A Fine Weekend For The Army Run

As I'm busy over at my photoblog, including with a post on the recent tornado here scheduled for tomorrow, I thought I'd present this photo post here today. The Canada Army Run is an annual event on a weekend in September in Ottawa, held this past weekend. It's been going on for over a decade, with military members, active and retired, participating along with their families in a series of races, including a marathon. I was late to the event on Sunday, as most of the runners had already crossed the finish line. There were a number of displays at our City Hall and neighbouring Cartier Square drill hall featuring military vehicles and equipment. 

This is the TAPV, a general utility vehicle used for reconnaissance and personnel transport.

The LAV 60 is a light armoured vehicle used for infantry transport and support in both combat and non combat situations.

The Buffalo is one part of a set of vehicles used in the detection and disposal of IEDs and other such weapons. Collectively the set are referred to as Expedient Route Opening Capability teams, and the Buffalo investigates potential threats. It's a big one, and well armoured given the requirements of its job. An expandable arm offers distance for the Buffalo in investigating a potential threat.

The Husky is the second part of that team. This vehicle is used to detect threats via the use of ground penetrating radar and metal detectors. The third and last part of the team is the Cougar, a transport for the Explosive Ordnance Disposal operators who actually handle disarming a bomb.

The M777 Howitzer is lighter and smaller than previous models like the M109, but offers more power and precision. At 9200 pounds, it is more mobile than its predecessor (the M109 for comparison is 49 940 pounds) and transportable by truck, helicopter, and aircraft. Its maximum range allows for accurate fire up to 30 kilometres.

The Bison armoured vehicle is a multipurpose transport that started out as an infantry carrier but serves numerous purposes- security, reconnaissance, command post, and in this case as an ambulance.

This is the Drill Hall, which still serves as a military facility, and dates to 1879. During the summer, the bulk of the Ceremonial Guard march out of here each morning towards Parliament Hill for the Changing Of The Guard ceremony.

This is the Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) truck, a multipurpose logistics truck for moving or towing gear into operations. 

And lest we forget that there was an actual race going on, here we have the finish line. As I was late in the proceedings, most of the runners had already passed through, but the finish line officials were on hand welcoming those finishing a marathon race.