The Canadian Rangers Merged Thread

[fredranger]

Well, looks like I am going to CFB Esquimalt. Our Patrol Sergeant and one of our Section Leaders will be taking a Leadership Course, while I and two other Rangers get a watered down version of BMQ. I understand our accommodations at the Alberthead barracks have been used by the Cadets. Should prove interesting. Funny thing though, I am being kept out of the loop on just what is going to happen down there. All I know, at some point, our Patrol Sergeant is going to be leading some of us around in the dark, and no white light is allowed. That little bit of information wasn't too easy to come by. Not much to build many expectations on, that's for sure. I am sure of at least one thing, should prove "educational". I am not leaving until this Saturday, so I guess packing and blogging will be my time killers till then.

 

[FoverF]

When I was a little un, most of my Cubs and Boy Scout leaders (and neighbors, hockey coaches, guys you can borrow a boat from) were Rangers.
And when the 'official' boy scout organization packed it in, we just hung out with local Rangers, and all 4 or 5 of us got to go do 'Ranger stuff'. It was pretty sweet.
So some of us have a pretty good idea of what the Rangers do.
And really, Rangers are not all native guys with red hoodies on skidoos/trikes/quads with old-school guns.  There is actually a pretty high percentage of white guys in red hoodies on skidoos/quads, toting around Lee Enfields (still my favorite gun).

Excellent organization, and I definitely plan on joining when I retire and return to my bushy roots.

 

[fredranger]

If asked, I am sure I just might be able to dig up a list of some of the Ranger patrols located within 4CRPG, if some of you want to check it out for yourselves. Bare in mind, my list will be somewhat incomplete, and the locations of some of these patrols might just been more than a little inconvenient, but I am not working from PROTECTED information either. Using our patrol as an example, I would expect most patrols would welcome visitors, just to experience things first hand. The first time I was brought out to the range, the (then) Patrol Sergeant was friendly enough, asking me if I was interested in joining. Sadly, I was about to move to Edmonton, and had to decline his offer, but I reassured him, if and when I came back this way on a more permanent basis, I would. 3 years later, I did. My attendance of late hasn't been too good, personal problems and family issues, but I am hoping to turn that around. And, I will.

 

[fredranger]

Well, I will be leaving for CFB Esquimalt tomorrow, and I won't be back untill February 12th. When I get back, I might be able to share news/rumours of any changes I hear that might be going on, and share a few highlights of what ever they are going to put me through. Untill then, I hope this thread added to by other members of this forum, and by some of the Rangers, whom I thinking are lurking around. For some more information, I have been working on the Wikipedia entry for the Canadian Rangers as well, if interested, check it out here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_rangers. Until then, "Vigilans".

 

[pwlacken]

Just came across this forum today, and I'm glad to see all of this interest in the Rangers. I'm currently writing a history of the force since 1947 (which I have been working on for several years), and another on their predecessors (the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers).  I have an article (rather academic) coming out on 1 CRPG in the next issue of Canadian Military Journal, which assesses them as a "postmodern militia" - I'm anxious to get some feedback when it comes out.  I have a couple more book chapters that are also coming out on the Rangers, about which I will keep readers posted. 
I agree that there are many distortions about the Rangers floating around, and that the non-Aboriginal Rangers who constitute nearly 40% of the total force strength are the real "hidden story" -- my own writing to date perpetuates the obsession with Inuit and First Nation membership in the force.  I am actually heading off to Labrador tomorrow a.m. for a two week trek with 5 CRPG Rangers from Goose Bay to Nain to Saglek Bay -- I'll provide an update upon my return.
I would be very interested in hearing more stories from Rangers and soldiers who have exercised with the Rangers in the north and/or on the coasts.  Please visit my website (www.lackenbauer.ca) to learn more about my research and to share stories directly.  And sorry for the rambling post - I need to get packed for the trip.

 

[bennewfie]

Canadian Rangers, great bunch of people.I am part of the rangers here in marystown nfld been involved for the past 12 years, also served with the secound PPCLI in winnipeg in the 70`s, we do a lot of field excerizes, rifle training, pretty much a little of what the regular force does. We are supplied with what the regular force does not want or is out of date or worn out, this is a great fellowship orgination for guys that are pass the age of joining the regular force.

 

[fredranger]

Well, after almost a year of little input, I see this topic took off like wildfire. Too bad. I have read a lot of the content of these forums, and know there are other rangers that have thrown in their two cents here and there, but not in relation to this. I have failed to add to this topic because, well, dealing with personal matters. Perhaps the Canadian Rangers are best to be remembered in the company of the Pinetree Line, or the Cold War?

