Together, 850 military and civilian personnel with train in northern Canada  

Operation NANOOK 2016 will bring together 850 military and civilian personnel in Canada’s northern territories for the country’s annual northern sovereignty operation.

“Canadian Armed Forces members have a reputation of being exceptionally skilled professionals because of the hard work and training they conduct year-round. Operation NANOOK focuses on an additional layer of training: working alongside federal and territorial agencies to develop a joint response to a simulated emergency. By training together and learning from one another, our members develop news skills to help them provide security and safety for Canadians,” said LGen. Stephen Bowes, Commander, Canadian Joint.

This year’s Operation NANOOK will focus on interagency operations with federal and territorial agencies in Yukon. The operation will consist of two scenarios. Scenario one, taking place in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, will have Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members conduct Arctic security exercises, such as patrols, search and rescue training and simulated combat exercises. This scenario will run from Aug. 24 to Aug. 29.

Scenario two will centre around a whole-of-government response to a simulated earthquake in the Whitehorse and Haines Junction areas of Yukon. This scenario will run simultaneously to scenario one from Aug. 21 to Sept. 2.

“In order to ensure the highest level of safety and security in Canada’s North, it is critical that responses to all incidents, whether natural catastrophes or protection of Canada’s sovereignty, are properly coordinated and executed. Ensuring that there is an organized, seamless ability to respond to events that could occur in the North, alongside our partner agencies and government organizations, is the key objective of Joint Task Force (North) and the Canadian Armed Forces during Operation NANOOK 2016,” said BGen. Mike Nixon, Commander, Joint Task Force (North).