An army exercise being held in P.E.I. for one month will leave a mark on a number of Island communities for years to come.
Members of the 4 Engineer Support Regiment will be in P.E.I. for a construction engineering exercise from Oct. 25-Nov. 23.
Capt. Jamie Tobin, the public affairs officer for the exercise, said the NIHILO SAPPER 2018 will include more than 500 troops and 300 vehicles, which will be based out of a temporary camp in Slemon Park. From there, the regiment will go to various communities for a number of projects, such as renovations to the Boys and Girls Club in Summerside, bridge construction at Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park, walkway construction at Lennox Island First Nation and more.
“These projects give soldiers an opportunity to conduct very valuable training that help them hone the skills they need to provide engineering support,” said Tobin. “These projects are also a way of saying thank you to the residents of P.E.I. communities for letting us conduct training in their backyard. These are legacy projects that will stay in place long after (the regiment) returns home.”
What’s being done
A look at some of the projects that will be done as part of NIHILO SAPPER from Oct. 25-Nov. 23.
- Boys and Girls Club (Summerside) – Building renovation.
- International Children’s Memorial Building Foundation (Kinkora) – Building renovation.
- Lennox Island First Nation – Constructing two walkways.
- Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park – Bridge construction
- Abegweit First Nation (Mount Stewart) Trail construction and church renovation
- Royal Canadian Legion Branch 8 (Montague) – Wheelchair access construction
- Panmure Island Lighthouse – Permanent pergola construction
- Slemon Park (Summerside) - Road construction and generator restoration
- Anyone interested in getting a closer look at the 4 Engineer Support Regiment can do so at an open house in Slemon Park on Nov. 10.
The community projects are largely joint initiatives. For example, the community groups provide materials while the unit provides manpower and expertise.
Every site will be treated like a tactical scenario, meaning there will be a security force to keep the public at a safe distance.
However, Islanders will have more of a chance to mingle with the unit’s members on Nov. 10, which will see the Slemon Park camp function as an open house.
Tobin said all Islanders are invited to come check out the equipment and also talk to some of the participating soldiers.
“Interacting with the community is always their favourite part (of these exercises),” said Tobin. “This is a big thank you to Prince Edward Islanders for allowing us to come to the Island and participate in this training.”
The training aims to make the regiment, which is part of the 5th Canadian Division, capable of providing a full spectrum of engineering support to domestic and internal operations in support of Canada’s defence objectives.
The regiment is made up of construction technicians, combat engineers and engineering offices.
“They’re sort of like the Army’s Swiss army knife,” Tobin said in describing the group’s multitude of engineering capabilities.
During international events, the regiment is deployed on short notice to go in and build the camps where Canadian soldiers are living and operating.
The group is also called upon during domestic emergencies, like the flooding in New Brunswick earlier this year.
Beginning in 2015, the regiment began doing the community exercises. They previously went to Saint John, N.B., in 2015, Bathurst, N.B., in 2016 and Cape Breton, N.S., last year.
Tobin said the first group of 50 soldiers will make their way to P.E.I. around Oct. 25 to set up the base camp in Slemon Park, which will serve as the main operating base for the exercise. The rest of the group will arrive in the province around Nov. 1.