 

[medaid]

I dont know much about the Rangers. I would like to know more about them, as I was approached once asking about the Rangers program. I was ashamed to say that I neither knew much about them, nor did I know much about the Bold Eagle program. I must say though I have the utmost respect for those who patrol our Nothern borders.

 

[fredranger]

Well short of going over everything from before, most of the information is on first page, with a copy and paste history, and a few links to sites with additional/extra info. People become Rangers for various reasons, aged out cadets, aged out service members, honourable dischargees, etc. In my area, people who join the Rangers want to be a part of the forces in some capacity, but are limited in there involvement (most have time consuming jobs, or traveling to a base for reserve training would be too cost prohibitive). As it goes for interaction with other CF units, I know of some Rangers on the British Columbia coast have spent some time on HMCS Vancouver, I went to Kamloops for Cougar Salvo '05, while others went to CFB Wainwright for Phoenix Ram '05. North of 60, I understand there is even more interaction. Where there are patrols, Rangers are resonsible for compiling and maintaining an updated local area assessment report, should CF units have come into the area to perform emergency services, etc. Depending where in Canada a certain Ranger Patrol Group is, will dictate what there current taskings are. North of 60, it is still mainly SOV PATS. South of 60, aleast for the area of influence which I am in, between MARPAC HQ and LFWA HQ, Rangers are currently tasked with search and rescue assistance. But, word is coming down that our direction might be changing.

 

[Bill Smy]

Back in the 80s there was a story going around NDHQ that a Cdn Ranger had fired at a submarine in Hudson Bay. He reported the incident to the local RCMP who then passed an incident report to Yellowknife.

When asked by the Mountie how he knew it was a sub, and not a whale, the Ranger stated, "When you shoot a whale, it goes 'Thump, Thump', when you shoot a submarine, it goes 'Ping, Ping'".

 

[fredranger]

OMG! That was just bad.

 

[mckee19]

before reading the posts here i knew that the Rangers were mainly of first nations decent given the area they mainly operate in (the Territories), but not to say there isnt any other race involved. I also knew there were mainly a serch and rescue type of team and that they patrolled the territories for abnormal activities and then reported them to the higher ups.

after reading these posts i have pretty much the same idea but i now know they just dont operate in the north, also i didnt know they got to carry rifles until i read this thread haha

but i like the storey about the submarine going "ping ping"  :rofl:

 

[Bigmac]

Canadian Forces patrol heads out on sovereignty patrol in High Arctic

RESOLUTE BAY, Nunavut (CP) - A 24-member Canadian Forces patrol headed out Saturday on an 8,000-kilometre trek by snowmobile to confirm Canada's sovereignty in the High Arctic and to check for signs of polar bear hunters.

It will be the longest distance every travelled by a sovereignty patrol in Canadian history.

"My guys are pumped up. They're ready to conquer the entire Arctic alone to make it," said Maj. Chris Bergeron, commanding officer of 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group.

"We've got lots of obstacles to go through but we have a good chance to make it."

The three-week patrol, launched at a cost of almost $1 million, will include members of the Regular Forces and Canadian Rangers, who are part-time reserve soldiers.

They will go in three teams and will face stretches of open water, hard rock, impassable ice and will have to winch machines up a waterfall.

Two teams will drive to Eureka, a remote weather station on Ellesmere Island and from there travel around the island before joining up again at Canadian Forces Station Alert at the northern tip of the island.

Alert is the world's most northernly permanently settled community. It conducts signals intelligence gathering.

In addition to establishing a military presence, the sovereignty patrol will evaluate the terrain and infrastructure of the High Arctic, including old landing strips and abandoned buildings so that rescue officials will be prepared for the eventuality of a crash or forced landing due to increasing commercial air traffic over the region.

http://www.recorder.ca/cp/National/070324/n032429A.html

    If we are to truly protect our northern sovereignty then we should be expanding the rank and file of the Canadian Rangers significantly and build a base in the north.
    The Canadian Rangers and the other soldiers are certainly going to earn their pay on this patrol. 8000 Km by snowmobile! Have fun guys and good luck!
   

 

[GAP]

Cdn. Forces head out on High Arctic patrol
Updated Sun. Mar. 25 2007 12:09 PM ET Canadian Press
Article Link

RESOLUTE BAY, Nunavut -- A 24-member Canadian Forces patrol headed out Saturday on an 8,000-kilometre trek by snowmobile to confirm Canada's sovereignty in the High Arctic and to check for signs of polar bear hunters.

It will be the longest distance every travelled by a sovereignty patrol in Canadian history.

"My guys are pumped up. They're ready to conquer the entire Arctic alone to make it," said Maj. Chris Bergeron, commanding officer of 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group.

"We've got lots of obstacles to go through but we have a good chance to make it."

