Several Chatham-Kent communities are getting invaded on the weekend…by the Canadian Army.
More than 600 Canadian soldiers from 31 Canadian Brigade Group, headquartered in London, will conduct Exercise Arrowhead Response from April 14-16, in multiple communities within the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.
Soldiers from across Southwestern Ontario will deploy to the area Friday and operate as a territorial battalion group with domestic response companies each of approximately 150 soldiers located at the Bothwell Area Sports Centre, the J.G. Taylor Community Centre, the Wheatley Area Arena and the William K. Erikson Arena.
Image by: MCpl Donnie McDonald, 4 Canadian Division Headquarters, Imagery Technician
© 2018 DND-MND Canada
Smaller, platoon-sized elements will operate in Wallaceburg, Thamesville, Ridgetown, Blenheim, Merlin, and Tilbury.
The aim of the exercise is to practise the planning and execution of domestic support operations, which take place after receiving a request for assistance from civil authorities during a crisis such as a natural disaster or industrial accident.
The brigade group will be responding to a simulated winter weather emergency, in a scenario that includes a call for help from a municipality. Overall, the exercise will include the deployment of three domestic response companies to Chatham-Kent and other unit deployments including an armoured squadron, a combat engineer squadron, an administrative support company, a communications squadron, and a headquarters to provide command and control of deployed personnel and assets.
The exercise scenario will include a variety of training tasks and objectives, including the set-up of reception centres, establishment of command posts, a ground search-and-rescue effort with local authorities, and patrols in the community by vehicle and foot.
There will be a “Meet a Soldier” event at the William K. Erikson Arena on Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
There will be many opportunities for the public to interact with Canadian Army personnel, and they are encouraged to visit the various locations and talk to the deployed soldiers. All Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members will be unarmed and will have no access to ammunition.
Military officials ask that the public use extra caution when near military vehicles, as the CAF takes every measure to conduct safe exercises with minimal impact on the people living in the communities.
