I made this somewhat tongue in cheek comment in the Force 2025 thread in response to Kirkhill's suggestion for 47 x Reserve Infantry Platoons tasked to defend 47 x North Warning Sites in the Arctic. While I don't think that particular idea is particularly practical or necessary, I do believe that there are important roles that the Reserves (including Reserve Infantry) can play in defending Canada's Arctic sovereignty.
However, rather than using the Army to provide point defence of specific military facilities, I'd instead use it as a core around which to provide an all of Government presence in the Arctic using an "ink spot" strategy similar to what is used in counter-insurgency operations. I'm envisioning something like this:
- Each of the three current Army Divisions would have an Arctic Response Battalion consisting of 4 x Arctic Response Companies (i.e. 4 x STAR-assigned Reserve Infantry "Regiments").
- These 12 x Arctic Response Companies would each be responsible for force generating and deploying a single Infantry Section each summer (60 day Class C deployment for July and August annually) to an Arctic community in order to work with the local Ranger Patrol Groups, conduct sovereignty patrols and provide a general Government of Canada presence in the area.
- There are also 24 x Naval Reserve Divisions in Canada. Between these units they could also provide annual manning for 12 x multi-role rescue boats (the same Rough Water 8.5's used on the AOPS for standardization of equipment and training) for these same communities. These boats could be used for transport of the Reserve Infantry during their patrols, the Rangers, SAR, transport of other government agency personnel, etc.
- Lastly I'd propose an expansion of 440 Squadron with the purchase of additional CC-138 Twin Otters to provide air transport for the deployed units as well during the deployment window.
I'd see this system roll out in stages starting with just three communities seeing these summer deployments. I'd suggest that good possible candidates for these first three communities would be:
- Nanisivik, NU (and the surrounding communities of Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet). This makes sense as the site of the RCNs new facility to support AOPS operations in the Arctic and its location at the Eastern end of the NWP
- Tuktoyuktuk, NWT due to it's location near the Western end of the NWP and the presence of the only road link on the Arctic coast to the rest of Canada.
- Cambridge Bay, NU which is roughly at the mid-point of the NWP and according to Wikipedia "is the largest stop for passenger and research vessels traversing the Arctic Ocean's Northwest Passage".
I would propose that each of these communities have constructed a joint facility large enough to support the planned annual deployment with the capability to provide surge accommodation for an entire Company if required. A boat launch facility would be included as well as garage facilities for at least 4 x BV206 (or their replacements). All three of these locations have existing airports to support the Twin Otters. Logistical and maintenance support could be contracted out to the local communities and northern companies in order to provide employment opportunities and economic development. Ideally also deep water port facilities would eventually be build at Tuk and Cam Bay in addition to Nanisivik (such a facility has already been proposed for Tuk).
The goal would be to eventually provide training (in the South during the winter months?) to members of the Canadian Rangers so that they could eventually provide manning of the facilities during the remainder of the year with the Southern Reserve units simply providing surge manning during the busier summer months. This would include Ranger Small Boat units manning the RHIBs and Ranger Air Transport units manning Twin Otters.
These facilities and their troops would also provide support for other Government agencies including CBSA oversight of foreign and cruise vessels transiting the NWP, DFO monitoring of commercial fishing activities, Environment Canada monitoring and research, Natural Resources Canada surveying, RCMP, etc. All of these activities would strongly support Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic and create stronger links between Arctic communities and the rest of Canada.
A phased roll-out of this system starting with just three key communities would mean that each Reserve Arctic Response Company would only have to provide an Infantry Section once every four years to start. This would give plenty of time for the units to be properly trained, equipped and organized for their roles. Once the facilities become ready at other communities the deployments could be expanded. With six communities engaged each Company would deploy a Section every other summer and eventually we'd reach twelve communities with each Company doing a deployment annually.
Personally I think this type of approach would provide greater support for Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic and greater economic development for Arctic communities than 47 x Infantry Platoon deployments to remote radar sites which face little to no ground-based military threat.