The three-week patrol, launched at a cost of almost $1 million, will include members of the Regular Forces and Canadian Rangers, who are part-time reserve soldiers.

They will go in three teams and will face stretches of open water, hard rock, impassable ice and will have to winch machines up a waterfall.

Two teams will drive to Eureka, a remote weather station on Ellesmere Island and from there travel around the island before joining up again at Canadian Forces Station Alert at the northern tip of the island.
More on link

 

[mckee19]

is polar bear hunting that big of a deal or is this just a chance to expose some of our forces to that situation?
more or less a training exercise  or for the experience type of deal?

 

[Avro_Arrow_1976]

This is quite a big deal. My unit, 440 Sqn is heavily involved in a lot of the resupply and recce for the mission. We will deliver fuel and food caches with our ski bird for the patrols to resupply. The Rangers are doing three simultaneous patrols, and one of them, on the NW side of Ellesmere Island may not succeed. Looking at sattellite imagery the other day of the ice conditions, there are pressure ridges over 30 feet high. Try driving a skidoo over that. There is also not a lot of snow on a lot of the mountainous sections of their route. So they may not suceed, although they are confident that they will. If they do it will be quite an accomplishment.

 

[GAP]

This might be a partial reason for the presence patrols going on now.......

Resource race heats up in melting Arctic
Updated Sat. Mar. 24 2007 2:12 PM ET Associated Press
Article Link

HAMMERFEST, Norway -- Barren and uninhabited, Hans Island is very hard to find on a map. Yet these days the Frisbee-shaped rock in the Arctic is much in demand -- so much so that Canada and Denmark have both staked their claim to it with flags and warships.

The reason: an international race for oil, fish, diamonds and shipping routes, accelerated by the impact of global warming on Earth's frozen north.

The latest report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the ice cap is warming faster than the rest of the planet and ice is receding, partly due to greenhouse gases. It's a catastrophic scenario for the Arctic ecosystem, for polar bears and other wildlife, and for Inuit populations whose ancient cultures depend on frozen waters.

But some see a lucrative silver lining of riches waiting to be snatched from the deep, and the prospect of timesaving sea lanes that could transform the shipping industry the way the Suez Canal did in the 19th century.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic has as much as 25 per cent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas. Russia reportedly sees the potential of minerals in its slice of the Arctic sector approaching $2 trillion.

All this has pushed governments and businesses into a scramble for sovereignty over these suddenly priceless seas.

Regardless of climate change, oil and gas exploration in the Arctic is moving full speed ahead. State-controlled Norwegian oil company Statoil ASA plans to start tapping gas from its offshore Snoehvit field in December, the first in the Barents Sea. It uses advanced equipment on the ocean floor, remote-controlled from the Norwegian oil boom town of Hammerfest through a 90-mile undersea cable.

Alan Murray, an analyst with the consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, said most petroleum companies are now focusing research and exploration on the far north. Russia is developing the vast Shkotman natural gas field off its Arctic coast, and Norwegians hope their advanced technology will find a place there.
More on link

 

[edgar]

Hey FredRanger. I had a Ranger cover me with a shotgun while I set up an antenna in Churchill. So you could say, without too much exaggeration, I've already bet my life on your organization. He took us to the dump to see the bears too. He was a cool guy but the ex didn't give him any chance to do anything.
I'm resurrecting this thread because my Dad gave me an enfield, and so now I'm paying attention to what the rangers know about weapons.

There was some discussion in the weapons thread about the role of Rangers. Some people don't see it as at all warlike, so they don't need real weapons. I see you as recce troops, so you should be equipped as similarly as is practicable. (Maybe keep the C-9s in the RCMP lockup). How do you and your patrol see your role? What would you like it to be? If new funding is coming your way due to the Russians claiming the north pole, how best to spend it? Would an automatic weapon, for example, even be all that useful to you?

I'd join but the nearest Patrol to me is Fond du Lac. Mapquest won't even tell me how far it is cause there is no road, but the commute would be brutal from Saskatoon. I hope you post more stuff. News or war stories or whatever.
I bet there are lots of folks who care about what you're doing and lurk here but don't post cause they don't have anything to add.

 

[medaid]

Edgar,

    With all respects to the Rangers and their patrols, the arming of them to an extent of a fighting patrol would be a bad idea, and here are my reasons why:

1) A fighting patrol, generally have backup whether it be Pl, Coy, Air Support, Arty what ever. Support is 'readily available'. Now, when you're up in the land of the Polar Bears, your nearest back up could take hours, even DAYS to arrive. NO active air support is available, the nearest Ranger patrol could also be hours or days away. It just would not be feasible for a Ranger patrol to actively engage any suspected 'enemy'.

