Soldiers with the Canadian Forces are learning how to survive in the Canadian Arctic with the help of Canadian Rangers in the Beaufort Delta.
Approximately 100 personnel are currently using the Midnight Sun Complex as a barracks and base of operations for Operation Nanook-Nunakput 2023 — a 30-day excursion which began Aug. 27 and will continue in full capacity to Sept. 8.
“We have three sections that are currently deployed at points in the Northwest Passage,” said logistics support commander Capt. Elizanne Gagnon. “We’re not really familiar with the North. The Rangers are who we’re following closely. They’re telling us where to go, what to do and how to survive here. The purpose of Operation Nanook is to Operate in the North and prove Canada’s sovereignty in the North. It’s mostly about being deployed and keeping troops sustained while they’re out there.
“We’re dropping them with communication equipment, making sure everything is alright. Every once in awhile we pop up, bring them food and go back. Once the mission is done we bring them back home, put them in the shower and then send them back out again.”
Covering the tundra from just outside of Inuvik to the coastline of the Beaufort Sea, soldiers from 22nd Vingt Deuxième Regiment Du Canada, known unofficially as the Royal 22nd regiment, are spending the 10 day operation demonstrating Canada’s capabilities in the North. Soldiers are conducting three to four day long foot patrols and learning the tricks of survival on the tundra from local Canadian Rangers.
While the soldiers themselves are learning how to march, set up fighting positions and monitor potential columns of movement for opposing troops, they are being monitored by Rangers on ATVs who are able to get around the tundra quickly in the event of an emergency. None of the soldiers are carrying live firearms, but the Rangers have a rifle on hand in the event of problem wildlife. Soldiers are transported to drop sites by way of a Boeing CH-147F Chinook helicopter and run patrols on the windy tundra for three to four days, following food drops along the way before getting flown back to base in Inuvik.
Gagnon noted the North provides unique challenges for the infantry. Aside from the obvious risk of hypothermia on the cold, windy tundra, soldiers are encountering more wildlife than they normally do on patrols. Though the biggest thing they’ve seen so far was a caribou.
She noted her battalion was more used to moving through thick forest, not so much open tundra. The large volume of water in the Delta makes for careful route planning. So the different terrain and the difficulty finding resources were presenting nouvelle obstacles for the troops to overcome. But with the help of the Rangers and the kindness of the community they’re getting through it.
“We’re pretty light,” she said. “We’re mainly carrying anything that keeps up warm. We are not using any vehicles (in our patrols.) When we’re pushing for the North, we’re not using them.
“We don’t normally have a lot of wildlife at home, but here it’s all over and much more probable we’ll actually face something.
Much of the MSC has been transformed into a temporary barrack, with cots lining the Inuvik Curling Centre and the Roy ‘Sugloo’ Ipana Memorial Arena. The Community Hall has transformed into a mess hall and the upstairs have become command centres to coordinate the operation. Access to the back areas of the building has been restricted for security reasons, but the swimming pool and gym remain accessible to the public. Between the setup and take down of the facilities, the MSC will be in use for most of September.
Gagnon said to show their thanks to the community, the battalion is putting a large barbecue together for the town. The burgers start flipping at 12 p.m. Aug. 9, and the party continues until 3 p.m. Local talent, particularly artisans and musicians, are welcome to join in. Email Matthew.Ahola@forces.gc.ca for more information.
“It’s been great,” she said. “We’re happy to be here.”
A member of the 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (1 CRPG) backs an all-terrain vehicle aboard a CH-147F Chinook helicopter during Operation NANOOK-NUNAKPUT 2023, at the Inuvik airport in the Northwest Territories, August 28, 2023. Photo: Corporal Marc-André Leclerc, Valcartier Imaging Section, Canadian Armed Forces
Members deployed on Operation NANOOK-NUNAKPUT 2023 meet with students during a visit to East Three Secondary School in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, August 31, 2023. Photo: Corporal Marc-André Leclerc, Imaging Section, Valcartier, Canadian Armed Forces
Members of the 3rd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment (3 R22eR), accompanied by a member of the 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (1 CRPG), set up camp near an observation post during Operation NANOOK- NUNAKPUT 2023, in Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, on August 30, 2023. Photo: Corporal Marc-André Leclerc, Imaging Section, Valcartier, Canadian Armed Forces
Members of the 3rd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment (3 R22eR), accompanied by a member of the 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (1 CRPG), are extracted from an observation post by a CH-147F Chinook helicopter during of Operation NANOOK-NUNAKPUT 2023, Nicholson Peninsula, Northwest Territories, August 31, 2023. Photo: Corporal Marc-André Leclerc, Imaging Section, Valcartier, Canadian Armed Forces
Operation Nanook-Nunakput 2023 logistics support commander Capt. Elizanne Gagnon of the 22nd Vingt Deuxième Regiment Du Canada or R22ER for short, says soldiers in the area are getting assistance learing how to survive in the tundra with the help of Canadian Rangers. Eric Bowling/NNSL photo