An advocate for the Canadian reserves and a Conservative MP say plans to fold a reserve regiment headquartered in Medicine Hat into a Calgary unit undermines a long and cherished history.Col. Christopher Hunt, who is in charge of Alberta’s reserve forces, met with members of the South Alberta Light Horse Regiment (SALH) March 6 to notify them of the change.“There’s still a lot of details to be worked out, but tonight was about starting the conversation with those soldiers so that we can have an open conversation about how we bring these elements together,” Hunt told CHAT News shortly after the meeting.The realignment will absorb the Medicine Hat and Lethbridge reserve units into the King’s Own Calgary Regiment (KOCR). SALH’s existing squadron in Edmonton will continue there and its headquarters will relocate to the capital from Medicine Hat. The transition is expected to take a year to complete.Steve Giberson, the newly-appointed executive director of the organization Reserves 2050, likens the change to a “hostile takeover” but not a political decision from Ottawa.“There's probably a temptation to potentially cast it as something government, but I'm one of those guys who believes that incompetence looks a lot like malfeasance,” Giberson told Western Standard in an interview.The Western Standard approached the Armed Forces to speak with Hunt or receive comment but had not heard back before this article was submitted.Hunt will oversee the transition. He joined SALH in 2007 and later became part of the KOCR, which he commanded from 2016 to 2019. In June 2019 he became Deputy Commander of 41 Canadian Brigade Group, which has 1,700 reserve soldiers in Alberta and in Yellowknife.“He is the kind of guy who is very intelligent at writing what we call service papers in the military,” Giberson said.“Despite all of our inquiries, there has been no military operational reason given to me. And even if there was, that doesn't take away from, hey, there should have been consultation talks.”Giberson said efforts to get a copy of the briefing note on the change have proven unsuccessful. He pointed out the bigger a reserve unit is, the more funding it receives and that the amalgamation is an easier fit given that SALH and KOCR are both armored units.“Let's bring them into our footprint and now all of that recruiting territory becomes subservient to Calgary as opposed to Edmonton,” Giberson supposed of the rationale.The major who spent 26 years in the regular forces and five years as a reservist, doubts the plan raised alarms at army council.“The movement of a regimental headquarters in a reserve unit from one city to another probably would not have made a big splash,” he said.The news prompted MP Glen Motz, Conservative MP for Medicine Hat - Cardston-Warner to have discussions with the Division 3 Chief of Staff, SALH command and Colonel Hunt. Motz said the change left him "disappointed.""The numbers here in Medicine Hat at Sally horse have been low for quite a number of years. Recruitment is always a challenge," Motz said."It's understandable with numbers being low, but it did cause a lot of consternation in the area for the potential loss of history and things here. And there's been a lot of people concerned about it."Motz said that although there would still be a unit in Medicine Hat, the loss of its past identity would be tough."Rebadging, that was a concern. Members feel they lose history then," Motz said."Decision-makers were encouraged to get feedback from those that it impacts within the ranks, as well as to consider if they're going to rebrand, that the name change would be commensurate with the long history of both regiments."The 15th Light Horse Regiment began in 1905, and was earmarked for dissolution in 1953. After some lobbying by the mayor of Medicine Hat and nearby towns, the Light Horse amalgamated in 1954 with the South Alberta Regiment and Alberta Dragoons to establish SALH. A museum at Patterson Armoury in Medicine Hat preserves the storied history of all three regiments, including their participation in the D-Day invasion June 6, 1944.Motz said the recent announcement of amalgamation was met with surprise and Giberson said he heard the same from retired members.“They just feel completely blindsided. It's just not a gentleman's way of doing business,” Giberson said.Giberson, who served with the Brockville Rifles from Ontario, shared how he would lobby a Liberal MP about the amalgamation if given the chance.“I would have to suspend reality to think and pretend that they care about Alberta for a second, but if I was talking to them, I'd say, ‘Look, why? Why are you going to screw with a unit that has a storied history in a town when you are struggling to recruit people, when the armed forces are in such disarray right now?’” Giberson said.“You're doing this in Alberta. How can this not be seen as just another kick in the shin, that you don't care?”
