A ARCTIC SECURITY OP NANOOK
MORE THAN A MILITARY EXERCISE
O
perating in the Arctic is never straight- forward. But this year's version of Op- eration Nanook took complex and chal- lenging to a new level.
ercise involving 700 Canadian Forces personnel has morphed into a
What began in 2007 as a ten-day sovereignty ex- month-long northern operation
with over 1250 CF personnel, including Special Forces and Canadian Rangers, a growing array of air, land and naval assets, a dozen federal depart- ments and agencies, two territorial governments and a half dozen municipal governments, and two international partners. "This operation highlights the interoperability, command and control, and cooperation with our interdepartmental, intergovernmental and inter- national partners in the North," said LGen Walter Semianiw of one of his fi nal operations as com- mander of Canada Command, now a part of Cana- dian Joint Operations Command. Led by Joint Task Force North, Op Nanook in- volved two scenarios conducted in distinct geo- graphical locations: a western scenario near Inuvik and Tsiigehtchic, N.W.T., in the air and on land involving the CF and government partners; and an eastern scenario around Hudson Strait/Hudson Bay and its littoral area, including Churchill, involv- ing a vessel of interest. The eastern scenario began as an RCMP-led government response that later re- quired CF support.
Among the federal departments participating in the exercise were Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, Canadian Boarder Services Agency, Coast Guard, Canadian Security Intelligence Ser- vice, Fisheries and Oceans, Public Health Agency, Public Safety, Public Service Commission, Trans- port, RCMP and the Privy Council Offi ce, as well as two inter-agency information fusion centres, the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre and the Maritime Security Operations Centre-East. International partners included the U.S. National Ice Centre, U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Danish Navy Greenland Command.
24 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2012 www.vanguardcanada.com
