Kevin Wilson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 22/02) - Vampire Four, a Canadian Forces Twin Otter, dips its wings as it approaches the airstrip. A remote weather station sits on the left of the strip, a newly-erected tent city to the right.

Surprise! Junior Canadian Ranger Pilipoosie Iqaluk embraces his mother. Debbie had no idea her son was coming to visit her during Kigliqaqvik Ranger. Pilipoosie, for his part, is now the most northerly-travelled Junior Canadian Ranger. - Kevin NNSL photo

Like a bug trapped in amber, the wreckage of a U.S. Air Force DC-3 can be seen lodged in the ice as the Otter prepares to land. More reassuring are two lines of men and women, standing behind snowmachines, awaiting the airplane.

Lee-Enfield rifles at the "stand easy" position, 29 Rangers and five support crew await the arrival of the commander of Canadian Forces Northern Area, Col. Kevin McLeod.

"Rangers, Atten-TION," cries out warrant officer Kevin Mulhern.

Fresh from successfully reaching the Magnetic North Pole, the members of Operation Kigliqaqvik Ranger have camped near the airstrip.

The commander's visit caps off the arduous journey by the troops from all three territories. Yukoners, NWT residents, and Nunavmmiut worked together to travel 850 kilometres across Cornwallis Island, through Polar Bear Pass, over sea ice and King Christian Island, Ellef Ringnes Island, and finally to Cape Isachsen.

Marking the 60th anniversary of the irregular military force, Kigliqaqvik Ranger also asserts Canadian sovereignty in the High Arctic. The waters south of Resolute where the troops trained is expected to be part of an open Northwest Passage some day.

The Rangers' commanding officer, Maj. Yves Laroche, flew in midway to lead the troops to the pole.

Surprise reunion

McLeod quickly dispenses with the formalities, and has a little fun. Unbeknownst to Sgt. Paddy Aqiatusuk and his partner Ranger Debbie Iqaluk, McLeod has brought their son, 15-year-old Pilipoosie from Resolute.

The surprise has been kept under tight wraps for days, with Ranger spokesperson Peter Moon threatening anyone with death if they so much as breathe a word about it.

Debbie, staring straight ahead during the landing and the inspection, doesn't see her son until McLeod tells her he has "a little surprise."

After the embraces and the inspection are over, Debbie says she "had no idea. I was just standing there, and then I saw him, and just went, 'Oh there's my baby,'".

McLeod gathers the troops in close and congratulates them on a job well done.

"You've done it with professionalism, panache, and lots of style ... I can't tell you how proud I am," he says.

The team looks weary but exhilarated as they relax on a glorious Thursday. The temperature is hovering around -25 C, with just a hint of wind.

The four occupants of one tent are a cross-section of the three territories. Lead scout Joe Amarualik and Melanie Howell are both from Resolute. Shane Oakley is from Haines Juntion, Yukon. Warrant Officer Kevin Mulhern is a "reg force" soldier based in Yellowknife.

"You want a pancake?" asks Howell, working in cramped quarters on a Coleman stove.

Mulhern makes a crack about her cooking.

"Sometimes, it's a very tense tent," Howell says with a chuckle.

McLeod ambles out of the tent, the beneficiary of one of Howell's blueberry pancakes. The troops have plenty of flour, pancake mix, bacon and other foodstuffs. Rather than the easier-to-prepare field rations, Howell and her colleagues are feasting on the real stuff so there's less to carry on their qamutiks.

Despite the wisecracks, they are tight. Rank isn't closely observed here. There is no staff tent, no officers tent. Nor is there a Nunavut, NWT or Yukon tent.

Maj. Yves Laroche, Commander of 1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, has been to hot zones in Haiti and Bosnia. He says the bonds formed when troops perform challenging tasks are lifelong.

"People will have these friendships for life," says Laroche.

For Laroche, Kigliqaqvik Ranger is a bittersweet assignment. He'll soon leave the commander's post for a position in Valcartier, Que.

"It was a very, very hard decision to make. If I had to play the game again ..." he says before trailing off.

His affection for the Rangers is evident.

"These are the true citizen soldiers and they are truer Canadians than anyone south of 60," he says.

Ranger Paul Guyot from Fort Simpson is still marveling at the roller-coaster ride that got him to nearly the top of the world.

He was selected by his local troop in Fort Simpson for his superior skills on the land, but nearly had to be medevaced out of Resolute after becoming ill.

"I was really, really not feeling very good," he says of an affliction he tactfully agrees to call "tummy trouble."

Unable to keep any food inside him, the community nurse recommended against going. Dejected, he agreed to stay in Resolute to help with logistics.

"I didn't want to compromise the trip in any way," says Guyot. Miraculously, he recovered after sitting down to a heavy meal of fried fish, after being unable to hold down even biscuits.

He celebrated his 46th birthday at Magnetic North.

Hours later, as McLeod prepares to take his leave, a sundog appears in the sky. Starting with points on either side of the sun, it soon extends to three more points, appearing like a halo in the sky.

Debbie Iqaluk, fresh from one last embrace with Pilipoosie, looks up.

"That's a good sign," she says, delighted.