Riders in support of post traumatic stress disorder awareness are rolling through Okotoks on Wednesday.
The Rolling Barrage, a coast-to-coast motorcycle ride in support of PTSD in veterans and first responders, is making a stop in Okotoks for the second year. It is the fourth year the ride has taken place across Canada.
The barrage will arrive in Okotoks and travel down Milligan Drive then head south on Veterans Way and west on Riverside Drive before returning to Southridge Drive and finishing at The George Traditional House.
Scott Casey, founder of the Rolling Barrage and president of Military Minds Inc., said it’s all about awareness.
“The idea of this whole thing was community-building and to try to fight the stigma that surrounds PTSD, and it’s working,” said Casey. “We’re reaching out to a lot of communities across Canada and it’s just growing and growing. We’re quite happy with it.”
The Rolling Barrage took its first ride in August 2017 to mark Canada’s bicentennial year and the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, also known as the Birth of a Nation because it was the first time Canadian forces had worked with one another under Canadian command, separate from British or French command – and succeeded.
Part of the success story was the development of the rolling barrage, a tactic Canadian troops used to storm the ridge that involved firing artillery just ahead of its infantry soldiers as they advanced. It allowed the Canadians to take the ridge after several failed attempts to do so.
“It was a fitting name for the ride, the Rolling Barrage,” said Casey. “We’re wiping out the stigma with our ride.”
Spectators are welcome to come out to cheer on the riders. Last year in Saskatchewan, he said farmers and ranchers came to the ends of their rural driveways to wave and show their support.
“People love that,” said Casey. “All the riders love that kind of support and solidarity.”
The Rolling Barrage is expected to arrive in Okotoks between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 19 after travelling down the Icefields Parkway from Jasper, he said. On Thursday morning it will continue on through Black Diamond and Longview through the Crowsnest Pass to Cranbrook.
Black Diamond will be the last stop for a local rider, Carola Singer, who was instrumental in getting Okotoks to be a stop along the Barrage for the first time last year. She joined the ride in Yorkton on Aug. 16 and will travel with the group until Aug. 20.
It’s a cause near and dear to her heart.
“My husband is a veteran, a retired Canadian Forces member and now he’s a first responder,” said Singer. “And we lost a good friend years ago from PTSD, so it was important for us to get involved.”
Anyone else interested in getting involved or making a donation can visit the website at www.militarymindsinc.com.
Krista Conrad, OkotoksToday.ca
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