SHARPENING THE POINTY END: EXERCISE RESOLUTE WARRIOR By Major Tony Balasevicius WAINWRIGHT - 4400 Canadian soldiers have descended on the Canadian prairie during Exercise Resolute Warrior to prepare themselves for overseas deployment. Continual combat operations, frequently in a nuclear, biological and chemical environment and often in a live-fire environment, provide a rigorous test of the soldiers and their leaders. For many soldiers this is the first opportunity they have had to participate in an exercise of this size. "This is the first time I have seen all the parts come together; it's a fantastic sight to see tanks and Light Armoured Vehicles (LAV III) moving over portable bridges while fast air lays down covering fire," said Corporal Alex Bishop of the First Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, (1RCR). Exercise Resolute Warrior's aim is to confirm and validate the readiness of soldiers and their commanders from the 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, many of whom will be deploying on overseas missions to Bosnia and Afghanistan in the coming months. Commanders at all levels are gaining valuable experience in planning and conducting operations in a realistic environment. "This training tests the abilities of all commanders in a fast pace and highly stressed atmosphere," said Major Kevin Caldwell, a company commander with 1RCR. The Canadian Army's first major exercise in the new millennium, Exercise Resolute Warrior is showcasing the Army's modernization programs. Advanced concepts such as digitization and the large-scale use of the After Action Review Process are being put to the test. Highly trained and experienced officers and senior non-commissioned members first observe a training event and then meet with members of the unit to discuss the activity in detail about what works and what needs to be corrected. "The use of the After Action Review and Observe Controllers," explained Lieutenant-Colonel Acton Kilby, the Commanding Officer of 1 RCR, "will turn the Canadian army into a learning institution." "This process brings out better ways of doing things and gives the soldier an opportunity to participate in making the army better," said Caldwell. The exercise is also providing a test bed for the Army's digitization process. "Digitization is about making the Canadian Army faster and more responsive on the battlefield through the better processing and distribution of information technology," said Captain Jeremy Small, a signals officer with 1 RCR. "Changes brought about by the emergence of information technology and information systems has the potential of dramatically altering the way a modern army commands and controls its forces," he added. In the last few years, the Canadian Army has introduced advanced command and control and intelligence and surveillance and reconnaissance systems into the field force in the form of the Coyote reconnaissance vehicle, the LAV III for the infantry and the Army's tactical communications systems. Exercise Resolute Warrior is allowing the Army to train its soldiers using these advanced concepts and technologies together so that commanders get the information they need, when they need it.