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It's called Maple Storm and it lived up to its name! The annual 31 CBG spring FTX is the final collective training by the brigade before the Area exercise, called Stalwart Guardian for the last three years.

The threatening skies finally delivered their promise of excess moisture overnight Saturday as the soldiers moved into attack positions against the three defensive trench positions specially-dug for the exercise. The enemy force featured soldiers from 1 RCR, augmented with trainee officers from the German Army.

The rain chilled everyone to the bone and turned the notorious Meaford clay into a glutinous, boot-sucking, energy-sapping morass, partly filling trenches and turning normally small streams into serious obstacles.

Never-the-less, the Rileys and other units were in position at the allotted time and delivered successful attacks against the three fortified hilltops as the sun finally came out in time to start drying everyone off. It's rumoured that some of the soldiers, though, still had Meaford mud embedded on their boats and in their uniforms by the time Stalwart Guardian rolled around in August!