2) To properly equip Rangers with more weaponry then they require will mean that an increased allotment of ammunition which will rarely if ever be fired, would be stored. STORED. Currently I can think of better places for that ammo to be going then stored.

3) Increased weaponry also means increased training time, and then we delve into other things. FredRanger went on a watered down BMQ course, if we're to upgrade, up-arm all the Ranger patrols and Rangers, it means a 'watered' down version of ANY training would no longer suffice. This means stretching the training system even more then it is currently happening. It means that instead of doing a BMQ or its variant so that they are gtg on basic things military, we now have to decide whether or not we should send them to BIQ or a variant of BIQ. Then brush up on Arctic Warfare (which these ladies and gents are already somewhat familiar with, but humor me), all of which takes a large amount of time. The system is needed right now to pump out RegF/PRes troops for missions, now I'm not saying Rangers don't play a vital role, it's just that it would be tough to do.

4) Finally, up arming them with C-9s and other weapons does not alleviate the problem of an ease in the supply system. Previously only 1 type of ammo need to be shipped and considered for the North, now you're looking at 5.56, 7.62, Frags, SRAWW L, 40mm Grenades... lots of things to be stored and lots of logistiks to be worked out.

    The primary role of the Rangers currently are good. Their light role capabilities are sound and are quite effective. If we increase the amount of equipment to be carried, it would and could possibly limit their range, mobility, and effectiveness. Space previously used to carry food or extra fuel, are now taken up by 40mm, extra C-9 boxes, so on and so forth. Many native scouts during WWII in Papa Newguinea, Phillipines, China, Guam were all lightly armed and lightly equipped. This made them agile, quick and easy to deploy, which made them excellent sneak and peak, reccon troops. The #1 rule of Recce is to see without being seen, not to get into a firefight...

Just my 2 rupees.

MT.

 

[edgar]

Edgar,

    With all respects to the Rangers and their patrols, the arming of them to an extent of a fighting patrol would be a bad idea, and here are my reasons why:

1) A fighting patrol, generally have backup whether it be Pl, Coy, Air Support, Arty what ever. Support is 'readily available'. Now, when you're up in the land of the Polar Bears, your nearest back up could take hours, even DAYS to arrive. NO active air support is available, the nearest Ranger patrol could also be hours or days away. It just would not be feasible for a Ranger patrol to actively engage any suspected 'enemy'.

2) To properly equip Rangers with more weaponry then they require will mean that an increased allotment of ammunition which will rarely if ever be fired, would be stored. STORED. Currently I can think of better places for that ammo to be going then stored.
3) Increased weaponry also means increased training time, and then we delve into other things. FredRanger went on a watered down BMQ course, if we're to upgrade, up-arm all the Ranger patrols and Rangers, it means a 'watered' down version of ANY training would no longer suffice. This means stretching the training system even more then it is currently happening. It means that instead of doing a BMQ or its variant so that they are gtg on basic things military, we now have to decide whether or not we should send them to BIQ or a variant of BIQ. Then brush up on Arctic Warfare (which these ladies and gents are already somewhat familiar with, but humor me), all of which takes a large amount of time. The system is needed right now to pump out RegF/PRes troops for missions, now I'm not saying Rangers don't play a vital role, it's just that it would be tough to do.

4) Finally, up arming them with C-9s and other weapons does not alleviate the problem of an ease in the supply system. Previously only 1 type of ammo need to be shipped and considered for the North, now you're looking at 5.56, 7.62, Frags, SRAWW L, 40mm Grenades... lots of things to be stored and lots of logistiks to be worked out.

    The primary role of the Rangers currently are good. Their light role capabilities are sound and are quite effective. If we increase the amount of equipment to be carried, it would and could possibly limit their range, mobility, and effectiveness. Space previously used to carry food or extra fuel, are now taken up by 40mm, extra C-9 boxes, so on and so forth. Many native scouts during WWII in Papa Newguinea, Phillipines, China, Guam were all lightly armed and lightly equipped. This made them agile, quick and easy to deploy, which made them excellent sneak and peak, reccon troops. The #1 rule of Recce is to see without being seen, not to get into a firefight...

Just my 2 rupees.

MT.

That looks like a good analysis. The problems of training and support are budget problems which may or may not be addressed with the new port and the new attention from Gov't. I'll let the recce gods debate what needs to be carried on a recce patrol. I led one, in my entire career, in Wainright in the summer, and passed with assistance. Here's everything I know about operations north of 60: when you go out for a smoke, kick the door before you open it to wake up the bears. So I hope to just fade back and watch the debate. The Rangers seem to be doing a fine job with their current role and budget. I guess my question should have been is anything going to change, or should anything change with the increased activity in the north?
And I like war stories in general too.