Ex COUGAR STRYKER gives 39 CBG a chance to train with American counterparts
July 10, 2024 - Maj Peter Stocker, 39 Canadian Brigade Group Headquarters
What’s like Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE, but warmer, humid, and has a lot more snakes? No, it’s not a Samuel L. Jackson movie, though the resemblance is kind of scary…
If you said the Joint Readiness Training Centre (JRTC) in Fort Johnson, LA, you’ve either been there before, or haven’t watched enough of his movies.
For 32 members of 39 Canadian Brigade Group (39 CBG), they lived it first‑hand for nearly a month and lived to tell the tale of their JRTC rotation.
The shared lineage of highland infantry between Canada and the United States led to a request in mid‑2023 by the Washington State Army National Guard’s 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team for soldiers from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to augment their participation in JRTC Rotation 24‑08. This resulted in an infantry platoon from 39 CBG heading south to Fort Johnson. Their task at JRTC? To augment ‘Geronimo’—the 1st Battalion of the 509th Airborne Regiment, the standing Opposing Force at JRTC—and to face off against the ‘Red Arrows,’ the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Wisconsin and other National Guard enablers from 31 other states throughout May and June 2024.
The platoon, composed of soldiers from the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, the Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary’s) and the Royal Westminster Regiment, was formed and integrated with elements of the 161st Infantry Regiment (161st INF) at Camp Murray just outside Tacoma, WA, and then travelled to Fort Johnson.
Training, working and living together for nearly a month, while combining Canadian and American expertise in both mechanized and light infantry tactics, showed that while there is an international border between Canada and the United States, there are a lot of similarities in how the infantry does its work.
During the initial 10 days in late‑May and early‑June, the platoon trained on a variety of U.S. weapons, including all of the squad and platoon weapons, as well as the Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle used by the 161st INF. This training allowed the Canadian and American soldiers to integrate their tactics so the Canadian platoon could be best used for its expertise in light infantry and small‑unit tactics. Aiding them in their tasks were a troop of M777 guns from the 1st Battalion, 120th Field Artillery Regiment and a platoon of combat engineers from the 876th Engineer Battalion.
Caption
On June 2, infanteers from the Royal Westminster Regiment, Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, and Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary’s) receive Stryker familiarization training alongside American soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment in Fort Johnson, LA., during Exercise COUGAR STRYKER.
Photo by Pte Brandon Lin, Royal Westminster Regiment
Caption
On June 1, infanteers from the Royal Westminster Regiment, Seaforth Highlanders of Canada and Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary’s) received and were instructed on various weapons systems for use during Exercise COUGAR STRYKER at Fort Johnson, LA.
Photo by Pte Brandon Lin, Royal Westminster Regiment
By the time they started the ‘force‑on‑force’ portion of the exercise, the Canadians had already confirmed a well‑deserved reputation as hard‑working and fighting infanteers as they faced challenges from the environment, namely the widely‑varied terrain of Fort Johnson: everything from swamp to sand, torrential rain storms, a nearby tornado, and stifling heat that hovered in the high 30s both day and night.
During the face‑off against the ‘Red Arrows,’ which occurred in a series of large‑scale combat operations based on the phases of an operation, the Canadians participated in attacks in both mobile and static defensive positions over a period of 10 days alongside their American counterparts. Throughout, the Canadians drew praise for their combat acuity and violence of action, which was a prized quality among the cadre from ‘Geronimo.’
At the end of the exercise, there were compliments exchanged between both Canadian and U.S. Forces and a standing invitation for the CAF to come back, to share its expertise, and to help hone the next generation of American and Canadian soldiers.
Caption
On June 10, a platoon from 39 Canadian Brigade Group conducts close quarter battle drills in the field during Exercise COUGAR STRYKER at Fort Johnson, LA.
Photo by Pte Brandon Lin, Royal Westminster Regiment
Caption
On June 1, infanteers from the Royal Westminster Regiment, Seaforth Highlanders of Canada and Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary’s) received instruction on how to use various weapons systems during Exercise COUGAR STRYKER at Fort Johnson, LA.
Photo by Pte Brandon Lin, Royal Westminster Regiment