Fall Biathlon 2021

The annual Fall Biathlon competition for the army cadets of 3045 occurred on Saturday, October 23.  The day began at 9:30am.  We arrived at the school gym and immediately went to work setting everything up.  A temporary air rifle range was created using tables, mats, plinker targets, sand bags, backboards, flags, and plastic cones.  Three shooting lanes were made because we only have three plinker targets.  Large tables divided the lanes.  All the air rifles were placed on a table at the back of the gym.  Bowls were filled with five lead pellets each.  I pasted the rules and maps of the running course on a wall.

Several things were taken care of before the day of the competition.  Boxed meals, Coleman stoves, naphtha, and matches were brought to the gym and placed in storage.  The corps provides food to its cadets when activities begin in the morning and continue into the afternoon without a “go-home-for-lunch” break.  I also printed individualized marking sheets and stop watch labels.

I gave the cadets an hour to select their rifles, practice shooting, and stretch.  They would be running and shooting for this competition.  (We walked the 1km course the previous week to familiarize ourselves). 

The cadets decided the order in which they wanted to complete their relays.  Each cadet was required to run & shoot three times.  The relays had to be completed in a run-shoot-run-shoot-run-shoot configuration.  Cadets who weren’t competing had to help me keep bowls filled with pellets, reset the targets, and make sure the marking sheets were being completed.

The competition officially began at 11am, with the first cadet leaving the gym to run the 1km course.  The next cadet left a minute later.  The running course follows the roads in a square pattern that circles the school.  I was able to stay on top of the marking and timing because the competing cadets came inside at different intervals.  I think there were only two times where I had to get a cadet to mark a competitor as I was marking another.

I paused the competition for lunch at noon.  Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the cadets & myself, we couldn’t get the Coleman stoves started.  We may have accidentally got the defective ones.  Thankfully, my school keys gave me access to the Home Ec Room, so lunch was moved there.  Having lunch in the Home Ec Room also gave us access to dishes and cutlery.  This is a big deal because normally, military meal packages are eaten from the cooked bags.  You don’t see the full meal; only pieces of it when you remove food from the bag using your spork (spoon + fork).  When you have a dish, you can pour the entire meal out of the bag and see it all at once.  My meal was beef macaroni and it tasted alright.  The cadets & I cleaned up the Home Ec Room and returned to the gym to continue the competition.

The afternoon was more of same.  Cadets ran, shot, ran some more, and then shot again.  I followed my same routines of keeping time and score.  The last competitor completed their relay just after 2pm.

We spent the next 30 minutes putting everything away.  I placed all the marking sheets in an envelope and took it to the cadet office.  I helped with the cleanup because leaders lead by example.  I held a quick debriefing once everything was put away.  I congratulated the cadets for completing their relays and promised to have the results ready by Wednesday.  The cadets played sports until 3pm. 

 

Snow, Truck, & Northern Lights

My students and coworkers wanted to know how the military course turned out?  I replied it was very informative, fun, and I passed.  It’ll be a while before I sign up for another course in the CIC program.  I thanked the supply teacher again for looking after my class while I was away.  I spent the next several days reviewing the material the students learned. 

I was expecting Arctic Bay to be covered in snow when I returned in early October, but that didn’t happen.  Only the surrounding mountaintops were blanketed with snow.  That all changed on October 11.  (Snow does fall in the community as early as mid-September, but it usually melts right away).  I woke up on Thanksgiving Monday so see snow on the ground.  Everywhere.  And it wasn’t melting.  The snow was here to stay until June 2022.  I took several pictures on my way to school.  I didn’t see nor hear any skidoos driving through town.  The machines would “come out of hibernation” in another day or two.  I treated the day as a work day and spent most of the time in my classroom preparing lessons and correcting class work.

I’ve mentioned many times before that living in a small isolated community in Nunavut comes with challenges.  Contrary to what people may think, there are roads in Arctic Bay, and yes, people do own & use wheeled-vehicles.  It’s not all skidoos, qamutiks, and boats.  Cars, trucks, and atvs are present.  They’re used for the same reasons why people down south have them: transportation, shopping, and moving stuff.  For example, the airport is 5km out of town.  Nobody wants to walk and haul their luggage that far.  Where am I going with this?  Maintenance.

Unfortunately, Arctic Bay, does not have an auto repair shop and the stores don’t sell vehicle parts.  Thankfully, they do sell towing cables because there are no tow trucks either.  If your vehicle breaks down or gets stuck in the snow, you need to find someone with a powerful vehicle and cable to come rescue you.  On October 16, I witnessed and documented a creative way of moving an old truck.

A co-worker was giving me a ride home from school in the late afternoon.  I was riding in the back of the pickup truck when we came upon a slow-moving loader.  The loader was carrying and moving a pickup truck.  I think this was the first time I saw such a spectacle in Arctic Bay.  I quickly took out my camera and took several photos.  The loader driver moved off to the side and let us pass.  My guess is the driver bought the truck and was moving it to his residence.

