Army, U.S. National Guard, U.S. Army Reserves, U.S. Marine Corps, and the British Army. Allied participation will involve over 1200 soldiers from the U.S. military and approximately 150 soldiers from the British Army, according to the news release.

Review: Ex. PROMETHEAN RAM

By: Claire Theobald, Edmonton Journal 

CFB Wainwright — The scenario is this: a Canadian military convoy carrying ammunition, fuel and food to combat units grinds to a halt after one of the trucks strikes a buried improvised explosive device.

Deep in enemy territory, force protection teams travelling in Light Armoured Vehicles take up defensive positions around the convoy, scanning the brush for combatants while others inspect the damage to the vehicle, ever watchful for secondary traps.

Suddenly, a soldier calls “Dismount from the hill” as an enemy target springs from cover.

It’s an ambush.

Canadian troops open fire, a light machine gunner pinning enemy targets under automatic gunfire while riflemen take aim, eliminating those they can and forcing others back from the convoy.

About 4,000 soldiers from across Western Canada are taking part in this operation, dubbed Promethean Ram, a month-long live-fire exercise at CFB Wainwright that is testing the readiness of Canadian troops for combat.

“We train hard to fight easy,” says Brig.-Gen. Trevor Cadieu, commander of 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1CMBG). “There is no easy fight overseas, but it is absolutely imperative that we conduct this sort of training so we can condition our soldiers to what they might face abroad.”

Soldiers of 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG) take part in Exercise Promethean Ram, a live-fire training exercise held at CFB Wainwright, on April 21, 2016. GREG SOUTHAM

The complex, gruelling and dangerous training is a necessary part of the group’s “road to high readiness,” proving the troops are prepared to be deployed wherever the Canadian government sees fit.

“We have to show that we are competent, we are prepared and we are effective,” says Maj. Matthew Johns, with 1 CMGB out of CFB Edmonton.

After training day and night for a month, these soldiers will return to CFB Wainwright for combat training exercise Maple Resolve on May 18.

Soldiers of 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG) take part in Exercise Promethean Ram, a live-fire training exercise held at CFB Wainwright, on April 21, 2016. GREG SOUTHAM

The combat groups will then be considered ready for deployment over the next year.

Promethean Ram’s “Level Five Combined Arms Attack” feels real — and the bullets peppering the landscape certainly are. Explosions demolish obstacles like trenches, razor wire and mine fields, throwing dirt and debris into the air while tanks roll over the terrain as infantry units hunt down and destroy enemy targets. In the distance, a CF-18 drops a 1,000-pound bomb, the resulting plume of smoke and dust visible for kilometres.

“Feeling fear is normal, in fact to a degree we think it is healthy. It heightens the senses, it focuses us,” says Cadieu, in charge of co-ordinating the units in the combined arms attack exercise. “Courage in the battle field is not about not feeling fear, it’s feeling it and then working through it.”

Exposing troops to life-like battle conditions prepares soldiers to take control without hesitation in crisis situations.

“Basic soldier skills are the fundamentals for our military. Once we hone those, soldiers have the confidence to use their gear, use their drills, defend themselves in a conflict situation. That is a fundamental of any operation they’ll take forward for any type of deployment,” says Maj. Peter Beitz, officer commanding the reconnaissance squadron with Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians).

Soldiers of 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG) take part in Exercise Promethean Ram, a live-fire training exercise held at CFB Wainwright, on April 21, 2016. GREG SOUTHAM

Cadieu adds that Canada this year expects to send more troops to assist in a training mission with the Ukrainian military, deploy a group of 250 soldiers to eastern Europe as part of NATO reassurance measures and replenish operation IMPACT, supporting a multinational effort against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Facts and figures About Promethean Ram:

• 250 soldiers involved in each Level Five Arms Attack simulation

• 15 tanks, including Leopard 2A4 and Leopard C2 main battle tanks, two Badger armed engineer vehicles and one Taurus armoured recovery vehicle

• 20 Light Armoured Vehicles including LAV IIIs, LAV 6s and Bisons

• Soldiers armed with C-7A2 automatic rifles and C-8 carbine automatic rifles

• Light machine gunners armed with C9A2 light machine guns and C6 medium machine guns

• Artillery using M777 howitzers

• A CF-18 dropped a 1,000-pound MK 83 bomb

• Combat engineers using Bangalore explosives to blast through obstacles, including razor wire and simulated mine field

3500 CAF Members set to participate in EX PROMETHEAN RAM

DND Press Release:

April 4, 2016 – Ottawa – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

Approximately 3500 soldiers from the Canadian Army’s 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG) will take part in Exercise PROMETHEAN RAM in Wainwright, Alberta, from April 6 to May 5, 2016. This training is an important component of operational preparations for the Edmonton and Shilo-based military personnel.

Exercise PROMETHEAN RAM is a key step in the Canadian Army’s preparation for Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 16 and the “Road to High Readiness” training program, which prepares soldiers for domestic or expeditionary deployments, as mandated by the Government of Canada.

Exercise PROMETHEAN RAM is a live-fire exercise that verifies the Brigade’s offensive and defensive combat capabilities in a deployed environment. Soldiers of 1 CMBG will emerge from this demanding exercise as a highly cohesive team, having refined their battlefield skills, synchronized their combined arms effects, and expanded confidence in their weapon systems.

“Exercise PROMETHEAN RAM is critical to preparing our soldiers for the full spectrum of operational tasks. The exercise’s challenging live-fire training will enhance the fundamental soldier skills of our troops, build their warrior spirit, and increase their confidence with the Brigade’s weapons systems.”  Brigadier-General Trevor Cadieu, Commander, 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group

Quick Facts

Exercise PROMETHEAN RAM involves artillery, armour, engineer, infantry, tactical helicopter, logistical, and medical components training by day and by night.

Exercise PROMETHEAN RAM ensures that 1 CMBG is prepared for the next High Readiness exercise, MAPLE RESOLVE, which is the culminating event that will confirm the Brigade’s operational readiness. 

Starting in July 2016, 1 CMBG will serve as Canada’s High Readiness Brigade, prepared to provide troops from the individual to the Brigade level for the full spectrum of operational tasks, including security force assistance and combat.

Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE is the pinnacle of the Army’s yearly training. Hosted by the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre in Wainwright, Alberta, and taking place from May 12 to June 17, 2016, it is the final validation exercise before a Task Force is declared ready to deploy on either domestic or international operations.

Canadian Forces Training in France

DND released late last week that 30 members of the 1st Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG) based out of Edmonton, Alberta are taking part in Exercise CITADEL KLEBER at the Mourmelon Training grounds in France.

The CAF announced that the training exercise began on March 3 2015, and will run until March 20 2015. The CAF in recent years has stepped up its training exercises with France, and more are expected in the future according to DND.

Exercise CITADEL KLEBER also includes troops from Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands. It totals more than 1,700 troops. The exercise is being led by France, who is getting ready to take over the NATO Rapid Response HQ in 2017.

The 1 CMBG troops are taking the opportunity to plan and execute crisis response situations and sharpen their interoperability skills with NATO allies.