Military reservists train for heat emergency throughout Blyth and beyond
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
It was a sunny Saturday morning in North Huron for the official first full day of Exercise Trillium Venture, which saw hundreds of military reservists congregating in the area in order to train for a potential heat emergency from May 3 to 5. Reservists from locations all over Southwestern Ontario came out to do their part in ensuring the overall safety of the populace on their weekends off from 9-to-5 jobs.
Local politicians, senior municipal staff and media were briefed by military leadership overseeing the mission. “This is a big weekend for us,” said Colonel Chris Brown, Commander of 31 Canadian Brigade Group. “You may have heard the theme before,” he continued, “but it’s not a good time - in a crisis - that’s not the time to make friends; that’s not the time to form relationships; that’s not the time to build confidence with each other. And so we want to do that now because we have a high degree of confidence that in the future we’re going to get called out to help our fellow Canadians in an emergency.”
Exercise Trillium Venture was intended not only to give reservists an opportunity to train in case of a heat emergency, but as a chance to let local people become more comfortable with the notion that sometimes, people in uniform will need to come out and assist their fellow humans in the face of issues like climate change. Any local families that were curious about the training exercise were invited to stop in at the Blyth campground on Saturday to check out their pop-up base camp, which was complete with temporary structures like medical tents and impressive tactical vehicles that would be well suited to help out in an emergency.
Many people took the military up on their offer of a guided tour of the makeshift lifesaving facilities, which meant that reservists really had a chance to talk to young folks about why they choose to do what they do. Master Corporal Anders Mona was more than happy to discuss with young tour participants like Robert and Jack Bromley, as to why he, as a student of literature, chose the military as the place he wanted to be to make a difference. “I’m 24 years old,” he explained. “I’m a Masters student, and before I’m a soldier, I’m a citizen.”
All the children and their parents that came out for a tour last weekend may have come to check out the cool trucks and camouflage outfits, but they walked away with a newfound ease and a sense of trust in the people that will be there for them in the moments when it feels most frightening to need a stranger’s help. And sometimes, knowing who you can put your trust in during moments of crisis can make all the difference.