Reservists wanted to ‘fill in the gaps’ at Gagetown

By Steven Fouchard, Army Public Affairs

Oromocto, New Brunswick — Canadian Army (CA) Reserve Force members may only serve part-time, but officers from one of the Army's busiest centres say their help is both very much needed and highly valued.

5th Canadian Division Support Base (5 CDSB) Gagetown, located in Oromocto, New Brunswick, is home to both 4 Engineer Support Regiment (4 ESR) and 4th Artillery Regiment (General Support), RCA (4 Regt (GS)).

While other CA units enter a state of high readiness every three years, following two years of individual and collective training to prepare, these two are tasked with roles that are unique in the CA as a whole. As a result, there is high demand on members to support exercises and operations across the country and around the globe, so they must stay constantly at the ready.

They and other CA ‘enabler' units – which perform in-demand supportive functions such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance – were recently consolidated at 5th Canadian Division, where they will all report to the newly-formed Canadian Combat Support Brigade (CCSB).

Captain Joseph Bennett, 4 ESR's Operations Officer, says this requirement for a constant state of readiness presents considerable challenges that Reservists help overcome.

“We provide the bulk of the leadership, the planning, and the soldiers to react to any type of event in Atlantic Canada,” he explained. “We frequently have people who are supporting tasks or going…