1 CMBG and 1 PPCLI undergo training with Exercises TACTICUS RAM and VIGILANT RAM

October 17, 2022 - Tim Bryant, Western Sentinel

The Command Teams at 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG) and 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI) spent most of September testing their skills through Exercises TACTICUS RAM and VIGILANT RAM.

Exercise TACTICUS RAM (Ex TR) was the first of the two exercises, and was meant to train and test 1 CMBG headquarters’ command and control skills, explained Colonel Phil Bourque, Commander 1 CMBG.

“It was our main shakeout, to get everyone back in this business, because we had not done this often during COVID,” he explained.

During Ex TR, 3rd Canadian Division headquarters presented 1 CMBG headquarters with orders to put into action to test the Brigade staff’s ability to craft courses of action and to successfully execute those orders.

“We use this to train our staff to reflect, and to run through multiple options how to deliver on the plan we’ve been given,” said Col Bourque.

Caption

Lieutenant‑Colonel Craig Higgins (left) briefs Colonel Phil Bourque, Commander 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, during the unit backbriefs portion of Exercise VIGILANT RAM

Photo by Capt Ryan Bartlette, 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Public Affairs Officer

Once Ex TR wrapped up, the focus shifted to testing the 1 PPCLI Team through Ex VIGILANT RAM (Ex VR).

“They have to look at the task they’re given, and reflect and think about various options on how to deliver on that task,” Col Bourque explained.

The scenario presented to 1 PPCLI was made moderately simpler, Col Bourque added, so all the staff involved in the exercise could be utilized and exercised to their fullest.

As part of Ex VR, both the 1 CMBG and 1 PPCLI Command Teams participated in unit backbriefs, where the 1 PPCLI team presented its plans for executing the orders it had been given to Col Bourque and his team. This is an opportunity to make sure the plans fit the objectives the orders sought to meet, as well as give other Commanding Officers involved in the exercise the chance to offer suggestions to improve the plans. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure the commander is aware of and approves the plans before they are put into action.

The back‑and‑forth conversations that take place during a unit backbrief are a “dynamic way of tackling a problem together,” Col Bourque said.

“It puts them in this frame of mind,” he added. “We try to replicate the frame of mind that they will have overseas in Europe.”

That European aspect is especially pertinent, as 1 PPCLI is slated to deploy to Camp Adazi, Latvia, to take over as the lead mounting unit for the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Latvia, which is part of Operation REASSURANCE. The transition will see Lieutenant‑Colonel Craig Higgins of 1 PPCLI take over command of the Battle Group from the current Commander, 2 PPCLI’s Lieutenant-Colonel Jesse Van Eijk.

As the battlegroup comprises personnel from 10 countries, along with the complication of speaking several different languages and having different operating procedures, “the back‑and‑forth, the collaboration [and] the collegial approach to things is important,” Col Bourque said.

The backbrief was one of the final steps of Ex VR prior to the exercise moving to the simulation phase on Sept. 26. That phase utilizes a computer-based system running algorithms to assess the plans 1 PPCLI has made, and determines how successful they are. The simulation phase allows 1 PPCLI and 1 CMBG to run multiple plans through the scenario and make adjustments to improve the chances of success.

“It is much more efficient to do this this way, because the objective is to train the command post, not the individual soldier,” Col Bourque said. “That provides the environment for the command post to do their thing.”

The scenarios being used in both Ex TR and Ex VR are based on real‑world situations, in a concerted effort to avoid falling into the historical trap of “training for the last war.”

“It is very important to train based on contemporary operating environments,” Col Bourque said.

While it is impossible to predict the future with perfect accuracy, Ex TR and Ex VR are the Canadian Armed Forces’ estimate of what future conflicts will look like and play out, he added. Testing Command Teams through exercises like Ex TR and Ex VR is critical to ensuring command teams maintain the mindset of looking forward to what could be coming.

“We try to design training that is the most realistic possible,” Col Bourque said.

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