Page 176 - Bugle Autumn 2014

ALLIANCES
The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment)
Changes to the Command Team
This training cycle was initiated by a rotation of the unit command team. On May 26, 2013 Lieutenant-Colonel Gary McQueen took over command from Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Stepaniuk, who was appointed to the staff of 4th Canadian Division HQ. This was followed a few months later by the retirement of Chief Warrant Officer Brian Robinson after a long and successful career, and the appointment of Chief Warrant Officer Grant Lawson as the new Regimental Sergeant-Major.
Training
Our mission is to train soldiers. To achieve this, the Rileys have maintained a high tempo of challenging training throughout the year. Most notably, we deployed a platoon to Exercise TRILLIUM RESPONSE, an Arctic exercise that took place in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, February 15 to 25, 2014. This required the Regiment to conduct a series of winter warfare indoctrination courses and work-up exercises to prepare our troops
for the harsh conditions of the Canadian Arctic. The Riley platoon was led by the command team of Lieutenant (now Captain) Victoria Adams and Sergeant Tim Outtrim. The RHLI also provided some senior staff
to the combined Battalion HQ – Majors JP Hoekstra and Nick Arakgi. The exercise gave our soldiers a chance to sharpen the skills they need to enable them to fight
and survive in some of Canada’s harshest conditions. They practised Arctic survival, live fire ranges, conducted patrols, and participated in various tactical scenarios to ensure that they are able to respond to any domestic emergency in Canada’s North.
Exercise RILEY GUNNER, our annual gun camp, allowed soldiers to go beyond the basic firing of personal weapons and focused on the combined usage of all Battalion weapon systems under realistic training conditions. This training allowed soldiers to understand the combined effect of the firepower at their disposal.
Our culminating unit-level exercise in May 2014 was a hard-hitting company level advance to contact. It was here that Rileys got to hone our Light Infantry skills against a determined and resourceful opposing force!
Social
Socially, the Regiment has been hosting its traditional Soldiers’ Christmas Dinner,
the Commanding Officer’s Cocktail party, and our New Year’s Levee. In addition, two Associate Officer Mess Dinners were held in the Spring and Fall to maintain the link between past and new members. As has been a (recent) custom, our Fall Associate dinner was held in honour of the Battle of Woensdrecht, one of our cherished battle honours. The Regimental Senate (AKA the 13th Regiment Foundation) has initiated
a new program of academic bursaries for serving members to help them pay for
their post-secondary education. In addition, a new highly successful social/fund- raising activity for the Regiment has been the hosting of the annual black powder shoot, where the Regimental family is invited to shoot the 1860’s Enfield rifled musket reproductions (used by the ceremonial guard) for a fee. This fun activity is much appreciated and very well attended.
174 ALLIANCES
THE RIFLES
Operations
Afghanistan
May 9, 2014 formally marked the end of the operational commitment of the Canadian Armed Forces to the War in Afghanistan. During the conflict, the RHLI deployed over 45 members to Afghanistan, which constituted over
20 percent of our effective strength.
As a result, the Regiment was granted the privilege to add the “Afghanistan” theatre honour to our long list of battle honours. This was a proud moment as it is the first such honour recognising Rileys in a theatre of war since World War II, and it brings our total number of battle honours to 44.
United Nations Deployments
Although the regiment is no longer sending troops to Afghanistan, three senior officers have been deployed
as part of the Canadian contribution
to African UN Missions. Major JP Hoekstra, our Deputy Commanding Officer, has returned from South Sudan, while Major Graham Bye (Officer Commanding 31 Canadian Brigade Group’s Influence Activity Company)
is currently serving there. Major
Robert Tremblay (Officer Commanding Administration Company) returned safely from a deployment in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo in December 2013. No other unit in Hamilton Garrison can currently match this level of commitment to international operations!