Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 15/01) - There is little word on exactly what sort of role the Canadian Forces Northern Area will be playing in the fight against terrorism.

The Canadian government has announced its military will be playing a supporting role in what is being called Operation Apollo in Canada.

What that means for resources and personnel in the North, according to public affairs officer Capt. Brian Martin, is a continuation of the Northern Area's current role.

"Our primary goal is to maintain and protect sovereignty and security in the North," he said.

Martin did add, "we are much more vigilant," since the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S.

The Northern area's vital resources, the Canadian Rangers, are the eyes and ears for the military.

Now that Canada has pledged its support, Martin also said their role is as vital as ever.

"The Rangers report anything unusual immediately and we respond to that."

Martin neither confirmed or denied reported sightings of CF-18 fighter jets that were reported flying over Yellowknife on Oct. 7.

He did say it is not unusual for southern military resources to do surveillance and training in the area.

He also would not elaborate if the area will extend its role since last month's events due to security reasons, he said.

He did say the base is operating under a graduated readiness system to deal with full operational situations. Those include adjusted response times and training. No recent CF-18 activity has been at other FOLS in the North.