Kent Driscoll
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Sep 28/05) - Gordon O'Connor is every inch the military man. The former brigadier general is now the MP for Carleton - Mississippi Mills and the Conservative defence critic.

He hasn't lost his military mannerisms.

He shakes hands firmly, looks you directly in the eye when answering questions, and is fluent in the language of the military, from rifle rounds to the Canadian Rangers.

"For the North, we would be looking at things like the Rangers," said O'Connor.

After his discussions with Rangers during his northern swing, O'Connor thinks that they could do more, with more funding, and he would like to increase their numbers.

"We would be increasing the number of (Ranger) patrols. You should be touching every island and every piece of land in the north on a regular basis," said O'Connor.

Stanley Adjuk is the mayor of Whale Cove and a proud Ranger. He thinks that O'Connor may be on the right track.

"I guess more patrols would be good, getting some more guys interested would be the hard part," said Adjuk.

O'Connor leans forward in his chair when discussing the rifles the Rangers use. It is clear he likes talking about equipment, or "kit", the catch-all Canadian military phrase for everything issued to them, from boots to jets.

"At the moment, they have .303 rifles. They're fine, but they are running out of parts, they have to be replaced," said O'Connor.

He explained that the .303's can't be replaced with the rifle the army uses, because polar bears are a more challenging target than people. "Those rifles use very small bullets, they are intended to, when you hit someone, that they spin inside and cause a lot of damage to the individual. They are no good against something like a polar bear," said O'Connor.

He would like to see the Rangers using the "FN .762" - a rifle that the Canadian Army no longer uses - because it is so powerful. Stopping power is what the Rangers need.

"With an FN, if I shot you in the shoulder, it would go right through your shoulder and keep going. This is the type of round you could use if you had to defend yourself against a polar bear," said O'Connor.

Adjuk agrees, but has another option as well. "A .233 would be fine, they are common around here. The FN .762 would be fine too," said Adjuk.

He was also asked by the Rangers about uniforms. They love the trademark red pull-overs, but soldiers are always in the market for more "kit".

"They could wear the camouflage colours of the rest of the army (in addition to the red pull-overs), it isn't a great expense," explained O'Connor.

Adjuk has his eye on a piece of kit the soldiers used to see, saying, "We'd like to get some of the winter stuff, those big boots they used to give out."

O'Connor also would like to see them receive more GPS units, and additional cash for using and maintaining their own snowmobiles.

Adjuk isn't about to turn down a little gas money for his snowmobile, saying, "A little more money is always good."

New helicopters and planes may be needed in the north according to the former brigadier general. He described how the Griffin helicopter is useless in the north, because it has a magnetic direction finding system.

O'Connor called for more army exercises in the Arctic, saying, "Years ago, we were famous for that. With our endless commitment offshore, very few people get a chance to train that way."