Windsor Regiment goes to Borden

By Hailey Trealout

Cold weather could not keep the Windsor Regiment from training the weekend of Sept. 21-23.

Their excitement about the weekend was evident as the troops boarded the bus and left from the Major F.A. Tilston V.C. Armoury, Sept. 21. The exercise consisted of qualifications to fire selected weapons, such as the C9 and C6 machine guns and the C7 rifle in Borden, Ont.

One of the leaders of the weekend was Warrant Officer Matt Smith, 43, who said the training was a refresher for the troops.

“This is our annual machine gun range and it is the only time we do live firing. We conducted the C9 ranges, nuclear, biological and chemical warfare training and did a theory lecture on root, area, point and zone reconnaissance,” said Smith. “This is a refresher with all basic soldier skills but for some it might be the first time they’ve actually done this with the regiment. This was a good initiation for them.”

Other skills the troops practiced include grenade training, navigation, vehicle check points, rocket launcher training and the personal weapons test, where the troops must run 100 meters between checkpoints and shoot at targets with the C7 rifle.

“I really enjoyed the shoot,” said Trooper Sarah Taylor, 23. “Running up the range and shooting was new to me. Other than that everything else was kind of like a refresher for me, but I love it, it’s why I’m here.”

Taylor’s comrade Cpl. Ryan Duggan, 25, also said he enjoyed the weekend. He went to Borden to qualify for his C6 shoot, which he said he was excited about.

“This is a break from my full time civilian job,” said Duggan. “So I always look forward to this. It’s almost like my vacation.”

The exercise ended and the troops returned home Sept. 23. The next event with the Windsor Regiment will be held Oct. 4 with the regimental parade.