An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Oct. 14, 2014

Georgia National Guard joins Canadians for complex exercise

By Maj. Will Cox Georgia National Guard

MACON, Ga. - An infantry platoon with the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Georgia Army National Guard, recently joined forces with the Canadian 48th Highlanders in a complex training exercise called Operation Stalwart Guardian. The multi-nation, multi-service exercise challenged reserve units to defend Canada from a simulated insurgent threat and culminated in an amphibious assault near Toronto.

"Our infantry platoon was immediately integrated into a Highlander's infantry company," said Capt. John Pridgen, officer in charge of the 48th IBCT Guardsmen in Canada. "Two squads of the platoon were detached to another platoon and replaced with a Canadian squad."

The 48th IBCT 48th Highlanders conducted three missions including an airfield seizure and a deliberate attack to secure key terrain. The final culminating event included an assault on key enemy positions blocking the southern terminus of the Welland Canal and Lake Eerie.

"The best part was when the rifle platoon conducted an amphibious assault with the 48th Highlanders on zodiac boats to clear Objective Stag, which was a peninsula," said Pridgen. "Two Canadian infantry companies assaulted the objective by land while the company our platoon was in waited until conditions were right for the amphibious assault to clear the objective of insurgents."

"Our two units have more things in common other than just our numerical designator," said Maj. Henry Mullins, operations officer of the 48th IBCT. "The Canadian 48th Highlanders are a reserve infantry regiment located in the heart of downtown Toronto where it was founded in 1891."

Much like the Georgia National Guard, the 48th Highlanders links the civilian lives of its Soldiers to communities throughout Canada and serve their citizens during times of disaster. Members of the 48th Highlanders also serve around the world augmenting the regular Canadian forces and mobilized as a unit during World War one and two.

"Being able to send our Guardsmen on a training exercise out of country while gaining insight into how our coalition partners operate is priceless," said Mullins.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...