Soldiers make history with Canada border-crossing mission

Photo By Staff Sgt. Jon Soles | Army Reserve Soldiers from the 619th Transportation Company, 812th Transportation Battalion, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), wait to drive their vehicles from the United States across the international border into Canada at the Armstrong-Jackman Border Crossing March 16, as they begin a more than 2,500-mile journey across the country of Canada in support of Exercise Maple Caravan 15. The exercise which runs from March through June will ultimately involve more than 300 Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers as well as numerous Canadian Army Soldiers in a joint effort to move approximately 60 loads of Canadian Army equipment from Canadian Forces Base Valcartier near Quebec to Canadian Forces Base Wainwright. Short of an actual deployment, Maple Caravan 15 provides the most realistic and dynamic transportation training experience possible. Soldiers will experience cross-border logistics, inclement weather conditions, operating on foreign roadways and interacting with the Canadian Army. This historic logistical exercise marks the first time an Army Reserve transportation unit has conducted a long haul mission across Canada. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Jon Soles, 210th MPAD)  

DEXTER, ME, UNITED STATES

03.16.2015

Story by Sgt. Jon Soles 

210th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

DEXTER, Maine - Amid a backdrop of deep snowdrifts and a frigid winter breeze, a convoy of drab, tan colored trucks with empty flatbed trailers in tow, rumbled their way through the crossing gate of the longest international boundary in the world, the U.S. and Canadian border, and began the first leg of an epic history-making journey that will take a small group of Soldiers across the entire country of Canada.

The Soldiers are from the 619th Transportation Company, 812th Transportation Battalion, 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command. They are part of Exercise Maple Caravan, a joint training exercise which provides transportation assets to the Canadian army to move a variety of Canadian equipment more than 2,500 miles from Valcartier to Camp Wainwright.

The first convoy of 11 M1915A5 trucks began entering Canada March 16.

"This is very important because this is the first time Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers have done a joint long haul mission across Canada," said Staff Sgt. Michael Grant, a truck driver and native of Milford, Maine, assigned to the 619th Transportation Company, 812th Transportation Battalion, 103rd ESC. "This is a real world mission, and our Soldiers will get to see the payoff for all their work and training."

The convoy, which originated in Dexter, Maine, traveled approximately 200 miles to Canadian Army Base Valcartier located just outside Quebec City, Quebec, to pick up equipment.

Once the Soldiers arrived at the base, they began working shoulder-to-shoulder with Canadian Soldiers to load a group of light utility vehicles wheeled (LUVW) and several large metal shipping containers onto flatbed trailers.

Although the Soldiers are based out of Maine, close to Canada, this group of Army Reserve Soldiers have not had the opportunity to train with the Canadian army until this exercise.

"There is so much pride in this unit, knowing we are part of this historic mission," Grant said. "Our Soldiers are honored to have been selected for this mission and morale is the highest I've ever seen it."

Morale multiplies the success of any mission, but realistic training helps Soldiers maintain readiness and improve skills.

"The Canadian army needs our help to accomplish this mission and so it's more of a teamwork exercise," Grant said. "It is very interactive and the feedback is good on both sides."

Battlefields often include Soldiers from allied countries working together. Canadian and American Soldiers on this training exercise are forging a working relationship similar to what they may encounter on a future deployment.

"This is probably the best hands-on training we can get because we are doing exactly what we would do overseas with a friendly ally like Canada," said Spc. Allen Avery, a wheeled vehicle mechanic from Milford, Maine, assigned to the 619th Transportation Company. "We are two different armies, but we have similar values and at the end of the day, it is one team, one fight."

The Soldiers have previous experience in convoys moving heavy equipment, in cross-country missions in the U.S. However, Maple Caravan provides an opportunity to experience foreign roads and conditions allowing the Soldiers to hone their current skills and gain new ones.

"We have a lot of new Soldiers in this unit and for them, this is the longest convoy they have ever been on," Grant said. "The biggest challenges so far has been the snowy weather and lack of experience for our junior Soldiers."

Spc. Jeff Paye, a wheeled vehicle mechanic from Bangor, Maine, assigned to the 619th Transportation Company, is one of the young Soldiers excited to be part of this mission. "It felt good to be a part of something this big," said Paye. "Every mission we have been given, we have gone above and beyond and given 110 percent, and that's what we are going to do here."

What begin as a line of trucks crossing the border is just the first part of mission that will see Canadian army mechanized units equipment reach their final destination while American Soldiers gain a higher level of training, experience and expertise.

Soldiers of the 619th didn't set out to make history, but that is what they are doing, while simultaneously assisting the Canadian army and obtaining real-world training that will improve both forces.

• Date Taken: 03.16.2015
• Date Posted: 03.17.2015 23:00
• Story ID: 157313
• Location: DEXTER, ME, US
• Hometown: MILFORD, ME, US