Canadian Patrol Concentration 2014...

via Canadian Army website.

Wainwright, Alberta — Rappelling from a CH-146 Griffon helicopter while hovering 20 metres above a wooded copse in sub-zero temperatures is only the first of many experiences that teams participating in the second annual Canadian Patrol Concentration (CPC) will take away from this uniquely Canadian training event.
Hosted by the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre (CMTC) from November 14 to 24, CPC 2014 provides an opportunity for Regular and Reserve Force soldiers from across Canada to competitively practice patrolling in an infantry reconnaissance patrol format.
“Employing core patrolling skills in austere conditions, participants will be bent, pushed and stretched to their physical and emotional limits,” says Chief Warrant Officer Martin Colbert, the Formation Sergeant Major for the CMTC. “In CPC 2014, our soldiers will have an amazing opportunity to demonstrate resiliency and to exercise the ingenuity and fortitude that Canadian soldiers are known for.”
Twenty-four patrols, consisting of eight members each, will be required to travel on foot more than 40 kilometres in inclement weather in order to gather information on a notional enemy, such as their size, location, disposition and habits. As the patrols make their way through their mission, how the scenario unfolds will depend on how the members of each team conduct themselves and respond to challenges placed before them.
Participants of CPC 2014 will return to their home units with experiences that they can share with their fellow soldiers and, ultimately, improve the overall patrolling expertise across the Canadian Army.

Hmm.

Sub zero temps?  40 kilometers (about 25 miles) in inclement weather?  Notional enemy?

I would love to observe this training.  Call it the cynic in me but I bet this turned into an endurance rather than patrolling exercise...I'm not talking physical endurance (even though being cold sucks donkey balls...especially when you stop) but more like mental.  Were they actually "patrolling" or was it really just a march to contact?  A real patrol covering 25 miles would be at least a couple of days affair if they were doing it right (as in trying to find the enemy when they don't know where he is) but the packs look too light for that.  I bet the after-action on this makes for real interesting reading.