The Mountaineer Online

These are vital requirements in securing the liberties that we enjoy, but they speak little of the interpersonal relationships built during shared hardships.

Soldiers typically form these relationships in situations that require teamwork to achieve favorable outcomes, and often in astonishingly short periods of time.

Eleven combat engineers assigned to 41st Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, recently crossed international borders to do just that.

Traveling from Fort Drum by passenger van, the team reached Petawawa, Ontario, Canada, in just over five hours to partner with and participate in training that culminated in a Sapper Stakes competition Oct. 25-28.

While their focus was on training, the experiences they shared with their counterparts is likely what they will remember most from their journey.

Upon receiving his mission, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Charles Heubner, engineer team leader with B Company, conjured images of a two-week-long siesta in the pine forests of northern Canada.

"The impression I had was we were going to come here and train with reservists," he said. "I figured we really weren't going to do much but hang out and get to know our Canadian engineer counterparts."

The truth behind Heubner's training illusion was revealed shortly after the Soldiers arrived at 2 Combat Engineer Regiments Headquarters building, where they were they integrated with 13 Canadian engineer teams competing for an all-expenses-paid backpacking trip to historical war sites in Germany.

"It wasn't like what I thought at all. These guys were active-duty," Heubner explained. "They do mission, after mission, after mission. It feels like I've been here a week, but it's only been two days."

Cpl. Matt Ferguson, a Canadian combat engineer, had his own preconceived notions of his American counterparts and how the days ahead might unfold.

"I've worked with the Americans before; they were all really good hard workers and hard chargers," he explained. "I really hoped our work ethic would set a good standard for these guys and give us a good reputation. We didn't want to let them down in terms of what they expected of us."

Within hours of their integration, Ferguson and Heubner's team loaded a Light Armored Vehicle and began the near-hourlong journey to the remote training site.

Seated in the dimly lit confines of the transport vehicle, Soldiers from both sides of the border sized each other up.

Ferguson knew from his experiences of working with American Soldiers that this was a good opportunity to have some jokes and trade patches, and he was the first to break the silence.

"As soon as we all got here, there was that little five-minute bubble of awkward shyness, but as soon as we got into the trucks and started rolling, we started to get to know the guys," Ferguson said. "We started asking those questions of where are you from, about family and stuff like that."

He explained that once the initial awkwardness passed, the conversational exchange was fantastic.

"We joked with them like we joke with ourselves every day," Ferguson said. "It was like they have been in our troop the whole time."

Over the course of the week, their honeymoon phase would be tested by weather, terrain and physical hardships as they prepared to navigate seven Sapper Stakes stations spread out over a 25-mile course.

But first they would have to tame their fear of heights and ready themselves to rappel from a helicopter into the back country of Ontario, Canada.

"The following day, we left early in the morning to rappel out of a helicopter in the middle of nowhere," Heubner said. "It was scary as hell -- the Bell helicopter was as old as me. I didn't think I was going to make it, but it went pretty good."

With everyone safely on the ground, they waited for the extraction helicopter to pick them up. Hours passed, and with no relief in sight, the group began to grow restless.

It was at this time that Heubner, a 53-year-old father of four, found his paternal instincts kicking into high gear.

Attempting to relieve some of the anxiety of waiting in the continuous cold drizzle, he resorted to unconventional means of identifying pine tree species, which eventually led to building small fires for warmth.

Eventually the time came for them to start the competition, and on their first night they found themselves ahead of time, and this time, dying from laughter and not the cold.

"Last night they dropped us off at a closer distance to where we had to go. What we didn't know was that we didn't have to start for another half hour," Ferguson said. "We took off running, hoping we could get to the start point as quickly as possible, and then we sat around for a half hour laughing hysterically, to the point where our guts hurt so bad that we couldn't move."

It started raining hard at that point, he added, and the group continued to struggle through the cold wet night.

U.S. Army Pfc. David Bernard said the conditions made the escape and evasion station more difficult, but more memorable. He and two of his counterparts huddled in a warming tent, reading a journal of quotes they had collected from their visit while they waited for the remainder of their team to return.

Ferguson explained that the journal, patches and souvenirs collected would help them remember what they had built over the past week.

"It's always good to come out with souvenirs to remember the times," he explained. "I got some 10th Mountain patches and an American flag to remember my exercise with all those guys who came up. The same with your guys; it's always good to give them (souvenirs) to remember being in Canada freezing cold."

While their team survived the grueling conditions and physical requirements of the Sapper Stakes competition, they did not place first. What they did gain were friendships, memories and bonds that see no nationality.

"I think that we rallied together to cross the finish line together," Ferguson said. "Even if someone was hurting, the relationships that we made because we became so close in such a short amount of time pushed each other to finish. We can rely on each other and not worry that he is from America or we are from Canada."