Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (July 25/01) - Rankin Inlet became the site of an unscheduled bivouac for more than 60 army cadets earlier this month.

The cadets came from numerous communities across Nunavut and were on their way to the annual national cadet summer camp in Whitehorse.

The original plan had the cadets arriving in Rankin during a two-day period, being transported to Yellowknife and then on to the Yukon by a Hercules aircraft.

Cadet civilian instructors Michele Ashby and Tim Hinds were asked to join the two travelling chaperons at the Siniktarvik Hotel and help supervise the cadets.

"The problem was, the Herc went mechanical the next morning and we were locked in the hotel with more than 60 cadets for another 24 hours," says Ashby, with just a hint of anguish in her voice.

"The weather didn't help. It turned nasty and prevented the cadets from spending any amount of time outdoors."

The community quickly rallied to make the cadets' stay a more pleasurable one.

The Friendship Centre allowed the use of its bus to take the cadets on a tour of Rankin and a drive to Char River, and the firing range at the FOL was opened for the cadets to hone their skills.

"Even the Evaz Group came through and let us use their big-screen projector at the hotel and donated popcorn to everybody."

A handful of the cadets accepted an invitation to attend a service at the Anglican church during their stay, which turned out to be an emotional experience.

"The service had just started when one of the female cadets burst into tears and cried for the first 15 minutes.

"She did recuperate enough, however, that later in the service I had to gently shush her and the other cadets."

Due to tighter budget restraints, the number of cadets each community was allowed to send to this year's camp was drastically reduced from previous years.

In an attempt to make up for the shortfall, a new cadet summer hiking camp has been established in Pangnirtung.

The cadets aren't paid for their time in Pang, but it's an opportunity to get together with fellow cadets from across Nunavut.

"Participants have to be at least 15 years old and at a good level of physical fitness.

Rankin will be sending its senior cadet, Alastair Sammurtok.