Rangers train on the land
Administrative woes have Rankin Patrol down in numbers
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
RANKIN INLET
A group of six Canadian Rangers in the Rankin Inlet Patrol took part in training exercises on the land near Rankin earlier this month.
Canadian Ranger Bruce Ussak keeps a fire burning to cook military rations and boil his tea kettle while taking part in training exercises on the land near Rankin Inlet this past month. - photo courtesy of Rankin Inlet Patrol |
The patrol exercises ran from Feb. 24 to March 2.
The Rankin Rangers to take part in the exercises were Nellie Ussak-Scharer, Herbert Scharer, Samuel Ayaruak, Robert Simik, Bruce Ussak and Siatsiak Ussak.
Ranger instructor for the 1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group Yellowknife Sgt. Dominic Martel said the first thing he does when entering a community is link up with local authorities.
He said this includes touching base with the local detachment of the RCMP, staff members at the nursing station, the hamlet office and the mayor.
"When we visit the RCMP, we have to let them know what area we're going to be in with the Rangers," said Martel.
"That way, if something were to happen, they know where we're at if they have to locate us.
"After that, I did some administration with the Rangers and then we went out on the land.
"Once on the land, because I only had six Rangers with me, we did a small search-and-rescue exercise."
Martel said he also spent time training the Rankin Rangers in communications.
He said he conducted the training using a B260 VHF radio.
"I sent some Rangers a few miles away from us and then we set up the radio and established communications with them.
"We also had a traditional day which, most of the time with the Rankin Patrol, focuses on hunting or fishing.
"This time out we did a small bit of hunting.
"Then we came back and set up the range for the next exercise."
Martel said he spent most of the final two days in the community finalizing his administrative duties.
He said while he only had six Rangers for the exercises, they were a solid group who performed very well.
"It was a great experience for me to work with this group of Rankin Rangers.
"If I had to rate their performance, I would give them a seven out of 10 and for Rangers, scoring a seven is pretty good.
"The big concern in Rankin Inlet right now is the fact we simply don't have enough Rangers.
"It was a little bit rushed doing the exercises with just six Rangers this time because, usually, we need a minimum of 10 Rangers to do our stuff properly."
Martel said the low numbers in the Rankin Patrol right now is due primarily to the fact there's been a number of local personnel released who are still on the payroll.
He said it's an administrative issue that will take a bit of time to sort out.
"These people are taking up room until they're removed from the payroll.
"And until they are removed from the payroll, I cannot have any new Rangers.
"But very soon now, I believe we will be able to get rid of those names and I will be able to recruit new Rangers for the Rankin Patrol."
Martel said the problem stems from the fact there is a lot of administrative work trying to be completed by a small staff in Yellowknife.
He said everyone is working very hard to rectify the situation but the process can also be slowed by other factors.
"When we release people, we have to take back their military equipment such as their weapons, tents, boots, etc.
"But sometimes, we're not able to get the equipment back as quickly as we'd like, so, between that and the administration side of things, it can take awhile before we're able to remove them from the payroll."
Martel said he is already working on ways of building the number of Rangers in the Rankin Patrol back up to satisfactory levels.
He said he's returning to the community somewhere around the end of May to the beginning of June and, at that time, he hopes to be able to recruit new Rangers for the patrol.
"Our administrative clerk has already started to work on this, so hopefully I'll be able to recruit at least four new Rangers during my next visit to Rankin.
"It's a process and we're doing what we can to work through it as quickly as possible.
"I'm confident I'll be able to address the situation during my next visit to the community."
