Waterloo Region Military Appreciation Day and Task Force Welcome Back

Waterloo Region Military Appreciation Day and Task Force Welcome Back Event

This is a chance to formally recognize and thank a veteran in person as military members within the greater Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph and Brantford Region who have just returned from overseas duty with Task Force 3-08 and all other soldiers who have been on overseas duty since 9/11

Everyone Welcome!

Waterloo Region Military Appreciation Day
on

Saturday, June 13th, 2009

at

1300-1630 (1 pm to 4:30 pm)

at

Dickson Park,

9 James Street,

Cambridge, ON

What:

• BBQ and Displays


• Military Equipment (LAV, Leopard tank, Bison Ambulance, etc.)


• CIMIC (Civil-Military Co-operation) Display


• Camoflauge and obstacle course for the children


• CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) Signature projects


• Recruiting Displays


• MFRC Displays - Including Family Support Groups from: Waterloo Region (Families of Canadian Soldiers in Afghanistan), Guelph, Cambridge and Brantford - extending their hand to you.


• Red Friday Display


• Hero to Hero First Responder Display



• Two Minutes of Silence for all war dead including Afghanistan


• Presentation of Certificates to TF 3-08 soldiers by local mayors


• Acknowledgement of those who have suffered physical injuries


• Return of Regional flags from Afghanistan


• GROUP PHOTO

Task Force 3-08 Battle Group Prepares for One Final Training Milestone Before Afghanistan

ONE ARMY*ONE TEAM*ONE VISION

This week, soldiers from the Task Force 3-08 Battle Group left Canadian Forces Base Petawawa and other locations across Canada and travel to Wainwright, Alberta, to take part in Exercise Maple Guardian 0801.
What does the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre (CMTC) in Wainwright have to offer that makes this place the final major collective training milestone before the Battle Group is ready to deploy to Afghanistan?
“CMTC can provide a level of realism that is not achievable anywhere else in Canada,” said Lieutenant Colonel Roger Barrett, Commanding Officer of Task Force 3-08 Battle Group. “Incorporating actors, role players and an extremely advanced Weapons Effects Simulation system, will allow us to test our ability to operate in a very complex, dynamic and sometimes chaotic environment.”
Perhaps its poetic justice, revenge or just payback for spending the month of February in the desert of New Mexico, many of the soldiers arrived in the training area to be greeted by fresh snow.
“Be it snow or sand it’s just another obstacle that we have to be prepared to overcome,” added Lieutenant Colonel Barrett. “Being able to adapt is just one of the reasons why Canadian Forces members are among the best trained and most experienced soldiers in the world. Exercise Maple Guardian will be a key part of our preparation.”
The exercise will go on until the middle of May, at which time, Task Force 3-08 Battle group will have completed all their collective training and be ready to take on the difficult tasks in Afghanistan.

Prepared and Ready!

Exercise Southern Bear Ends Successfully

February 28, 2008
Camp Dona Ana, Fort Bliss, Texas

Today, after almost a month in desert-like training at Fort Bliss, Texas, Exercise Southern Bear has officially ended. The approximately 3,000 soldiers who took part in the exercise will soon be heading back to Canada.
During this month long exercise soldiers conducted Combat Team attacks, convoy training, IED training and specific training pertaining to their tasks in Afghanistan.
“I am very pleased with everything that we accomplished during our short time here,” said Colonel Dean Milner, Commander of 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (2 CMBG). “The exceptional facilities at Fort Bliss allowed us to train in an environment that is similar to Afghanistan.”
The completion of the exercise marks another major milestone on the road to Afghanistan that began last August for many of the soldiers from Petawawa’s 2 CMBG. Aside from the Joint Task Force Afghanistan Headquarters that is scheduled to depart at the end of April, most of the soldiers training for the deployment will leave for Afghanistan during September.
“This exercise allowed us to bring together all of the Task Force elements that will deploy to Afghanistan. It helped us prepare them for the next major training event in Wainwright, Alberta during May called Exercise Maple Guardian.” added Colonel Milner. “We have done everything to make sure that the soldiers are prepared for success at Wainwright and later on in Afghanistan.”

The training at Fort Bliss was necessary to replicate the terrain in and around Kandahar Province, where these soldiers will be operating once they deploy to Afghanistan. The Task Force 3-08 Battle Group, the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, the Observer Mentor Liaison Team, the National Support Element and Joint Task Force Afghanistan Headquarters all took part in the exercise.

Congratulations to our troops! HUA! Look out.. here we come!