On the morning of August 16th, 2017, the Strathcona Mounted Troop (SMT) began their long trek to beautiful British Columbia. The day started off as usual, fetching and grooming horses, which is an easier task for some than others.

n August 2017, I was employed as the Admin NCO for TLAV D&M Serial 0249 being run by my old command team: Lt Dan “Smiley” Dixon and WO Sean “Old Hand” Thompson.

In the early hours of September 7th, 208 competitors from across 1 CMBG lined up at the start line for what is known to many as the gruelling Mountain Man Challenge…

On August 29th 2017, the Regiment deployed 89 soldiers in support of Operation LENTUS 17-04 to fight wildfires in the Cariboo Region of British Columbia (BC).

The 3rd Canadian Division command team, BGen T. Cadieu and CWO S.D. Stevens, visited Joint Task Force Ukraine (JTF-U) during their Eastern European circulation following a 10 day visit to the Canadian led Battle Group in Latvia.

Each year, Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) has the opportunity to provide a 100-troop Honour Guard to parade both at Spruce Meadows, and the Calgary Stampede.

On July 1st, 2017, Col (Ret'd) Hug and his wife Maria were invited to Rideau Hall for the Inauguration of The Queen's Entrance and the Reception on the Occasion of the Inauguration of The Queen’s Entrance that followed.

If you were to Google the top ten things to do in Ukraine chances are that most of the websites you click on will have listed “Hike the Carpathian Mountains”.

At the end April 2017, Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) instructors at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center (IPSC) in Ukraine, successfully planned and executed a challenging and safe live fire section attack range.

In early June 2017, as a part of Op UNIFIER Roto 3, CAF Combat Engineers from 1 CER conducted breaching training with the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center (IPSC) in Starychi, Ukraine.

In late April, Second Troop from Recce Sqn headed across the Rockies to support Ex WESTERN CREWMAN (WC) 17, a Primary Reserve Exercise designed to train units from 39 and 41 Canadian Brigade Groups.

On May 8th, 2017, soldiers from the Regiment, supplemented by infanteers from 1 PPCLI, came together to begin Close Quarters Combat – Basic (CQCB) training.

On 22 May 2017, 13 members from SMT headed east to Regina, Saskatchewan to partake in the Tattoo Royale, which represents the start of the Canada 150 Tour of the famous RCMP Musical Ride and the City of Regina’s birthday.

At the International Peacekeeping and Security Center (IPSC), LoE 1’s focus has shifted from training soldiers within the Rotational Training Units (RTU), to mentoring Ukrainian Instructors.

Canadian Medical Technicians (Med Tech) on Operation UNIFIER work in the unique and challenging role of providing mentorship to instructors of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Combat First Aid (CFA) program.

Medical Technicians supporting Operation UNIFIER, in Ukraine work in several roles at the International Peace and Security Centre (IPSC), including providing mentorship to instructors of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) Combat First Aid program.

Six soldiers from Joint Task Force Ukraine (JTF-U) participated in a friendly powerlifting competition on 24/25 April 2017. Two of the six were officers from 2 PPCLI, Maj Chris Hartwick and Lt Marek Sadovsky, both from Line of Effort 1 (LoE 1).

A day in the life of a RCEME technician is never the same as the day previous, or the day that follows. High work volumes, multiple jobs on the go, various repair requests, and oddball side projects are all common occurrences.

After a couple months of usual routine while deployed on Op UNIFIER, 7 May brought a nice change for a couple of soldiers.

The morning of 4 April 2017, at the International Peace Support Center (IPSC) in Starychi Ukraine, marked the completion of a ten week training cycle for the 1st Battalion of the 28th Mechanized Brigade (1-28th Mech).

The first sustainment flight for Op UNIFIER Rotation 3 was due into Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport mid-April.

As Op UNIFIER Roto 3 hit the ground, we quickly started relieving Roto 2. With smooth handovers and a week to sort ourselves out we were on our way to success.

On Saturday March 25th, 2017 while most of the Regiment was enjoying the beginning of spring break, the Strathcona Mounted Troop was hard at work grooming and loading 18 of their best horses.

Vimy Ridge Sunday was a truly remarkable event here in Edmonton. All the more special by your soldiers and horses that were the showpiece at Churchill Square.