Even with the heater blowing inside the hangar, some members of the Royal Canadian Regiment complained about the cold. And they had yet to go out for their Arctic survival training.
Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services
Hall Beach (Mar 26/01) - This quiet Northern town of 600 people is little more than a cluster of houses anchored on the shore of Foxe Basin.
One would think the noisy arrival of two C-130 Hercules aircraft on March 14 would break the hush of the community's daily routine. Instead, most people who call the hamlet home carried on with their business.
The 60 soldiers who emptied out of the Canadian Armed Forces aircraft weren't quite so nonchalant. Even dressed in heavy green army garb, the members of the second battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment could feel the bite of the wind blowing in from the bay and the daunting journey that lay ahead.
They flew up from New Brunswick, their mission to test their weapons in the cold and learn Arctic survival skills from the local Rangers.
"For most people with us right now it is their first time in the Arctic," explained Capt. Mark Anthony, who had to shout to be heard above the noisy commotion of in a hangar at the airport.
The group spent the first two nights in the hangar. They set up tents and slept in thick sleeping bags. Outside the temperature hit a low of -25C.
Huge heaters pumped warm air in the hangar as food rations were counted and organized in one corner.
"It was colder (in here) than it was outside the first night we got here," complained one recruit as he lingered in the airport lobby to warm up.
Onto the land
On the third day, snow machines and qamutiqs lined the entrance of the hangar and supplies were quickly loaded for a trip out to the tundra.
Their destination was a camp four kilometres outside the hamlet.
The train of snowmobiles was led by Hall Beach's 29 Rangers, excited about the prospect of helping out regular force soldiers.
"We are supposed to teach them how to survive out there," explained Ranger Master Cpl. Abe Qammaniq. "It's not every day we get to do this."
If a soldier needs to know how to build a trench, a Ranger showed them the best way to do it in the area's particular type of snow. If one needed to know how to hunt or fish, Rangers know the land and its resources better than anyone.
The soldiers learned from their Northern counterparts how to live in the area even though the military's Arctic training session was mainly for weapons testing.
Even though the local Rangers are volunteers, their understanding of the climate and the terrain was mind-boggling to some of the soldiers.
"There are some Rangers that have never seen a real tree and I can't imagine that," said Private Scott MacDonald. "We are so used to working in temperate climates that when it goes to extremes, it is difficult."
Welcome return
It was the first time in six years military training has taken place at Hall Beach.
On March 24, the hamlet's community hall was packed with soldiers who showed off their weapons and equipment to residents.
Before that, most residents let them be and minded their business as the soldiers took turns between camping on the land and sleeping in the hangar.
"They come in here every once in a while," said Northern Store manager Sheryl Carruthers. "They have their time off and have to go somewhere."
