FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. - The 4,000-mile stretch of land between the United States and Canada is the largest unprotected border in the world. To Army Maj. Gen. Raymond Carpenter, former acting director of the Army National Guard, this is all the more reason U.S. and Canadian forces should train together as often as possible.
While both militaries have fought side-by-side since World War I, Exercise Maple Resolve in October marked the first time in which members of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard's B Company, 2nd of the 104th General Support Aviation Battalion were afforded the opportunity to work face-to-face with their northern allies.
According to Army Maj. Gen. Wesley Craig Jr., the adjutant general of the Pennsylvania National Guard, the exercise was a win-win for both forces.
"The Canadian army was in a situation where they needed to conduct training in order to meet their requirements to deploy," Craig said. "Unfortunately, all their Chinooks are in Afghanistan, so they asked if we could help out. We were, of course, happy to do so."
Craig said just getting their newly acquired CH-47F aircraft to Camp Wainwright in Alberta, Canada was a feat in itself for Soldiers of B/2-104.
"It was a 2,500-mile deployment one way," he said, "And it took three days to get there. We took three aircraft, four aircrews and a handful of some 27 maintainers. It turned out to be a wonderful experience for our aircrews."
Once on the ground, the two-week aviation portion enabled the Canadians to perform air assault, air movement and quick-reaction force mission in their training scenario, according to Army Maj. Michael Gross, operations officer for the 2-104th GSAB.
Craig said that navigating through the 40 by 20-mile training area, consisting of plain areas punctuated by deep river gorges, was a job well suited for the Pennsylvania Guard.
"There was no other state that could have done this," he said. "We have both the density [of CH-47F aircraft] and proximity. Our crews were able to log some 150 hours of flying and the Canadians were able to meet their gate for deployment."
Of his aviation troops, Craig added, "They flew both day and night operations, accepted every mission the Canadians tasked them with, learned a lot from each other, then safely redeployed them home again. We couldn't have asked for anything more."
Working with foreign militaries is nothing new to Pennsylvania Guard members. Members of the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team conducted countless missions with the Iraqi army in 2009. Soldiers and Airmen from Pennsylvania are currently serving with soldiers from Lithuania in Afghanistan. Pennsylvania Air Guard members recently returned from Europe where they conducted operations in support of Libya's fight for democracy.
The list goes on.
"Being asked to participate in so many international exercises says a lot about the Pennsylvania National Guard," Craig said. "It shows that we've got a really good force and are good representatives of the National Guard and of the U.S. Army. They would not come to us if they thought that we couldn't do the mission.
"The crews that went up there, not only did what they were sent to do, but exceeded the requirements," he said. "It's a real feather in Pennsylvania's cap that we were asked to do something like this."
Next, the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team's 2nd Battalion, 112th Infantry, plans to travel to Ontario Province in August, further galvanizing the relationship between the Pennsylvania Guard and Canadian forces.
Craig said he was happy he was involved.
"This is a nasty world and it's always good to have friends and Canadians are our best friends," Craig said. "If we work together like we've been doing for many years, we'll know each other and be better friends.
"If there is trouble in the world, and we deploy together side by side, we know we can count on the Canadian Forces and it builds trust and friendship."