CAMP RIPLEY — Camp Ripley hosted the Canadian Lake Superior Scottish Regiment and 2/147 Assault Helicopter Battalion Wednesday, March 16, through Sunday to conduct joint training missions at Camp Ripley Training Center.
"We are always grateful and excited to have our Canadian Partners train here at Camp Ripley," said Army Brig. Gen. Lowell Kruse, the Minnesota National Guard's assistant adjutant general, and Camp Ripley's senior commander, in a news release. “We have a long standing partnership with the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment, and is something we are always looking forward to hosting. Hosting the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment gives their organization a unique training opportunity and the MN ARNG an opportunity to interact with our international partners.”
The Lake Superior Scottish Regiment trains at Camp Ripley every year and uses various ranges all at once including the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear chamber; pistol and rifle ranges; confidence course; and platoon/squad live fire. The Assault Helicopter Battalion and Lake Superior Scottish Regiment also conducted cold load and hot load aircraft training, which consists of detailed hands-on training for Lake Superior Scottish Regiment troops to interact with Minnesota National Guard UH-60M and UH-60L medical evacuation equipment and personnel.
Lake Superior Scottish Regiment troops trained to enter and exit an assault aircraft platform and train on loading and unloading a litter into a medical evacuation aircraft platform. The culminating event was an air assault of three squads into the Individual Squad Battle Course. Lake Superior Scottish Regiment completed a live-fire exercise then moved for medical evacuation and extraction out of the training area. The operation consisted of three separate missions focusing on air assaulting the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment forces into the training area, Lake Superior Scottish Regiment performing their infantry squad tactics and requesting a medical evacuation, and the Assault Helicopter Battalion performing a medical evacuation event to bring the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment forces out of the training area. The Consul General of Canada based in Minneapolis, Ariel Delouya, also was scheduled to be at Camp Ripley Sunday to visit the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment troops and observe the training and the partnership between Canadian forces and American forces while touring Camp Ripley. Delouya and his office represent Canada in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska, connecting American and Canadian businesses and policymakers, and providing services to Canadians visiting and living in the United States. This will be his first visit to Camp Ripley.
"Camp Ripley continues to work with our partners both domestically and internationally. We have the pleasure of having the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment here to train most years due to their close proximity,” Kruse said.
