10 members of the Vermont Army National Guard depart Vermont with 18 other Service Members from the New Hampshire, Virginia, and Alaska National Guards as well as active-duty members of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps on Wednesday, February 28.

The joint contingent is traveling to Quebec and then the High North of Canada to participate in an Arctic training exercise with the Canadian Army called Guerrier Nordique. They will tentatively arrive in Resolute Bay on Monday, March 4.

"This is an opportunity for interoperability with various U.S. forces to develop our skills and establish best practices to operate and survive in these austere conditions," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jason Beams, the officer-in-charge for the U.S. group. "The 2nd Canadian Division and 35th Brigade Group have been great partners and are very knowledgeable. I'm looking forward to another great exercise this year and continuing to build upon our partnership."

Beams returns for his fifth GN exercise, and currently serves as commander for the Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vermont. Guerrier Nordique was previously focused on domestic operations and responses but has become more focused on conducting combat tactics.

The Vermont National Guard started participating in the Canadian led training event in 2012. GN provides an opportunity for Service Members to gain experience operating and surviving in the extreme climate of the High Arctic. The exercise highlights the strong relationship between the Canadian and U.S. military, while also providing challenging training in a joint environment. The lessons learned from Guerrier Nordique are brought back to units across the U.S. military and help to inform future Arctic focused decision-making.

For more information, please contact Capt. Mike Arcovitch at mikel.r.arcovitch.mil@army.mil or 802-338-3434.