It's a long way to war zones like Afghanistan from here, but in Meaford this week Canadian reservists are training so they're ready if they get the call to an international hot spot.
Soldiers were in simulated firefights during the military exercise at the Land Force Central Area Training Centre in Meaford. Lieutenant Cale Zavitz is one of 1,400 reservists taking part in a mock invasion of Canada. When Zavitz is not a soldier, he is a medical student in Toronto. He expects this training to serve him well.
“Being a platoon commander is pretty good leadership training for any kind of leadership you are going to do in your entire life,” he says. “Any leadership jobs you are going to have you are going to have setbacks. Getting killed in an exercise like this certainly prepares you for any little setbacks you are going to have in life.”
Many of the reservists have been in training all summer and this exercise brings them all together from their regiments across the province so they can practice working together as a battle-ready group.
When the red flags are flying, so are the mortars and the artillery shells.
Master bombadier Evan Laplante says this is a live fire exercise.
“It's a high angle weapon. It has an approximate range of 5.5 kilometres. It has various kinds of ammunition,” he says. “We can use high explosives. We can use smoke to blind enemies.”
Everything in this exercise is designed to be a realistic as possible so the reservists get to know what it's really like in battle.
After a tour in Afghanistan, Capt. Marie-Eve Labonte knows first-hand how important this training is. She says there is no room for error when aiming a howitzer.
“If one number is wrong, we are shooting 100 meters from the soldiers, it can be very deadly and confidence is real important for the infantry guys in front,” she says. “They want to know we are not shooting at them but beside them on the enemy.”
Over the next couple of days, some of the exercises will spill out of the base and into the community. Meaford residents should expect to see and hear much more military activity than usual.
