Who Said Baltic Winters Were Mild??

By: Capt Chris M Lee

B ‘Bulldog’ Squadron rang in 2026, with one of the most severe winters in the last decade for Eastern Europe. The squadron was fresh from its predeployment training in Canada and completed its handover with A Squadron to become a part of the Canadian-led Multinational Brigade in Latvia.

Murphy’s Law was fully on display as the soldiers of the squadron endeavoured to prepare for the rigours of training in an historically cold Baltic winter. It was therefore a month of highs and lows for the squadron but the leadership at all levels battled constantly to ensure that the soldiers and their kit were focused on the next bound of training within the highly-complex Multinational Battlegroup Latvia. Maj Bryce “FIGHT TONIGHT” Simpson worked tirelessly to integrate the squadron at the combat team and battle group levels while delegating numerous training opportunities for his troop leaders to plan and execute to reinforce crew and individual skillsets. Zeroing ranges for small arms, crew-served weapons and armoured fighting vehicles were an early priority, as was familiarization with the occasionally tank-swallowing terrain of the Adazi training area in Latvia. Capt Nathan “It’ll be a good time” Bogya, put on continuous training for the C22 pistol for qualified pers in the squadron – a very humbling experience for most of us. Capt Griffin “I just want to move fast and blow things up” Brophy was planning for a Brigade Presence Operation using a half-squadron’s worth of personnel, and consisting of cultural exposure and a lot of small arms ranges. Capt Chris “Always sick” Lee worked to put on Urban Operations training with the tanks and Canadian infantry working in close support in an urban environment. Even our engineer attachment, Lt Ben “When do I boomboom” Robinson put on training sessions for members to learn more about the world of engineering. Squadron Second in Command, Capt Scott “Everything is awesome” Veale, was of course buried too deep in administration to do anything fun (which is the lot of every 2IC). In conjunction with the Squadron Sergeant Major, MWO Matt Williams, the two were critical in the maintenance of morale and ensuring that troops were well-supplied, fed, and slept in (relative) peace. It didn’t stop there though! Non-commissioned Officers (NCOs) who spent the most time with their soldiers ensured that the troops always had an important task – be it learning or maintaining – at hand.

As the month came to a close, the soldiers of Bulldog Squadron continued to ready their vehicles and steel themselves against the frigid temperatures in the battle group field exercises to come.

Perseverance.