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AT-2004...
American, Canadian exercise builds cohesion

Story by Spc. Charles L. Westmoreland
133rd MPAD, Kentucky Army National Guard

Pvt. Anna Podvornaia, is a grenadier with the 48th Highlanders out of Toronto, Canada. The unit trained with the 1/121st Infantry during annual training at Camp Blanding. (photo by Spc. Charles L. Westmoreland)

Waking up to the tune of “Revelry” before the break of dawn is a common occurrence for Army soldiers.  Waking up to the sound of Revelry being played on bagpipes outside the barracks window at 5 a.m. isn’t.  When training alongside a foreign army, new things must be expected.

As part of an annual training exercise in the humid forests of the Florida panhandle, Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry trained alongside their Canadian counterparts, the 48th Highlanders, an airborne based in Toronto .

The combination of “First Foot” and the 48th came about in an unusual fashion. 

Captain Mike J. Walker, platoon commander with the Highlanders, said the commune was put into action when a senior member of the 48th visited Georgia and heard that an element of the 48th Brigade Combat Team was deploying for training to Camp Blanding .  Seeing that their units shared the same nomenclature, plans were put into action to bring them together, Walker said. Six months later the Americans and Canadians found themselves trudging through the humidity and heat performing combat exercises as one element. 

Spc. Doyle Petty, infantryman, A. Co., 1/121 Infantry, performs a leg hold on Cpl. Mike Park, infantryman, 48th Highlanders, Canada Army Reserves, while practicing grappling techniques. (photos by Spc. Charles L. Westmoreland)

Before their joint endeavor, the 48th trained on Military Operations and Urban Training (MOUT) at Fort Drum , New York . 

Neither side knew what to expect once together, although both units were optimistic about the professionalism and technical proficiency they would find in their counterparts.

“Before meeting [the 48th Highlanders] I figured they would be a squared away unit from things I heard in the past, and they were,” said Capt. Anthony Fournier, who commands 1st Battalion’s Company C.  “They’re as professional as any unit I’ve seen.”

The 48th quickly proved its self equal to the Americans on the weapons qualification ranges. However, when squad level training began, minor differences started unfolded.

Fournier said he wanted to intermix the squads to combine tactics while enhancing unit cohesion.  Both sides quickly realized that, although they perform many infantry drills in the same fashion, a language barrier strained their ability to communicate with each another.

“We use different terminology on the ranges, so we had to help them out a little with understanding how we speak,” said Pfc. Gregory Miller, a Company C infantryman.

The 48th also quickly picked up on the acronyms American forces use in their everyday language.

“Because of the difference in military terminology, we started with a walk phase to get them familiar and minimize confusion,” added Staff Sgt. Sam uel Larsh, an American squad leader.  “By the time we were at the run phase everything was smooth.”

Once the kinks had been worked out of their “MILSPEAK,” the units began running squad-level exercises intermixing Canadian and American troops, each taking their turn leading.  Canadian forces often use buddy-team movements whereas Americans use larger section movements at the squad level when assaulting an enemy force, Walker and Larsh agreed.

“It’s very impressive how well we’ve learned from each other,” Larsh said.  “When we put our squads together we were able to combine tactics and find solutions to the things we needed to improve on.”

“I wanted our soldiers to see how our allies trained,” Walker added.  “I knew that combining our styles would create a greater cohesion between our militaries.” 

The Highlanders also were looking forward to training with new equipment such as the computerized M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) simulator, said Cpl. Richard G. Mitchell, a Highlanders rifleman.

As if tactical and semantic differences were not enough, gender differences presented themselves to the U.S. troops.  Two of the 31 Canadians were female, something never seen in an American combat arms unit.  Walker said women have been serving in Canada ’s combat arms for 12 years.  Of the 170 soldiers serving in the 48th, eight are women, he added.

Pvt. Anna Podvornaia, a grenadier with the 48th, admitted to never thinking about the gender issue before deploying to Camp Blanding .  In Canada , she said, a woman serving in a combat unit is nothing out of the ordinary. 

The general consensus among the soldiers of Company C was that the female soldiers were every bit as proficient and capable as their male counterparts, American and Canadian.

“The concept of females in the infantry took a little while to get used to,” admitted Spc. Ron Chapman, infantryman, C. Co., 1/121st.  “But when watching them in action you couldn’t tell a difference.  They’re held to the exact same standard as the men.”

Despite any differences, the two units found what they sought:  superb training, team cohesion and a new appreciation for each other.  As a display of gratitude, the Highlanders woke up their American brethren to a familiar tune one morning, the Army song.

“It’s awesome seeing a bagpiper in a kilt playing revelry each morning, but I doubt I’ll ever wake up to one playing the Army song again,” Larsh said.

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