Exercise Maroon Nunatsuak brings over 200 Canadian Armed Forces members to Labrador

About 240 members of the Canadian Armed Forces are on the ground in Happy Valley-Goose Bay for exercise Maroon Nunatsuak.

The exercise aims to strengthen arctic warfighting capabilities and grow the number of people trained for the Arctic Response Company Group. During the training — which began Feb. 14 and runs until March 7 — troops are taking part in cold weather operations, ski familiarization, and survival training in collaboration with the Canadian Rangers.

The Canadian Rangers are a part of the Canadian Army Reserve who live and work in remote, isolated and coastal regions of Canada. 

Roderick Pye is a Master Corporal with the Port Hope Simpson Canadian Ranger Patrol, located about 400 km from Happy Valley-Goose Bay. For Pye, the training was an exciting opportunity to pass along the skills he practices as a Canadian Ranger, and the skills he practices in his life in Labrador.

“They're pretty blown away by some stuff, some stuff they do know a little bit about... we all bring our little bit of different variety to the table," said Master Cpl. Pye. 

Pye said he enjoys passing along traditional Labrador knowledge, and it’s something the troops have enjoyed as well. “We’ve learned how to survive in the cold, what to do, what not to do. And today we learned how to make improvised shelters, make fire, make signal fires. And tonight we’re going to be sleeping in the cold, surviving in the cold for the next couple of days, and then we’re going to end off with a plunge in the water,” said 2nd Lt. Jacob Palmarin.

Palmarin is a member of the 37 Signal Regiment, 2 Squadron in Saint John, N.B. He said he has enjoyed the outdoor training that the Canadian Rangers shared. Palmarin said it's something he wouldn’t be able to experience in New Brunswick.

He said that knowledge would be put to use if he's ever called to work in the Arctic.

“A lot of Canada is in the cold, so we need to learn how to protect and defend our territory, so it’s vital that we learn how to survive in the cold weather,” Palmarin said.

While the Canadian Armed Forces has offered this type of training before, this round of training comes at a time when Arctic sovereignty and global interest in the Arctic is heightened, and that is something that is contributing to the size of Maroon Nunatsuak. 

“Right now we know the Arctic is at a turning point with climate change, and with renewed interest among our allies and our adversaries about... Arctic defence and sovereignty. And the Canadian Armed Forces is strengthening our Arctic defenses, and this renewed interest — and the the size of this exercise this year — is directly related to that,” said Captain Jordan Mitchell.

The Canadian Armed Forces aren’t the only military doing winter training in Labrador this year. The German army also has approximately 250 personnel on the ground for winter warfare training that began in January.

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