Canadian military storms Vancouver Island beach for large-scale exercise

Dozens of armed soldiers stormed Airforce Beach in Comox, B.C., on Wednesday as part of a large-scale exercise.

Dozens of armed soldiers stormed Airforce Beach in Comox, B.C., on Wednesday morning.

"This is a unique opportunity for us," said Col. Scott Raesler, Commander of 39 Canadian Brigade Group.

"We are conducting what we term joint operations, so it's the army training with the navy," he said.

Soldiers and sailors are being transported to the area on navy vessels based out of Esquimalt, B.C.

Troops were conducting two separate attacks on land targets during the exercise on Wednesday.

The exercise is being held in the Comox Valley area of Vancouver Island, B.C.

"It’s the first time we’ve done this with the navy in many, many years and both of us are walking out of this experience with a fantastic amount of learning that we would not have been able to do if we simply had operated as isolated services," said Raesler.

Hundreds of people are participating in the exercise, including 320 members of the 39 Canadian Brigade Group and 450 sailors.