Operation Nanook (OP NANOOK; french: Opération Nanook) is an annual

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

operation and

manoeuvre warfare Maneuver warfare, or manoeuvre warfare, is a military strategy which seeks to shatter the enemy's overall cohesion and will to fight. Background Maneuver warfare, the use of initiative, originality and the unexpected, combined with a ruth ...

exercise conducted by the

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

in the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

. Sovereignty patrols in the

Canadian Arctic Archipelago The Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago lying to the north of the Canadian continental mainland, excluding Greenland (an autonomous territory of Denmark). Situated in the northern extremity of No ...

and

northern Canada Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, territor ...

are conducted by the

Canadian Rangers , colors =Red and green , march = , mascot = , battles = Second World WarCold War , anniversaries = , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol_2_label = , current_commander = Lieutenant-General Jean-Marc Lanthier, Commander of th ...

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in ...

in tandem with the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

. The exercise portion is intended to train the different elements of the Canadian Armed Forces (

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

and

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

) to operate in the Arctic environment. The following is a list of annual exercises that comprise Operation Nanook:

2007

Operation Nanook 2007 was the 2007 joint exercise of

Maritime Command Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) is the central command of all NATO maritime forces and the Commander MARCOM is the prime maritime advisor to the Alliance. When directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), it provides the core of th ...

and the

to train for disaster and sovereignty patrols in the

. Similar exercises have been conducted every year since. Elements of the Canadian Coast Guard and the

joined with elements of the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

in the exercise. The , the , the ,

CP-140 Aurora The Lockheed CP-140 Aurora is a patrol aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The aircraft is based on the Lockheed P-3 Orion airframe, but mounts the electronics suite of the Lockheed S-3 Viking. Aurora ( ...

maritime patrol aircraft, reservists from the local

, and

Primary Reserve The Primary Reserve of the Canadian Armed Forces (french: links=no, Première réserve des Forces canadiennes) is the first and largest of the four sub-components of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, followed by the Supplementary Reserve, the ...

soldiers from across Canada composed the Canadian Forces component. During the exercise ''Summerside'' played a drug smuggling vessel, nicknamed MV ''Rusty Bucket''.

2008

Operation Nanook 2008 was a joint exercise of Maritime Command and the Canadian Coast Guard, held in August 2008. Canada conducted a similar joint exercise, also named Operation Nanook, in 2007. The exercise was held from 11 to 25 August 2008. Two Canadian warships and two air force planes, a CC-138 Twin Otter and a CP-140 Aurora, took part in the exercises in Canada's Arctic. The frigate , the

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

and the Canadian Coast Guard

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

travelled along the

Hudson Strait Hudson Strait (french: Détroit d'Hudson) links the Atlantic Ocean and Labrador Sea to Hudson Bay in Canada. This strait lies between Baffin Island and Nunavik, with its eastern entrance marked by Cape Chidley in Newfoundland and Labrador ...

. The operation extended to

Davis Strait Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Atlantic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer Jo ...

and

Frobisher Bay Frobisher Bay is an inlet of the Davis Strait in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the southeastern corner of Baffin Island. Its length is about and its width varies from about at its outlet into the Labrador Sea ...

. There have been 18 such humanitarian operations since 2002. As more Arctic ice melts, the ships sail through uncharted waters. Emergency response times were tested for such potential disasters as oil spills, or rescue operations such as responding to cruise ship emergencies.

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Walter J. Natynczyk, Canada's chief of Defence staff,

Peter MacKay Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and has served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General (2013–2015), Minister of National Defence (2007� ...

Defence Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

as well as Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and Steven Fletcher, Member of Parliament for Charleswood–St. James–Assiniboia and Parliamentary Secretary for Health, flew to

Iqaluit Iqaluit ( ; , ; ) is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, its largest community, and its only city. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on which the city is situated. In 1987, its t ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

, to officially launch the exercise on 19 August 2008 and observe the process.

