Page 208 - Rifles 2017 Issue No 3

The Royal Regina Ri es
Regina Armoury, 1600 Elphinstone Street, Regina SK S4T 3N1 Canada
The role of The Royal Regina Ri es is to force generate (recruit, train and retain) of cers and soldiers through challenging training to achieve individual and collective training competence within a sub-unit context, in order to support domestic and expeditionary operations in the service of Canada.
Creating challenging and exciting training for all ranks leads to greater unit comradery at the tactical level and greater personnel retention and attraction at the strategic level. The 2016-2017 training year for The Royal Regina Ri es was intense with six eld training exercises to accomplish the annual battle task standards required of an infantry unit. The fall period focused on personal weapons training and
eld craft culminating in a platoon live re. What made the nal live re spectacular was the close air support roaring overhead. It was the rst time in decades that the unit had this level of combined training.
The fall period also saw a few of our soldiers participate in Savannah, Georgia, as part of the interoperability and technology exercise with our American neighbors. It is a collaborative, joint and multinational enterprise in which Nations, Services and Programs pool their resources in a recurring cycle of capability development, demonstration and analysis. The overarching aim is to improve inter- operability and information sharing across a range of coalition war ghting capabilities. To round off the intensity of training and perhaps to give some credence to the saying, “all work and no play...” The Royal Regina Ri es also took a lead role in supporting a provincial Support Our Troop dinner gala that raised approximately $300,000 for the province’s Military Family Resource Centre.
Early in 2017 some harsh army wide scal measures saw sizeable claw backs of unit operating budgets. That resulted in a few less parade nights but the real impact was our soldiers paraded in signi cantly greater numbers when we did parade! Thankfully no eld training was impacted leaving a winter warfare refresher and more platoon eld craft to nish off the year’s training plan.
The training year typically ends with our Associ- ation Reunion weekend on 3-4 June 2017, this year. Sadly only one D-Day veteran was able to join our ranks this year as age and health takes its toll on our Ri emen. Dinners, parades, Regimental church services all rekindle the strength of the Regiment, old and young. 3 June also marked a change of command. Lieutenant-Colonel Vic Sattler passed the Commanding Of cer’s sword to Lieuten- ant-Colonel Stacy Grubb, also from Princess Patri- cia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
Looking to the future events, planning continues to send a contingent of our Ri es to Belgium for 11 November 2018 for the one hundredth anniversary of the end of the war. The intent remains to conduct a rededication of a monument to Private George Price in conjunction with the city of cials at Ville- sur-Hanie. Private Price who served with the 28th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force, a battalion The Royal Regina Ri es perpetuates, is traditionally recognized as the last soldier of the British Empire to be killed during the First World War.
Corporal Selinger shooting in virtual reality
THE ROYAL REGINA RIFLES ALSO TOOK A LEAD ROLE IN SUPPORTING A PROVINCIAL SUPPORT OUR TROOP DINNER GALA THAT
206 ALLIANCES
THE RIFLES
Bugler - Ri eman Zess (L), Chief Warrant Of cer Zess, RSM, and Sgt Felske (R)
RAISED APPROXIMATELY $300,000
Lt Col Sattler presenting his PPCLI support staff, Capt Liberatore and Sgt Emslie, with a Command Team Coin