Ex MAPLE RESOLVE 15

MCpl Kenneth “Kenny” Wright

Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 15 (Ex MR 15) started for Headquarters (HQ) Squadron on 13 April with the Advance Party setting out for the camp set up of our future home, Camp Richardson.  Located in the most northwest corner of the Wainwright Training Area, the camp would be the main staging area for the LdSH(RC) Opposing Force (OPFOR) Battle Group led by the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Josh “Superior Tactical Commander” Major and the Regimental Sergeant Major, Chief Warrant Officer Tony Batty.  Though the Battle Group was formed and led by LdSH(RC), we were augmented by a number of units, including several international contributions.  The Battle Group was well rounded and contained elements of HQ Squadron, A Squadron, Recce Squadron, 1 Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, 1 Canadian Engineer Regiment, 1 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron and members of the United States Army and United States Marine Corps.  Throughout the entire exercise the units were quickly integrated and we proved to be a very robust and innovative OPFOR.  They gave the enemy force all they could handle, which in some cases ended up being more than they could handle.  All in all it was an excellent world class training opportunity.  

Being a full Battle Group of approximately 500 people, the Regiment deployed the RHQ and HQ Squadron led, by Major Clayton Gardner, and acting Camp Sergeant Major Master Warrant Officer Tony Mayfield.  Like all deployments to the CFB Wainwright training area the Ops WO, Warrant Officer Rob Englehart, 2IC HQ, Captain John Kim, Regimental Transport, Maintenance, and Quartermaster Troops were among the first of the Battle Group to be deployed.  The Advance Party was essential in ensuring that Camp Richardson was properly set up and the daily operation of the camp was running smoothly for arrival of the main body.  

Regimental Transport, under the guidance of Captain Mathew “Transporter” Hoffart and Warrant Officer Harry Delaney were responsible for transportation needs and assisted with the re-supply of fuel and other oil products required throughout training.  One of the many things required by HQ Squadron Transport Troop included the siting of the parking area for the Forward Area Refueling system (FAR).  Under the direction of Corporal William “Billy” Clendennin and Corporal David Young, this entire parking area was set-up in a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly manner.  Corporal Andrew Radford and Corporal Colby Smith led the charge for the POL area set up where all required oil petroleum products were laid out in a highly organized fashion and ready for pick-up for those in need at a moment’s notice.  A new addition to Transport, Corporal Nicholas “Bob” Morin could not remember where he placed his keys when it was time to return home at the end of the exercise.  He was greatly relieved to find them in one of his pockets at the Shell station parking lot in Viking on the way back to Edmonton.  Of course this was only after lots of colorful language and the dumping of all his army gear over the cab of his HLVW cargo truck.

Maintenance, under the direction of Captain Pat Theroux, Master Warrant Officer Greg Hawkins, and Warrant Officer Gerald Lefebvre was even busier than usual with the influx of other Battle Group attachment vehicles, not to mention the “very repair needy,” aged Leopard C2 main battle tanks.  The cooks, under Warrant Officer John Woroniuk and Sergeant Michael Doody, worked hard throughout Ex MR 15 to bring together a very inexperienced crew to prepare and serve hundreds of hot meals a day to keep the Battle Group fed and running on a full stomach.  The Regimental stores under the direction of Captain Scott Jackson, Master Warrant Officer Lloyd Clayson, and Warrant Officer Scott Brown supplied the Battle Group, the Squadrons, and sometimes even the enemy throughout the exercise.  They worked hard handing out and exchanging everything from heaters to pens and collecting and returning mountains of laundry.  The HQ Sqn SQ staff, Master Corporal Izaak Koolman and Corporal David Olaes also signed for and distributed hundreds of tan (arid) OPFOR uniforms that played an important part in distinguishing the OPFOR Battle Group from the Primary Training Audience (PTA).  In short, by means of resupply through HQ Sqn, the entire Battle Group was able to sustain the necessary operations required to provide an effective and agile OPFOR for the 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group.  

As the unsung heroes for Ex MR 15, HQ Sqn worked hard in the background to supply the entire OPFOR Battle Group as well as support the PTA and Exercise Control.  This included the transporting of soldiers and supplies around the training area, to procuring commodities and services, to repairing and recovering vehicles, or feeding the hardworking Battle Group.  Headquarters Squadron was a part of every operation on the exercise; their unofficial motto being “You Call, We Haul!”