‘Face Off’ contestant joins Maple Resolve 17

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brad Miller | Special effects makeup artist Yvonne Cox applies prosthetic wounds to a role player who will act as a simluated castualty on a training mission as part of Maple Resolve 17, the Canadian Army's premiere brigade-level validation exercise running May 14-29 at Camp Wainwright, Alberta, Canada. The role players play an integral part for the training, allowing the Soldiers to react to life-like, real-time situations ranging from medevac, hostile enemies and media engagements. As a part of the exercise, the U.S. Army is providing a wide array of combat and support elements. These elements include sustainment, psychological operations, public affairs, aviation and medical units. Readiness is the U.S. Army Reserve's number one priority. Reserve units participating in Maple Resolve 17 will sharpen individual skill sets while enhancing overall unit readiness.  

WAINWRIGHT, ALBERTA, CANADA

05.17.2017

Story by Staff Sgt. Brad Miller 

326th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

WAINWRIGHT, Alberta, Canada – Brushes, sponges, silicone appliances and buckets of fake blood are orderly laid out on a table. While this may seem like an odd sight to see in the workplace, these are some of the commonplace items to special effects make up artists.

While the military spends vast amounts of time and money to train their servicemembers, the training aid that is focused on the most is realism. “Train as we fight,” is a mantra often used to instill in Soldiers that realistic training is the best way to prepare for deployment.

“I think bringing the realism to the exercise helps them train in a way that they never thought before,” said Yvonne Cox, special effects make up team member and contestant on season 10 of Syfy Channel’s “Face Off.” “It’s really neat because I never would have thought that I could bring my art into something like this… training Soldiers, going out there and preparing them.”

At Maple Resolve 17, the Canadian Army’s premiere brigade-level validation exercise running May 14-29, 650 U.S. Army Soldiers work along side the Canadian Army to promote realistic training. By employing an SFX team, the scenarios involving simulated casualties become more than just evaluating a person with a casualty card in their pocket.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned here is about multitasking because unlike film, this is all real-time,” Cox said. “I’m learning a lot here; I’ve never done any arm gags or anything like we have here. That’s more prop work, where I do a lot of the make up aspect of things.”

Beginning with cosmetology school teaching her the fundamentals of beauty makeup and a love for horror movies, she began making creatures in her spare time out of whatever makeup kits she could find. Later, she attended the Vancouver Film School where she graduated with honors.

Even with the skills she learned at VFS, Cox was taken aback by the gravity of the adventure ahead.

“The first challenge is by far the hardest one, I think. They throw you in there and there are a bunch of cameras around and you just go,” Cox recalled. “I remember at first, I was just thinking about everything around me, not the actual project itself. It’s overwhelming because you have to perform in front of everyone and realize, ‘hey, this is going to be on TV!’ Then you’re trying to work with someone you’ve never met before, you just get overwhelmed.”

Since her appearance on the show, she has been building up her portfolio with several high-profile projects.

“Recently, I worked on ‘Fargo,’ I spent a few days on that. We built a bunch of appliances for that. It was one of the biggest shows I’ve worked on so far and I’m still in a whirlwind over what a great opportunity that was,” explained a wide-eyed Cox. “I got to work on ‘Hold the Dark’ with Alexander Skarsgard and ‘Dead Again in Tombstone’ with Danny Trejo. That’s just a couple that have been lining up, I’ve been very fortunate and now I’m out here on a military base, which this is so cool!

Cox said she was brought onto the Maple Resolve 17 team by the SFX coordinator of the training exercise, whom she has worked with on previous projects.

“Being here and being able to contribute is my favorite part of this exercise. Meeting everyone, hearing everyone’s stories and understanding what this training is for is incredible,” Cox said. “I knew a little bit about the military but not to the level after being here. That’s my favorite part, being able to say that I’m a part of it in some way and helping people out there, is really rewarding.”

• Date Taken: 05.17.2017
• Date Posted: 05.20.2017 21:54
• Story ID: 234610
• Location: WAINWRIGHT, ALBERTA, CA
• Hometown: CALGARY, ALBERTA, CA
• Hometown: EVERETT, WASHINGTON, US