Yellowknife (Mar 05/03) - Brigadier Chris Day, of the British military, feels like an adventurer.

Day is a defence advisor from the United Kingdom stationed in Ottawa for three years. Part of his job involves spending about 10 days in the North studying the way the Canadian Forces do things.

It is the kind of job you get after a distinguished military career. Day, 53, has been in the army for 33 years and was a shoo-in for the role. But there is more to it, he said.

As a member of the Inniskillin Dragoons -- an Irish calvary regiment -- he celebrates Captain Laurence Oates, a fellow member of the Dragoons, a brave explorer who was on Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic expedition.

Oates, however, was badly frostbitten on the voyage, and is known for saying: "I'm going out and I may be some time," said Day. "So there's quite an interest in my regiment in things Arctic."

While Day said he has never been this cold in his life, he is not going to end up like Oates.

"Denis (Lalonde) here is going to look after me."

Lalonde is a ranger instructor, from First Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, and he is thrilled to be introducing the North to Day.

Day is impressed so far with the Rangers' focus on leadership and the "very strong focus on preserving the Inuit way of life," he said.

Just working in Canada pleases Day.

"Canada was the offer which is fantastic, because it's such a huge country. Very few members of the British army come to Yellowknife and get North to somewhere like Taloyoak," he said. "It's very unusual. And that's what attaches are meant to do. They're meant to find out about the forces of the country they're in and use that to help British understanding of what's going on."

He said British have "huge regard for Canadian Forces," having worked together in Bosnia and Sierra Leone. "There's a terrific understanding between the two."

In Canada there are 50 officers from the British forces working at Canadian sites, he added. "There's a strong bond between the two nations. And part of that is exchanging attaches to show we mean business."