I wake up in a freezer. It’s the first time since on exercise I’ve ever been cold waking up. The warehouse isn’t heated and with such a large building, the more than 150 bodies inside didn’t make a difference. We pack up and grab breakfast. Everyone is asking me what I thought about the exercise […]
March 28, 2012
Three hundred kilometres, four feet of snow, two soldiers, one sled – that was the reality for soldiers from the Arctic Response Company Group (ARCG) during a ten day move for Exercise ARCTIC RAM 12. The ARCG (reservists from 38 Canadian Brigade Group) used Light Over Snow Vehicles (LOSV) to travel tactically from Yellowknife to Gameti in […]
March 27, 2012
Last night is the first time I have trouble sleeping. At 0300 Master Corporal Mistelbacher wakes everyone up and as it is with an early reveille, things move quickly. The morale is high; it’s the last big day of the ex, but we still have one huge task to push through. We gear up to […]
March 13, 2012
“Reveille, reveille, reveille!” sings Master Corporal Alex Swaan from the fart sack beside me. Even though I’ve never used it for farting, that’s what the troops call a sleeping bag out in the field. It’s 0400, time to get up and go for the final push to Gameti. We’re given exactly five minutes to eat […]
March 12, 2012
It’s weird waking up and not striking down a tent. Master Corporal Lee Mistelbacher, our section leader, left early this morning for the 15 minute ride north to Gameti; to see where and how the relief in place (RIP) would work. “We replace [the PPCLI soldiers] one section at a time,” explained MCpl Alex Swaan. […]
March 11, 2012
There’s so much snow everywhere. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever find snowfall beautiful. But during the night, the sky placed a thin layer of snow over our tents and kit. We leave our rucksacks outside, with our parkas overtop – keeping our coats inside the warm tent creates moisture on the jacket which freezes […]
March 10, 2012
Sometimes four hours of sleep feels like winning the lottery. I wake up and eat my first rations meal of this trip. Individual Meal Packs (IMPs) are the staple in the field, and while I’ve had them before – this time my beans and sausage breakfast is hot and far tastier. The tent has two […]
Army newspaper Western Sentinel not only ran my stories, but one of my photos made the cover.
March 28, 2012
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