A military detachment is on the way for Okotoks.

King's Own Calgary Regiment is looking to open a detachment in Okotoks in April and will be hiring about 30 recruits.

Currently the unit has about 100 soldiers and they're looking to focus recruiting efforts south of the city in Okotoks and High River by creating a training detachment.

Chris Hunt, commanding officer at King's Own Calgary, says they've already reached out to communities to gage interest.

"The reception from the communities has been very strong and very positive so that's part of the reason we're pushing on with this initiative, we think when we start a recruiting drive after Christmas there is going to be a strong uptake," he says. "Certainly we're prepared to scale up based off of how much interest there is."

Following recruiting efforts, King's Own will host an exercise for emergency responses to civilian crises in Okotoks in February.

Hunt says there's already a strong presence of Foothills residents in the Calgary reserve.

"We've got a couple of our officers, sergeants, and warrant officers that are from south Calgary and Okotoks so that's part of the reason we know we can set up this training detachment is it's actually going to be even easier for some of our existing soldiers so they'll be able to welcome in the new recruits and give them the tools they need to succeed on their army reserve courses."

According to Hunt, having a detachment in Okotoks would be of benefit to the town.

"It's another employer, so it particularly creates a great opportunity for young Canadians that are just finishing high school and may either be pursuing post secondary education or are thinking about it down the line. They're able to have a part time job in their community, they can help pay for college or pay for their living expenses."

The regiment has created a list of location options that will be narrowed down shortly with the hopes of setting their detachment up in mid March so they're ready for April.

Recruiting teams will be spotted throughout the community beginning in January and anyone between the ages of 17-55 can sign up.

To learn more about King's Own Regiment click here.

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