New neighbours

Advance unit of Army’s 4 Engineer Support Regiment arriving on P.E.I. today

Islanders, especially those in the Summerside area, should expect to see a much larger military presence starting Thursday. A group of about 50 soldiers and vehicles from the Canadian Forces 4 Engineer Support Regiment will be arriving in the province in advance of a much larger group of more than 450 soldiers and vehicles arriving Nov. 1.

The Forces issued a press release Wednesday to reassure the public that the increased military presence is just a training exercise.

The unit is participating in Exercise NIHILO SAPPER 2018, which involves it helping with the construction of a number of community projects across P.E.I. Some of the venues where they will be helping with projects include: the Boys and Girls Club of Summerside, Lennox Island First Nation, Brookvale Provincial Ski Park, Abegweit First Nation in Mount Stewart, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 8, and the Panmure Island Lighthouse in Montague.

Although the soldiers will be moving around the province during their time here, the unit itself will be based in Slemon Park. It is building a temporary base camp there.

Residents are invited to an open house at the camp on the afternoon of Nov. 10. Visitors can check out the camp, see some of the vehicles used by the unit and meet some of the soldiers working here on the Island.