Nearly 20 members of the 49th (Sault Ste Marie) Field Regiment are braving the bitter cold in order to hone a number of winter skills just north of Thessalon this weekend.
The military exercise will see members of the regiment participate in a mock scenario that will plunge them deep into the bush in the Little Rapids area with snowshoes, artillery and a host of military supplies in an effort to brush up on basic skills and operating in a winter environment.
“We’ll have a simulated enemy that we’re going to locate and try to get as much information as we can — and then bring that back to our command post,” said Capt. Shawn Cartier, adding that the information will then be compiled in order to “get the best picture” possible.
“From there, it would get passed on to the higher elements, so they can then decide exactly how we’re going to deal with that.”
The exercise taking place this weekend has been designed to help ensure the troops are trained properly so they can respond to any of their military work while deployed.
“This training will work for any domestic search and rescue as we’re called upon, or any of our current operations overseas,” Cartier said.
An overwhelming majority of the regiment members are from Sault Ste. Marie and surrounding area, according to the captain.
“They’re all local members of the community — we’ve got a supply teacher, members who work at Algoma Steel, a few others are students, and a few work for the regiment full time as well,” said Cartier.
Master Bombardier Colin McLean — one of the section commanders for this weekend’s exercise — is one of those locals who moonlights as a member of the regiment.
“Outside of being in the military, I’m a high school teacher,” said McLean, who was born in the Sault, but now calls the Goulais River area home. “I just finished teaching at Korah Collegiate in Sault Ste. Marie, and I also supply teach at all the different schools in the district.”
McLean is a longstanding member of the regiment, having been a part of it for 14 years now.
“It keeps me in shape for one — one of the job requirements in the military is being physically active,” he said. “Also, it gets me out in the elements. I really enjoy being outside.”
But the biggest reason he keeps doing it is building strong relationships with the other guys in the unit.
“I think it’s the strongest reason I come out. I really enjoy the people that I work with,” McLean said. “I’m a big believer in being part of the 49th Field Regiment. I think we should get more people involved.”
Cartier expressed his gratitude to the locals in the areas of Thessalon and Little Rapids for their support of the winter military exercise taking place this weekend.
“It is quite nice to be able to train locally. We have a limited amount of time we can train, especially with people with full-time jobs — there’s only so much time we can come out, and if we have to leave the local area, that cuts down our training time due to the time we have to travel,” he said. “Being able to train locally is a great benefit to us, so I do want to thank the area for allowing this.”