2009

Operation Nanook 2009 was the 2009 joint exercise of Maritime Command and the Canadian Coast Guard to train for disaster and sovereignty patrols in the Arctic. Similar exercises were held in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. The operation ran from 6 to 28 August 2009. In addition to CCGS ''Pierre Radisson'' the operations had the participation of elements of the Canadian Rangers, Primary Reserve soldiers from across Canada, a force of reservists composed of local residents of Nunavut, the frigate HMCS ''Toronto'' and the submarine HMCS ''Corner Brook'', and Canadian Forces aircraft. General Walter J. Natynczyk, Chief of Canada's Defence Staff attended the exercise. On 23 August 2009, Natynczyk met in

with

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Tim Sloth Jørgensen Tim Sloth Jørgensen (born 21 October 1951) is a senior officer in the Royal Danish Navy and former Chief of Defence of the Danish Armed Forces. Jørgensen resigned as chief of staff on 4 October 2009 due to his involvement in a controversial fa ...

, Chief of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

's Defence staff.

2010

Operation Nanook 2010 was the 2010 annual joint exercise of Maritime Command and the Canadian Coast Guard to train for disaster and sovereignty patrols in the Arctic. Similar exercises were held in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The operation ran from 6 to 26 August 2010. Members of the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve took part in ground exercises in conjunction with Canadian Rangers.

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

traveled to the Arctic to observe the exercise. Unlike previous exercises, foreign services participated.

Participating forces

The

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Isla ...

sent and . ''Vædderen'' is a frigate-sized , launched in 1996. ''Knud Rasmussen'' was commissioned in 2008, the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of a class specifically designed to patrol

Baffin Bay Baffin Bay ( Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; kl, Avannaata Imaa; french: Baie de Baffin), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arct ...

. The United States sent and . USS ''Porter'' is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a prim ...

commissioned in 1999. USCGC ''Alder'' is a

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

buoy tender A buoy tender is a type of vessel used to maintain and replace navigational buoys. This term can also apply to an actual person who does this work. The United States Coast Guard uses buoy tenders to accomplish one of its primary missions of main ...

homeported in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. Canada sent , , , and . ''Montréal'' is a ''Halifax''-class frigate, commissioned in 1993. ''Goose Bay'' and ''Glace Bay'' are ''Kingston''-class coastal defence vessels, commissioned in 1996 and 1998. ''Henry Larsen'' was the only icebreaker among the vessels.

Commentary

The

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n newspaper ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the co ...

'' described the exercise as "saber rattling".

2011

Operation Nanook 2011 was a military training exercise held in Canada's Arctic in August 2011. It was the fifth such annual exercise. Vessels from the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard and the Royal Danish Navy participated in the exercise. Two scenarios in the exercise had military and civilian personnel simulate reacting to air and maritime emergencies. While the exercise was being conducted, a commercial airplane ( First Air Flight 6560) crashed while approaching

Resolute Bay Airport Resolute Bay Airport is located at Resolute, Nunavut, Canada, and is operated by the government of Nunavut. It is one of the northernmost airfields in Canada to receive scheduled passenger airline service (Grise Fiord Airport, which is served ...

, a short distance away from where the exercise was being held. The military personnel involved in the exercise assisted in rescue and recovery operations.

2012

Operation Nanook 2012 was a military training exercise held in Canada's Arctic in August 2012. It was the sixth annual exercise. Vessels from the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard and the Royal Danish Navy participated in the exercise. One scenario simulated intercepting a "vessel of interest" in Baffin Bay. Another scenario had Canadian Armed Forces simulate being dispatched to a northern community,

Tsiigehtchic Tsiigehtchic ( ; "mouth of the iron river"), officially the ''Charter Community of Tsiigehtchic'', is a Gwich'in community located at the confluence of the Mackenzie and the Arctic Red Rivers, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, ...

, to assist the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with a "security event".

2014

Operation Nanook 2014 was the eighth annual Arctic joint training exercise run by the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard. Royal Danish Navy and the United States Navy vessels participated. The Canadian Rangers also participated. Overall approximately 1,000 people took part in the exercise, including local officials. The training involved several scenarios, including sending boarding parties to an uncooperative vessel, and the simulation of rescuing the complement of a grounded

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

2016

Operation Nanook 2016 was the tenth annual Arctic joint training exercise run by the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard. Most previous iterations of Operation Nanook took place mainly in the

, while this one's events were set farther west, around Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, and

Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale area ...

