# Canadian Reservists Train at Camp Shelby



## tomahawk6 (16 Jan 2009)

Pictures at the link

http://newsblaze.com/story/20090115125519zmil.nb/topstory.html

Camp Shelby, Miss. - More than 1,500 reservists of the Canadian Forces' 34th and 35th Brigade Groups held their annual "Noble Guerrier" exercise at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center (CSJFTC). The exercise was held from January 3rd through the 13th, and consisted of a variety of situational training exercises designed to simulate a contemporary operating environment in Afghanistan. 

This year's exercise also included student journalists from the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), who took part in the training as "embedded journalists" alongside the Soldiers in the field. The students shared in the training experience, enduring long hours, MRE's (Meal, Ready-to-Eat), and the sudden surprise of simulated ambushes and Improvised Explosive Devices. 

"I want to be a war correspondent," said Andriane Williams, one of the UQAM student journalists, "so coming here was a kind of test to see if I would be able to do this kind of work. I love this experience, even though it's been tiring and difficult, because it's made me realize that even though there is a real risk to this kind of work, I still want to do it." 

This year's exercise concentrated on replicating what the Canadian Army calls a Contemporary Operating Environment, and their aggressor forces, which used to be known as "Opposing Forces", or OPFOR, are now known by the term "Contemporary Operating Environment Forces", or COEFOR. 

"We replicate the Afghan National Army, police forces, villagers and religious leader as well as the insurgents," said Maj. Christopher Bradley, COEFOR Officer in Charge, "and we found that the name OPFOR wasn't really a good name for the things that we do, and with that you also run the risk of saying that everybody is the opposition, which clearly isn't the case because the Afghan Security Forces are on our team, so we changed the name to Contemporary Operating Environment Forces, or COEFOR." 

During the exercise, the Canadian Soldiers conducted a wide variety of training scenarios, including area defense, artillery bombardment, Counter-IED (Improvised Explosive Device), peace negotiations and Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT). This training is intended to prepare the 34th and 35th Brigade Groups for upcoming deployments to Afghanistan in support of the Global War on Terrorism.


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## davidk (16 Jan 2009)

I was there - the training seemed pretty good: WES, simmunition, helos, convincing IEDs, and the opportunity to operate at battalion level. Too bad I didn't get to do any of it, since I was stuck making coffee in the CP.


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## geo (16 Jan 2009)

From what I was told....
COEFOR: OPFOR troops were brought down from Wainright for the Ex - Prior to going to Texas for TF 1/09 Trg

Interesting thing about Camp Shelby is that it is part of or shares parts of a State park.  Civies drive around on the camp roads & use their hunting dogs .... at the most inoportune moments.  Civies in their Pickups are usually armed (hunting rifles & shotguns) & don't respond well to naive Canadian Soldiers challenging them.


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## cavalryman (16 Jan 2009)

geo said:
			
		

> From what I was told....
> COEFOR: OPFOR troops were brought down from Wainright for the Ex - Prior to going to Texas for TF 1/09 Trg
> 
> Interesting thing about Camp Shelby is that it is part of or shares parts of a State park.  Civies drive around on the camp roads & use their hunting dogs .... at the most inoportune moments.  Civies in their Pickups are usually armed (hunting rifles & shotguns) & don't respond well to naive Canadian Soldiers challenging them.



You are indeed correct about the COEFOR.  They were a superb addition to the training, extremely well organised and effective, and very much in character in their roles.  We did have a few funny moments when scheduling conflicts occured between Cdn and US troops double booked to use the same "village" - our "Afghans" setting up their scenario just as a busload of US COEFOR "Iraqis" arrived on scene.

The hunters we encountered were  pretty much good-natured and pleasant.  They mostly stayed on the fringes of the areas we were using - and the troops were well briefed beforehand.

All in all, a pretty decent EX.


