Military reservists prepare to serve by training at Alberta military base [Video]

A pair of 105-mm howitzers bark constantly as they turn plywood tank targets into kindling kilometres away on the windswept landscape of one of Canada’s largest military bases.

It’s a once-a-month weekend training session at Canadian Forces Base Suffield, 260 kilometres southeast of Calgary, for 158 members of 41 Canadian Brigade Group, composed of Army Reserve units in Alberta and the Northwest Territories. 

They range in age from 18 to 49 and include a high school teacher, the owner of a sewing company, a private investigator and a mountain guide.

Many have hopes of being deployed to the NATO Multinational Battlegroup in Latvia and help fend off Russian threats. 

Col. Chris Hunt, commander of the brigade group, delivers a pep talk to reservists practising with C6 machine-guns. 

“For those of you … just coming off your basic infantry course now, we’re going to need to fill two battle groups back-to-back …