. visited

Churchill, Manitoba Churchill is a town in northern Manitoba, Canada, on the west shore of Hudson Bay, roughly from the Manitoba–Nunavut border. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname ...

, North America's only deepwater port on the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

connected to the North American railway grid. Mieke Coppes noted that Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

was on an official visit overseas during the 2016 Operation Nanook, while previous Prime Minister Stephen Harper had attended all previous operations. Coppes pointed out that the cruise ship ''

Crystal Serenity ''Crystal Serenity'' is a cruise ship owned by Crystal Cruises before the line went out business. ''Crystal Serenity'' was built in 2003 by STX Europe in St. Nazaire.

'' was transitting the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...

with a thousand tourists, asserting this sign of

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

should put a greater priority on the exercises.

2017

Operation Nanook 2017 took place from 12 to 27 August 2017. The training exercise took place in parts of

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

and Nunavut and incorporated more than 720 military and civilian personnel. The Nunavut exercise focused on sealift disaster preparation and simulated the destruction of a

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

carrying supplies to the

Rankin Inlet Rankin Inlet ( iu, Kangiqliniq; Inuktitut syllabics: ᑲᖏᕿᓂᖅ or ''Kangirliniq'', ᑲᖏᖅᖠᓂᖅ, or ''Kangir&iniq'' meaning ''deep bay/inlet'') is an Inuit hamlet on Kudlulik Peninsula in Nunavut, Canada. It is the largest hamlet a ...

community. Canadian Rangers and military personnel from 38 Canadian Brigade Group based in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Manitoba, participated in the Nunavut operation, along with civilians from several government departments. The Labrador operation, based out of

Goose Bay, Labrador Happy Valley-Goose Bay (Inuit: ''Vâli'') is a town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Located in the central part of Labrador on the coast of Lake Melville and the Churchill River, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the largest popul ...

, focused on northern defence and security. It was the first time Labrador hosted Operation Nanook. The beginning of the Labrador operation was delayed a couple of days due to inclement weather and a damaged helicopter. The Royal Canadian Navy deployed the ''Halifax''-class frigate ''Montréal'' and the ''Kingston''-class coastal defence vessels and ''Goose Bay''. The Royal Canadian Air Force dedicated three CC-138 Twin Otter aircraft, three

CH-146 Griffon The Bell CH-146 Griffon is a multi-role utility helicopter designed by Bell Helicopter Textron as a variant of the Bell 412EP for the Canadian Armed Forces. The CH-146 is used in a wide variety of roles, including aerial firepower, reconnaissa ...

helicopters and two

CH-147 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, Ch ...

helicopters, as well as a CC-130 Hercules and CC-177 Globemaster cargo aircraft to the entire operation.

2018

Operation Nanook 2018 took place from 12 August to 4 September 2018.

2020

Operation Nanook 2020 took place from July to August 2020. It was scaled down due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and resulted in a ban on port visits. The emphasis of that year's exercise was naval readiness, focusing on ship tracking and naval gunnery. Participating ships included, , , , HMCS ''Glace Bay'', , , and the .

2021

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, major changes were made to Operation Nanook for 2021. The training was split into two groups, with ground operations moved from the High Arctic/Nunavut to near

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the o ...

in March and a second phase to take place in the late spring/early summer months. The operation required that all participants self-isolate in various regions including Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Yellowknife, and no international participation was allowed. Land forces were transported to their training sites by CH-147F Chinook helicopters.

2022

The Royal Canadian Navy deployed three ships to the Arctic, HMCS ''Harry DeWolf'', ''Goose Bay'' and . Ships from the United States, French and Danish navies also took part. Lasting two months, the operation included scientific trials and patrols of the Northwest Passage.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline, Operation Nanook 2011 Military in the Arctic

Nanook In Inuit religion, Nanook (; iu, ᓇᓄᖅ , lit. "polar bear") was the master of bears, meaning he decided if hunters deserved success in finding and hunting bears and punished violations of taboos. The word was popularized by '' Nanook of th ...