THE WATCH STAFF
The Canadian Army recently hosted Soldiers from the United Kingdom and United States as part of Maple Resolve (MR22), an annual exercise that simulates contemporary warfare.
The exercise, which provides force-on-force training for Canadian Army leaders and Soldiers, was held May 10-22, 2022, at 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Detachment Wainwright (Detachment Wainwright) in Alberta.
“Our Canadian Armed Forces are always ready to serve in both domestic and international missions,” Minister of National Defence Anita Anand said in a May 22 news release. “Exercise Maple Resolve 22 is a great example of the commitment of our members to operational readiness and interoperability with our partners and allies.”
The 3,200 participants included 1,800 members of the 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (2 CMBG), 680 U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers, and 20 U.S. Marines. The participants also included 150 Soldiers from the British Army and members from other elements of the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force, according to the Department of National Defence (DND).
(Pictured: Using the weapons-effect simulation system, members of the 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group diagnose an injury as they wait for air support during a medical evacuation during Maple Resolve 22.)
Anand, along with Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre, visited Detachment Wainwright on May 12 and met with Canadian Armed Forces members and allies.
This year’s exercise featured the first use of the Decisive Action Training Environment Europe scenario, which was developed by the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre (CMTC) housed at Detachment Wainwright, according to the DND news release. The scenario posed a deteriorating security situation in Eastern Europe.
“The scenario is essentially: There was a cease-fire, we were at the border of a NATO country and there’s an invasion we have to react to,” Col. Eric Landry, commander of 2 CMBG, told Canada’s online Global News in a May 12 report. “It’s very, very, very realistic.”
The realism is a product of the CMTC, which “challenges soldiers in an environment that closely models modern conflict, complete with simulated villages populated with professional actors, simulated media, and social media environments,” according to a May 12 DND news release. In addition to the infrastructure and role players, the CMTC provides weapons-effects simulation technology and a resident opposing force.”
The scenario helps prepare the 2 CMBG to support the Canadian Army’s operational commitments, Eyre said.
“They know this is real, they know what they’re preparing for could come to fruition,” he told Global News. “This group here [2 CMBG], over the course of the summer, will become the nucleus of our NATO response force.”
Maple Resolve is the largest allied exercise conducted in North America and enhances multinational interoperability with Canada’s allies. MR22 took place in the wake of the recent signing of the Canada-U.S. Bilateral Army Training Strategy, a new approach designed to increase the military preparedness of the two nations by 2028, according to a May 3 news release from U.S. Army North.
“We live in an increasingly dangerous and unpredictable world,” Eyre, the Canadian defense chief, said in the May 12 news release. “As events … have shown us, the ability to integrate combined arms remains fundamental to success in battle.”