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## Nfld Sapper (16 Jan 2009)

January 8, 2009 - Camp Shelby, Mississippi
Members of Delta Company, made up of the Voltigeurs de Québec, the Fusiliers de Sherbrooke and the Régiment de la Chaudière are running to board a Ch47 model D Chinook helicopter in order to fly to Forward Operating Base (FOB) Hurricane during training as part of Ex Noble Guerrier 2009.

From 3-12 January, 1850 soldiers from Land Force Quebec Area (LFQA) took part in Ex Noble Guerrier 2009, held at the Mississippi National Guard's Camp Shelby training area in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The soldiers took part in several training scenarios designed to practice their ability to function as a company during combat operations in a simulation of the Afghanistan operational theatre. 

Photo : Cpl Jasper Schwartz, Army News Montréal


Little blurb on the front page of Forces Page


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## geo (17 Jan 2009)

cavalryman said:
			
		

> The hunters we encountered were  pretty much good-natured and pleasant.  They mostly stayed on the fringes of the areas we were using - and the troops were well briefed beforehand.



that's this year.... IIRC, was told that last year - troops were not briefed beforehand... or at least those from 34 CBG.  You have to remember that 34 CBG used to do their winter milcon in Florida while 35 CBG went to Mississippi.  The combined LFQA ex is something new.


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## davidk (17 Jan 2009)

The only official word I heard WRT hunters was not to feed any abandoned dogs found in the training area...and there were a lot of them.


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## TN2IC (17 Jan 2009)

Photo : Cpl Jasper Schwartz, Army News Montréal


Ha! I went to High School with the guy! Never picture him signing up.


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## geo (17 Jan 2009)

The usual sillyness for the people who were part of the advanced party (emphasis on party) and spent new year's eve in New Orleans.
1 Woofed his cookie all over a local shopping centre
1 Woofed his cookie all over the pants & boots of his RSM
Several arrested for underage drunkenness.  Mississippi drinking age is 21 while in Quebec it's 18.

One of my coworkers was kept busy throughout


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## Nfld Sapper (17 Jan 2009)

geo said:
			
		

> The usual sillyness for the people who were part of the advanced party (emphasis on party) and spent new year's eve in New Orleans.
> 1 Woofed his cookie all over a local shopping centre
> 1 Woofed his cookie all over the pants & boots of his RSM
> Several arrested for underage drunkenness.  Mississippi drinking age is 21 while in Quebec it's 18.
> ...



And I guess they where dealt with upon return to Cdn.


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## Spanky (17 Jan 2009)

Civie hunters in American training areas are a pretty common practice.  It does make for some interesting encounters when they see "furriners" running around.


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## geo (17 Jan 2009)

NFLD Sapper said:
			
		

> And I guess they where dealt with upon return to Cdn.



Ooooh no.... they had an AJAG representative on staff for the duration of the ex.  Revolving door justice at it's finest...
Drunkenness, Negligent discharges..... and other "fun" charges.


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## Nfld Sapper (17 Jan 2009)

geo said:
			
		

> Ooooh no.... they had an AJAG representative on staff for the duration of the ex.  Revolving door justice at it's finest...
> Drunkenness, Negligent discharges..... and other "fun" charges.



Fun fun.......


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## davidk (17 Jan 2009)

NFLD Sapper said:
			
		

> Fun fun.......



It was really something - they held a summary trial at the FOB in the middle of the exercise. What happens in New Orleans, unfortunately, doesn't stay in New Orleans.


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## geo (17 Jan 2009)

Heh... yeah - then there was that fella from 35 CBG who, some 3 yrs ago, was in New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
Instead of him offering beads for women to "show" some skin.... he accepted the challenge for beads from one of the local women.... he dropped his drawers, mooned the crowd.... and got busted, hauled away to the clink, etc, etc...

( Oh my... 10 000 posts... who woulda thought )


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## Nfld Sapper (18 Jan 2009)

Some pictures of the Ex can be found on the Combat Camera Site


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