Prince George, B.C. – Don’t be alarmed if you hear gunfire just east of Prince George tomorrow.

B Company of the Rocky Mountain Rangers has planned some overnight training exercises (dismounted reconnaissance).

“We’re going to be doing this in an area of privately owned land between Highway 16 East and Pedscalny Road, just east of Shelley Road,” says Commanding Officer Capt. Michael Oviatt. “We’re going to start training tonight, probably around 9 o’clock and we’re going to be out there moving around in the dark until probably mid-afternoon, 15 hundred hours on Saturday.”

He says people can expect to see about 20 soldiers in uniform “with service weapons on foot, moving around in the dark and in the daylight.”

Capt. Oviatt adds they “can potentially expect to hear the sounds of gunfire mid-morning or so” tomorrow.

“And just a reminder, you shouldn’t be alarmed, it’s just the sounds of gunfire, there’s no actual bullets.”

He says the training is a chance to confirm the skills the soldiers have been learning in theory.

So, why train overnight?

“As a general rule, we want to train in the worst conditions possible. Maybe it’s going to be wet and cold out there for the guys, but that’s what we want,” says Capt. Oviatt.

“We want the worst-case scenario so that when the time comes to actually do the job, no matter what happens, our professional soldiers are ready and willing to take on the task.”