The King's Own Calgary Regiment is looking to hire 30 new part time soldiers from the foothills area this year.

Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Hunt is the Commanding Officer of the Regiment and he says it's all part of an initiative called "Strengthening the Reserve."

"We are in the process of enhancing our recruiting so that the processing times are improved and we'd be looking at enrolling new soldiers later this spring, around April May time frame,and sending them on basic training this summer for those who are successful in their applications" he says.

In April they're looking at setting up a training facility, sending an instructor and equipment to either High River or Okotoks every Wednesday night to train new recruits from the area to prepare them for their basic training courses next summer.

After that they'll continue the weekly training with more advanced techniques. Lt.-Col. Hunt says when they do weekend training , whether in the city or in the mountains, they would send a bus to pick up local soldiers.

"My goal is to hire 30 soldiers this spring from Okotoks, High River, Turner Valley, Nanton, and there's some opportunity to scale that depending on the interest we receive," he says.

Soldiers are paid for their time on a daily basis for any days they are training and there is also medical and dental benefits.

He says over 40 members of the regiment have volunteered for service in Afghanistan over the years and there's a strong group willing to pass on their knowledge and experience to new recruits.

Anyone interested can get more information at their website.