Exercise RUGGED BEAR: In support to Canadian Army High Readiness

News Release

April 2, 2017 – Wainwright, Alta. – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

Starting tomorrow, 3 000 Canadian Army soldiers from 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group from Petawawa, Ontario will fine-tune their soldiering skills during Exercise RUGGED BEAR at the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre in Wainwright, Alberta.

The purpose of Exercise RUGGED BEAR is for the Canadian Army to certify that these soldiers, under the banner of Task Force Tomahawk, have achieved the necessary Battle Task Standard (BTS). Achieving this BTS is a critical prerequisite for Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 17: an intensive training opportunity which will be conducted in May, also in Wainwright, as part of the unit’s Road to High Readiness.

The Road to High Readiness is the Canadian Army’s rigorous training regime that prepares soldiers for national or expeditionary deployments, as mandated by the Government of Canada. The goal of the training is to generate a competent, confident and integrated Army brigade group that can provide scalable, mission-tailored and responsive forces for full-spectrum operations.

Additional multimedia

Light Armoured Vehicles 6.0 (LAV 6.0) and Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicles from D squadron of the Royal Canadian Dragoons move down range during a live fire battle run during Exercise STORMING BEAR on November 1, 2016, at Garrison Petawawa, Ontario. The live fire combat-team ranges conducted on Exercise RUGGED BEAR will include the firing and movement of soldiers, tanks and LAV 6.0 vehicles. Photo by: Corporal Kris Reeve, Canadian Armed Forces

Quotes

“This training is the Canadian Army’s vital ground in terms of collective training. I am fiercely proud of the professionalism and proficiency of my soldiers. Exercise RUGGED BEAR is where they will demonstrate those skills to the Canadian Army, certifying that Task Force Tomahawk is able to function and fight as a cohesive unit before we conduct further training in May, and assume High Readiness in July.”

— Colonel Conrad Mialkowski, Commander Task Force Tomahawk

Quick Facts

  • 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, under the banner of Task Force Tomahawk, commenced training on the Road to High Readiness in July 2016. It will assume the mantle of the Canadian Army’s High Readiness Task Force in summer 2017.

  • Exercise RUGGED BEAR is a key live-fire training event for the Canadian Army’s Road to High Readiness training program, which will run from April 3 to May 4. Task Force Tomahawk soldiers are conducting this exercise as part of their training for missions in Latvia, Iraq and Ukraine. Once the Road to High Readiness training program is completed, Task Force Tomahawk will be prepared to undertake any other mission as directed by the Government of Canada.

  • During this exercise, soldiers will be trained to a combat team standard. Combat team configurations can vary, but traditionally consist of a company of mechanized infantry soldiers in light armoured vehicles accompanied by a squadron of tanks and other enablers such as engineers or artillery.

  • BTS are the criteria by which the Canadian Army evaluates its soldiers. These standards are the fundamental building blocks of collective training and provide the operational measure against which effectiveness and efficiency of collective training is gauged.

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Contacts

Media Relations
Department of National Defence
Phone: 613-996-2353
Toll-Free: 1-866-377-0811
Email: mlo-blm@forces.gc.ca

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