Maine engineers, aviation unit participate in Canadian exercise

Photo By Sgt. Jarod Dye | GAGETOWN, New Brunswick - Soldiers from the Maine Army National Guard traveled to Gagetown August 18-24, 2019 to participate with Canadian Armed Forces in Exercise Maroon Raider, a large culminating training event with more than 1600 participants.  

GAGETOWN, NB, CANADA

09.09.2019

Story by Sgt. Jarod Dye 

121st Public Affairs Detachment

GAGETOWN, New Brunswick - Soldiers from the Maine Army National Guard traveled to Gagetown August 18-24, 2019 to participate with Canadian Armed Forces in Exercise Maroon Raider, a large culminating training event with more than 1600 participants.
Maine Soldiers acted as opposing forces to the Canadian active duty and reserve forces, provided medical evacuation support and engineering assets, which helped Canadian engineers build Russian-style trenches.
The Maine engineers were hard at work all week building various types of obstacles and positions for the Canadians to use during their exercises.
"This morning we’re making an anti-tank ditch,” said Sgt. Nathan Beaulieu of the Maine National Guard’s 185th Engineer Support Company. “We’ve built a couple different tactical vehicle fighting positions and we worked well together,” Beaulieu continued, referring to the 185th’s collaboration with the Canadians.
Canadian and Maine Soldiers have been cooperating more frequently than ever on various trainings. Recently, the Canadian Army sent soldiers to participate in the Maine National Guard’s annual Best Warrior Competition.
"For a lot of our soldiers, this is the first combined country exercise. We’re never going to deploy anywhere and work by ourselves, those days are over,” Lt. James Ryan, a combat engineer with the Canadian Army’s 4th Engineer Support Regiment. “Whenever we deploy anywhere, we’re going to be working in a multi-national context.”
The final event was held on Friday, August 23 and involved all the American and Canadian forces in the exercise, including infantry.
The event was a great opportunity for all involved, including the planning and logistical assets. Fixing problems encountered by U.S. Soldiers can be difficult while out of the country. However, even these setbacks provide training. The 142nd Aviation had to service and maintain their aircraft while in New Brunswick. Such events are a great test of the mobility of Maine units and shows they are ready for federal and state missions.

• Date Taken: 09.09.2019
• Date Posted: 10.06.2019 09:45
• Story ID: 346202
• Location: GAGETOWN, NB, CA