Rangers work on leadership
Visit Yellowknife for annual patrol leader training
Beth Brown
Northern News Services
Monday, January 16, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Canadian Rangers and Junior Canadian Rangers from across Nunavut visited Yellowknife last week for leadership training at 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (1 CRPG) Headquarters Jan. 9 to 13.
Abel Aqqaq, left, of Taloyoak works on a map exercise with Jimmy Evalik of Cambridge Bay. Nunavut Ranger patrol leaders visited Yellowknife from Jan. 9 to 13 for annual leadership training. - Beth Brown/NNSL photo |
The training is meant to support patrol leaders from Canadian Ranger Patrol Groups across the North as they prepare to support upcoming exercises and operations.
Besides building new skill sets, the training is a chance for members to meet leaders from other communities, said plans officer Capt. Melanie Parker.
On Jan. 10, Ranger sergeants were working to build observation skills through a mock scenario where a satellite was entering Earth's atmosphere.
"They're going over maps of their area and doing analysis to see where they would put observation points, how they set up headquarters, how they do medical evacuation planning," she said.
Through training, the groups are given the tools to perform military planning procedures, "a lot of which they do intuitively," she
said.
These skills will come in handy as soon as February, when southern troops will travel to the area around Hall Beach and Iglulik for Operation Nunalivut.
"One of our tasks is to guide them (the troops) from Iglulik to Hall Beach on snowmobiles," she said.
"In preparation for that, they will try different routes and set up halfway warming points."
Rangers will also be supporting an upcoming exercise near Resolute.
Sgt. Naomi Allianaq of Hall Beach is working on coordinating activities for Operation Nunalivut.
"I'm learning from here, and when I'm back home, when we have our monthly meeting, I am going to speak about what we learned here," she said. There are currently 25 members in her patrol.
"I told them, we have to plan what we are going to do."
The Hall Beach patrol will be taking the visiting troops out fishing and seal hunting, as well as teaching them to build an iglu.
"And, we'll practice GPS, rescuing and how to make a landing strip for the plane," as well as live fire practice, said Allianaq.
She also acts as an Inuktitut translator when necessary.
Ranger Sgt. Titus Allooloo of Pond Inlet said Ranger training helps remote Arctic communities build their ability to provide emergency response, by honing existing skill sets of Northerners.
"We know the area, we know the terrain, we know the travel routes, we know how to travel in the dark. When we do these exercises we always find new routes, better routes to get there quicker and safer," he said.
Allooloo said he is also seeing more support in the works for the Junior Canadian Rangers, from both the Canadian Forces and at a community level.
"The focus of our commanding officer now is to bring us out there so Canadians know who we are," he said. "We are up here in the Arctic and we observe the area and inform the military on what we see, and we support the military when they come here and we teach them how to hunt if they need to survive and stay warm."
He said the image of the Canadian Rangers is very popular throughout the country.
"When you go down south, if you wear any kind of Ranger stuff people will come up to you and say 'Oh I have never met a real Ranger before, I'm glad to meet you, that sort of thing.' It's very popular."
Ranger leaders at the training were issued new outerwear - a red coat and fleece - as part of their uniform.
"We wear the red because we want to be seen. Part of Canadian sovereignty is Canadian Rangers wearing red hoodies and being seen," said Capt. Parker.
1 CRPG has 1,800 Canadian Rangers in 60 patrols and 1,600 Junior Canadian Rangers in 41 patrols across the North. Members of 1 CRPG participate in over 300 exercises and operations each year.
