Base Gagetown site of combat training for 1,000 Canadian soldiers

More than 1,000 soldiers began a special two-week training exercise Saturday at Base Gagetown in New Brunswick .

Exercise Common Ground II is a combined training opportunity for units that include the army's high-readiness task force.

"We conducted operations similar to this while we were in Afghanistan during the combat mission regularly, bringing together the same sorts of capabilities," said Col. Craig Aitchison, commander of the Combat Training Centre, headquartered at Base Gagetown.

The training combines courses in armour, artillery, infantry, tactics and military engineering into one combat exercise.

"As we saw what happened in Paris [Friday] where the French army was called out on very short notice, we don't have the luxury of preparing after the fact for any sort of security operation."

'We must be ready'

Soldiers include members of the Van Doos Royal 22nd Regiment 1st Battalion from Valcartier, Que.

"If the Canadian government has to send a unit, or has to attribute a unit in operation, we are first [in] line, so we must be ready and we must aim for any aspect of operation. So it's important to always refresh our techniques to maintain our competencies," said Lt.-Col. Christian Marquis, commanding officer.

Exercises such as these are not just an opportunity for soldiers to learn, but also for those who study and research the Canadian Armed Forces.

"The fundamental tasks that soldiers engaged in at Vimy Ridge or Passchendaeleor in the battle of Normandy, or the battles of Italy, are not that different than what we're seeing here today. It just moves a lot quicker," said University of New Brunswick historian Lee Windsor.

He brought his students along to see what textbook theory looks like in practice.

"Our job, we see, is to provide a bridge between Canadian citizens in this democracy and then the army that they're responsible for. So our students are out here to try to understand what it is that the army does."

The exercise runs until Nov. 29.