Regiment soldiers came under fire yesterday at the start of a major exercise as the climax to their two weeks of training in Canada.

Nearly the entire contingent of almost 200 soldiers were out in the field and formed into two companies for a series of battles designed to test every part of the Regiment.

And the weather followed suit as temperatures at the Meaford base in northern Ontario soared into the 70s.

It is one of the biggest and most complex exercises ever undertaken by the Island’s military.

Senior officers and NCOs, at a Battalion HQ set up in the bush in a matter of hours, said planning for the final exercise was going well.

Sergeant Major Martin Daley, the operations Warrant Officer for the exercise, said: “My job is to get everything up and running for the operations team — this is where we control the battle from and the nerve centre for the whole exercise.

“The battles and the attacks will be planned from here and directions will be given to the companies.”

Sgt JJ Hayward was part of a team laying out a large scale map of the eight square kilometre battle area on the ground outside the HQ tents.

The information manager for the four-day exercise added: “This is a crucial part of the whole thing — if the this isn’t right, things will go wrong.”

Signaller Corporal Aisha Jordan was attached to A Company as a communications specialist, responsible for relaying messages back to HQ.

She said: “Basically, I’m the Company Commander’s mouth. It’s very important because the Commanding Officer has to know what’s going on. It could all fall apart if there isn’t proper communication.”

Regiment Commanding Officer Lt Col Michael Foster-Brown said the two companies would take turns acting in offensive and defensive roles, as well as taking part in smaller-scale engagements.

He explained: “When they’re defensive, they’re hiding and also trying to ambush the patrols that are coming to look for them — we’ve had some good battles going on already between patrols.

“In the offensive role, they’re allowed out of their boundaries and go into the other company’s area — if they find them, they mount an attack.

“This is something we haven’t done before and the soldiers are really enjoying it.”

The recruits will face major obstacles along the way, including a river crossing and mounting an attack after a lake crossing by boat, a manoeuvre already practised by A Company.

The exercise will end on Thursday with a company-strength attack on a heavily-defended village, which will include a simulated artillery barrage,

Lt Col Foster-Brown said: “While it’s unlikely that this scenario would ever play out in Bermuda, the skills they are practising are hugely transferable.

“If they can plan and control these high-intensity operations, when they step down a level to internal security or disaster recovery, they will be prepared for the most demanding situations and be able to operate to a much higher level.”