New commander to take charge of Rocky Mountain Rangers

Contributed

The Rocky Mountain Rangers Primary Reserve regiment will conduct a Change of Command parade on Saturday, Dec. 13. Lieutenant Colonel K. Tyler, Commanding Officer of the Rangers, will honourably hand over command to the incoming Lieutenant Colonel N.G.J. Dionne. The event will take place at 10:45 a.m. at the Meadow Creek Armoury in Prince George, the home of the infantry regiment’s Bravo Company.

A change of command is a military tradition that represents a formal transfer of authority and responsibility for a unit from one Commanding Officer to another. The official and public passing of command responsibility from the outgoing commanding officer to the incoming one ensures that the unit and its soldiers are never without official leadership.

Lt.Col. Tyler entered the army as a member of the Royal Canadian Regiment. He served in Bosnia and Afghanistan, and with Joint Task Force North in the Canadian Arctic.

In 2011, Tyler assumed command of the Rocky Mountain Rangers and quickly set about implementing policy and leading by example to improve the capability and efficiency of the unit. Tyler is preparing to retire from the military in 2015.

Lieutenant Colonel Dionne of the Royal 22nd Regiment has served 36 years with the Canadian Armed Forces, and been on multiple operational deployments, including deployments to Haiti and Iraq. He has also served Canada in Europe and the U.S.

The change of command parade is being held in conjunction with the Kiska Dinner, which the Rangers hold annually to commemorate the regiment’s participation the Aleutian Islands Campaign during the Second World War.

The Rocky Mountain Rangers is the only infantry regiment in the interior of B.C. The unit originated in Nelson on April 1, 1908. Alfa Company and headquarters are based in Kamloops at the JR Vicars Armoury, and Bravo Company parades in Prince George.

The infantry companies conduct exercises once a month, and often work together at the Canadian Armed Forces Camp Chilcotin near Williams Lake. The Rangers have earned battle honours in the first and second world war, and most recently in Afghanistan.