HONING THEIR SKILLS
Exercise allowed members to practise skills as part of combat service support
Reserve members of the Canadian Armed Forces take part in training exercise.
Reserve military members of the Canadian Armed Forces were able to hone their skills on Saturday as part of the exercise called “Trench Sustain.”
The exercise was an opportunity for soldiers belonging to 36 Service Battalion in Halifax and Sydney to come together and practice their skills as combat service support at locations in Sydney.
Their roles include critical functions such as feeding, transportation, supply and maintenance to ensure a well-oiled combat organisation.
Major Leo Kanne, a New Waterford native working in Halifax, is the exercise director and he returned to the Cape Breton to oversee the successful execution of the exercise on Saturday. He said it was an important event because troops get to experience a situation that they have been training for.
“The troops get very excited when they get to do hands on
work and get to exercise the skills they’ve learned over the last few months,” said Kanne.
The troops spent the day on Saturday securing a perimeter at the old Radar Base while technicians fixed the engine of a large truck.
Kanne said that the realistic tactical context creates an assumption that the soldiers are
working in an environment that requires that they carry out functions while maintaining a security posture in response to potential enemy threats.
He added that the most exciting part of the exercise for him is working with his soldiers in Cape Breton.
“I’m excited because I’m
home in Cape Breton and leading the troops that I have here in this area,” said Kanne.
One of the soldiers involved in the exercise, Master Corporal J.C. Savoie said he enjoyed being able to get hands on training in a combat atmosphere.
“It’s exciting because we get to deploy our assets to the
field and actually get to fix the problem and either repair it or recover it back to our location,” said Savoie.
The exercise ran from October 27 – 29 and featured combat service support at locations in Sydney, Glace Bay and Louisbourg.