SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - At the beginning of May, 145 army reservists from Alberta will descend on Yellowknife, joining the 15 reservists here in town for a five-day training exercise.

Lt. Col. Lyle Herod explains the details of the upcoming training exercise that will bring 145 reservists from Alberta to Yellowknife for a five-day exercise involving the newly-formed Yellowknife company. - Andrew Livingstone/NNSL photo

The exercise, called Operation Sovereign Grizzly, will put the reserve soldiers, who have regular day jobs when they aren't training on weekends and holidays, into different combat scenarios. Soldiers will perform foot patrols, staff check points and reconnaissance patrols, and face different scenarios enacted by staff role playing as refugees or hostile forces.

Lt. Col. Lyle Herod, exercise director and commander of 41 Canadian Brigade Group, said the "relatively low-level exercise" won't disrupt the city, with the majority of the training being done on the outskirts of Yellowknife.

"The local population is not built into the exercise," Herod said. "They may see the occasional green vehicle drive through town."

Herod said the soldiers coming North to conduct a training exercise for the first time since 1952 is a chance to bring attention to the newly-formed Yellowknife company.

"It's a great way to show citizens what their infantry company does," he said at a press conference on April 12.

Herod said having the exercise in Yellowknife will allow soldiers to train in a new landscape, helping them prepare for potential domestic situations that could arise where reservists might be needed, such as flooding or forest fires.

"It's a new area we haven't worked in before," he said, adding it will be a challenge for some of the soldiers who are coming from warmer weather in southern Alberta. "We have to be ready for emergency response anywhere in Western Canada."

Herod said planning the exercise North of 60 was a challenge, citing distance as the biggest factor. He added 25 military vehicles were brought up early because of concerns the ice crossing at Fort Providence might go out of commission sooner than anticipated.

"Usually we travel down the road a few hours," he said, adding that things running smoothly relies on a lot of things, particularly getting the soldiers in and out without disruption to the day-to-day life of Yellowknife. "It's quite a logistical challenge."

Soldiers will be staying at barracks west of the airport and will be required to spend at least one 24-hour period out in the field on a specified mission. They will be required to stay in canvas tents and complete their mission before returning to the barracks.