RV ’87 Information Booklet RV 87 APPOINTMENTS Commander RV 87 Concentration Lieutenant-General J.A. Fox Divisional Headquarters Commander PMC Division Major-General G.H.J. Lessard Chief of Staff Colonel D.G. Taylor Assistant Chief of Staff Administration Colonel D.N. Basinger Air Component Commander Colonel L.J. Noiles Commander Divisional Artillery Lieutenant-Colonel T.J. Guiler Commander Divisional Engineers Lieutenant-Colonel W.E. Morton Commander Divisional Aviation Wing Lieutenant-Colonel D.J. Cockburn G1 Lieutenant-Colonel R.B. Mitchell G2 Lieutenant-Colonel P.F. O'Leary G3 Lieutenant-Colonel B.M. Archibald G4 Lieutenant-Colonel G.A. Walsh G5 Major R.A. Black Formations/Units Commande 1 Canadian Brigade Group Brigadier-General C. Milner G3 Major J.I. Fenton G4 Major W.S. Tait Commander Special Service Force Brigadier-General K.R. Foster G3 Major G. Taylor G4 Major R.D.F. Froch 1 Canadian Signals Regiment Lieutenant-Colonel D.R.A. McLean Divisional Troops Commander 1 Forward Surgical Hospital Colonel D.J.P. Beatty Commanding Officer Wainwright Support Group Lieutenant-Colonel K.H. Mulligan Commanding Officer Umpire Unit Lieutenant-Colonel W.J. Soucie Commanding Officer Divisional Troop Major M. Pouliot Service Battalion Commanding Officer Movement Control Major M.A. Rafferty Company Other Commander Field Firing Center Colonel J.N. Murphy Introduction RV 87 is one of a series of exercises which will involve army units of Mobile Command and aircraft of 10 Tactical Air Group, Air Transport Group, and Fighter Group from all across Canada. Canadian Forces Communications Command will provide personnel, including a signals squadron. Individuals from other commands and formations will also take part. United States participants include one infantry battalion task force and elements of fighter and tactical airlift elements. Even if it is a minor RV, where only two of the three regular brigade groups are fully participating, this exercise will involve approximately 90 aircraft, 3,000 vehicles and over 30 individual units for a total of some 12,000 troops, of whom 700 are from the land, communication and air reserves. RV 87, which is being held at CFB Wainwright and CFB Suffield, is the fourth concentration in the biennial RENDEZVOUS series. The first one, RV 81, was held at CFB Gagetown, N.B., and the next two RV 83 and RV 85, at CFB Wainwright, Alta. The size of the RV alternates each time between a full Division size concentration, as it was the case in RV 81 and RV 85, and a two brigade group concentration as it was the case in RV 83 and is again the case this year. The concept of a Division size concentration embraces four main principles: Operational Readiness Every infantry battalion commander is responsible for the operational readiness of his unit. The RV series allows each participating battalion to perfect its battle skills by operating with its affiliated armoured and artillery units in a general war scenario. Standardization of Training and Manoeuvres By bringing together the maximum number of available battalions in one large concentraation, individual skills, manoeuvres and training levels can be standardized. The great benefit of this is the flexibility the Army gains in having units that can be substituted one for the other when the tactical situation so dictates. Esprit de Corps Soldiers, by definition, must be able to rely completely on their allies and sister units in wartime. By exercising together, individual units gain confidence in each other’s combat skills. Since a soldier can be asked to put his life on the line, esprit de corps must become an indispensable motivational element of military training. Divisional Training It also allows our operationally tasked brigade groups to be exercised at all levels within the Divisional context they would experience in war, but can only fully experience in peacetime in a Divisional concentration context. The Aim The aim of RV 87 is to exercise selected regular force formations and units of Mobile Command in a general war setting up to and including Division level and in all phases of war: advance, attack, defence, and withdrawal. The exercise will provide the type of intensity of activities which will allow commanders and trooops of all the combat area to confirm their mastery of basic and collective battle skills. Combat service support units will be stretched to the limit to provide the logistic support and administrative serives required. The Exercises RV 87 will be conducted in three phases of training: Phase One: 12 April - 6 May 87 The first phase will be training conducted progressively up to the brigade group level. It will include the armoured corps cougar gunnery competition, artillery and field engineer training, the use of helicopters and combined training of the infantry, armour, artillery and engineers. During this phase, each major element of the brigade groups will learn to work with the others. This phase is designed to instil confidence and perfect the cohesiveness of each brigade group. Phase Two: 7 May - 12 May 87 Phase Two will be a Divisional level field training exercise called “Exercise BOLD WARRIOR”. The aim of this phase of training is to practise defence and attack techniques at Division level. To accomplish this, the two brigade groups (1 Canadian Brigade Group and the Special Service Force) will be grouped together against a controlled enemy based on the Canadian Airborne Regiment. The scenario is that the friendly force is in a defensive line against an aggressor force. The attacking aggressor force will be forced to fall back and regroup; the defenders will then take the initiative, thus exercising both sides in attacking and defending. Phase Three: 16 May - 5 Jun 87 The final phase, called “Exercise PRAIRIE VIPER”, will be a “live fire” exercise. Three selected Battle Groups* will each conduct a one-week period of live fire training consisting of a series of progressive exercises from troop/platoon to Battle Group. For this purpose, a Field Firing Centre will be established at CFB Suffield from the period 20 April - 15 June 87. This phase of training will emphasize live firing of all weapons available to a Battle Group, battle procedure, all-arms cooperation, advance and attack drills and control and application of fighter ground attack aircraft. *The Battle Group exercised during Phase Three is composed of the following elements: 1 Battle Group Headquarters (based either on an Infantry Battalion HQ or an Armoured Regiment HQ) 2 Infantry Companies 2 Armoured Squadrons 1 Armoured Recce Troop and/or 1 Infantry Recce Platoon 1 Morter Platoon 1 Armoured Defence Platoon 1 Pioneer Platoon 1 Engineer Field Troop 1 Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge 2 Artillery Batteries and 1 Forward Logistics Group for first line support Air Assets Over 90 planes and helicopters from both Canada and the United States are providing the air support necessary to make RV 87 training as realistic as possible. The 13 types of aircraft participating are listed below: -Canada Fighters - CF-18, CF-5, T-33 Transports - Boeing 707, Hercules, Twin Otter, Dakota Helicopters - Chinook, Twin Huey, Kiowa Mid-Air Refuelling - (Boeing 707) -United States Fighters - A-7 (U.S. Naval Air Reserve, California) OA-37 (182 Tac Air Sp Gp) F-16 (U.S. Air Force, Hill AFB)