The City of Prince George is celebrating the Rocky Mountain Rangers' 114th birthday and 10th anniversary of the regiment's reestablishment in Prince George.
Uniformed members of the Rocky Mountain Rangers along with Mayor Lyn Hall, city councilors, and community supporters gathered at the steps of city hall to raise the Rangers' flag.
Hall also read a proclamation declaring the next seven days, from April 1 to 7, be observed as Ranger week in the city.
The Rocky Mountain Rangers were established in 1908 with the amalgamation of a number of independent rifle companies.
Its primary task is to recruit and train reserve infantry soldiers to augment Canada’s military during local, national and international deployments.
“Thanks to previous city councils and the support of this city council and the business community at large we have been able to come back 10 years ago,” said Deputy Commanding Officer Darcy Hormann, who made the trip from his home in Revelstoke B.C.
“We now have 128 members 60 of which are based here in Prince George. We have had seven members deployed in the last two yeas oversees, we have six more that are deploying overseas this year, and 20 to 25 of our members assisted during our operations in the interior of B.C. during the forest fires.”
Hormann noted that every time he is in Prince George he is stuck by the overwhelming support for the Canadian Armed Forces and for the Rocky Mountain Rangers.
“To see our community, the place where we live and serve, take this step to recognize the remarkable work members of the Canadian Armed Forces undertake is something special. It reaffirms the support our defense team members have long enjoyed in this community and is a tangible sign of our strong working relationship,” added Captain Eric Depenau.
Hall noted that the Rocky Mountain Rangers have a long and significant history in the city.
“Quite often when we do a flag-raising and do a proclamation and look at, in this case the Rocky Mountain Rangers, it’s not just ceremonial,” said Hall.
“We want to let the community know how important the Rocky Mountain Rangers are to the city and beyond the city, the entire region, they’ve helped residents with natural disasters in 2017 and 2021 and years in between. It is significant we recognize their contribution.”
Rocky Mountain Rangers leadership has a productive week of events to celebrate the regiments’ 114 birthday and 10th re-establishments anniversary year.
Members plan on attending the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43 monthly dinner to spend time with the veteran community before returning to their ongoing planning for an anniversary weekend which will take place May 27 to 29.
