Photo By Spc. Osama Ayyad | Canadian Army Lt. Col. Carla Harding, commander of 2nd Service Battalion, 2nd...... read more read more
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FORT DRUM, N.Y. - During Operation Enduring Freedom between 2001 and 2014, More than 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces members fought alongside Americans in Afghanistan. Of them, 158 gave the ultimate sacrifice. With their geographical proximity, the North American countries have a mutual interest in each other’s national security.
Soldiers of the 2nd Service Battalion, 2nd Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, 4th Canadian Division, trained side by side with Soldiers of the 10th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), during Operation Southern Sustainer from May 21-26 in Fort Drum, New York.
The 10th BSB coordinated and provided training opportunities to the Petawawa, Ontario based unit such as marksmanship ranges, convoy security training exercises, and sling loading vehicles for transport using a CH-47 Chinook.
Canadian Army Capt. William Lister, second in command of 2nd Service Battalion’s Forward Support Group, said that he hopes Operation Southern Sustainer is the first of many collaborations with 10th BSB, which he called their “sister battalion.”
Both battalions are combat service support or sustainment units, which provides combat units with logistics, maintenance, and health services. While the sister battalions speak the same language, use similar equipment and have similar missions, they use different acronyms, organizational structures, training and methods of operations. Their internal communication is different, and they used the exercise to learn some of each other’s tactics, techniques and procedures.
Platoons from both battalions worked together to produce a standard for operations and procedure using terminology from both services, so Canadian and American Soldiers can communicate during exercise and real world operations, said Lister.
Of the outcomes, Canadian Army Lt. Col. Carla Harding, 2nd Service Battalion commander, wanted to see was smoother interoperability. Harding said she wanted her organization to understand and experience how U.S. Army equivalent units operate, and, with that knowledge, the 2nd Service Battalion would function better with their American counterparts in the future.
“We like going on deployed operations with you guys,” Harding said. “Think about it. We’re (all) North Americans, so our ethos and values aren’t that different.”
Another one of Harding’s desired outcomes was to build relationship between U.S. Army and Canadian troops. First Platoon, A Company, 10th BSB and soldiers of the Royal Canadian Electric Mechanical Engineers did that by training and qualifying with each other’s weapons at a squad automatic weapons range, where they traded Canadian rations with U.S. Army Meals-Ready-to-Eat after
The range officer-in-charge, Chief Warrant Officer 2 William James, B Company, 10th BSB, said he enjoyed hosting the Canadian troops, and he hoped their time at his range built camaraderie between them and the U.S. Soldiers.
While some Canadian soldiers called Fort Drum Soldiers “Southerners” and the North Country weather “Tropical,” Those at the range said the bond between them and their American counterparts is like family.
| Date Taken: | 05.27.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2015 15:49 |
| Story ID: | 164715 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NY, US |
| Hometown: | PETAWAWA, ON, CA |
| Web Views: | 150 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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