I finally got around to photographing the Northern Lights in Arctic Bay on the morning of October 19.  Dark season starts on November 11, but by mid-October, the sun doesn’t rise until late morning.  I photographed the lights while walking to school.  When dark season arrives next month, everyone in town will be seeing the Northern Lights every day!  If I had the money and time, I’d travel to 11 other Nunavut communities, photograph their Northern Lights, and put together a calendar for distribution.    

(Google Northern Store or NorthMart).

(If you didn’t get the joke from the photograph, it’s not my fault).         

Operation Bonfire 21

Cadets resumed after my return from LETC.  The first activity was the annual bonfire behind the airport.  The event took place on October 10.  I guess it also counted as a Thanksgiving bonfire.

I tasked two senior cadets to buy the food and snacks before I left for LETC.  For transportation, Frank lent me one of his red pickup trucks.  He also got his grandson to acquire an atv and trailer.  The same RCMP officer who helped us at the beach cleanup in September also came along, adding another truck to the convoy.

I originally thought someone would drive the atv with the trailer attached to the airport.  Instead, the atv would be loaded onto the trailer and the RCMP officer would pull the trailer to the airport.  Whatever works best.

Everyone assembled outside the school gym at 6pm.  Roll call was taken, and the red truck was loaded with supplies.  The cadets divided themselves between the two trucks and we were on our way.  The time was 6:30pm.

The convoy arrived at the airport at around 6:40pm.  The atv was unloaded off the trailer and then the trailer was connected to the atv.  The bonfire supplies were transferred to the trailer.  Most of the cadets hopped into the trailer and were driven down to the woodpile.  I opted to walk.  The cadets were already taking pieces of wood and from the pile and building a bonfire when I arrived.

The bonfire was lit at 7pm.  I was unpacking food at the time.  The cadets used a combination of matches, Firestarter sticks, and naphtha to get the fire going.  Long wooden boards were arranged around the small fire in a cone shape.  A cot, foldout chair, and several large wooden logs were used for seating.

We sat around the fire and watched it grow.  Fifteen minutes passed and the fire reached an acceptable height.  I gave permission for the hot dogs and marshmallows to be roasted & consumed.  Metal roasting sticks were handed out, and everyone surrounded the fire with their chosen food.  We all stepped back when the boards forming the cone suddenly collapsed.  No one was hurt.  I prefer to roast my hot dogs halfway, as in, not entirely black.  Same thing with marshmallows.  Several cadets prefer to go all the way and roast both until they’re black.  Several hot dogs and marshmallows were lost in the fire.  Thankfully, there was plenty of food to go around.

We kept the bonfire going until about 8:45pm.  By this point, the food supply was low and I think we were starting to get bored.  At least we enjoyed some time away from town. 

Arctic Bay lights.

The fire was extinguished using snow and water.  A cadet used a shovel and I used a plastic foldable bucket.  I collected water from the shoreline and carefully carried it back to the bonfire.  I did this about five times.  The remaining cadets cleaned the roasting sticks and packed up the remaining food.  The RCMP officer warmed up the atv.  The remaining supplies were placed in the trailer.

Photo taken by RCMP Officer.

Most of cadets opted to sit in the trailer and be driven back to the airport, but some chose to walk.  I was the last one to leave the bonfire area.  I used a flashlight and headlamp to see where I was walking.  About halfway, the RCMP officer drove up on the atv and gave me and the remaining cadets a lift to the trucks.  The officer & I drove the cadets home.  A senior cadet dropped off the atv and trailer at Frank’s shop and was driven home by the officer.  I returned Frank’s truck the following day.

 

CIC LETC

I’m finally back from the out-of-territory opportunity that took me to another part of Canada.  I was away on a military course related to the Canadian cadet program and it was a wonderful learning experience! 

I am a reserve officer in the Canadian Armed Forces working for COATS – Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service.  It’s “a subcomponent of the Canadian Forces Reserve Force whose members have undertaken as their primary duty the supervision, administration and training of the members of the Canadian Cadet Organizations and Junior Canadian Rangers.”  Basically, I and 7,499 other personnel work with Canadian youth aged 12 – 18.  The officers in COATS are called Cadet Instructor Cadres (CIC).  We follow the same ranks structures of all three main military branches (army, air, navy), but we are not trained in combat.  Many CIC officers are former rank force and reserve soldiers.

The course I took was the Land Environmental Training Course (LETC).  It teaches army CIC officers how to behave, lead, plan, and teach cadets “out in the field.”  Air has AETC and navy has SETC – Sea Environmental Training Course.

I had a week to get ready after my civilian employer granted me permission to attend.  I prepared three weeks of lessons while School Administration found a substitute teacher to look after my classes.  The local cadet corps would be shut down for the duration of my absence.

Arctic Bay Airport - September 22, 2021.

Nanisivik Naval Facility.

I left Arctic Bay on September 22.  Frank gave me a lift to the airport.  The turboprop plane took off into the clear blue sky and did a sharp left turn.  I took several pictures of the airport until the plane leveled off and flew towards Pond Inlet.  I photographed the Nanisivik Naval Facility and later, a very large iceberg.  The plane landed in Pond Inlet, picked up more passengers, and continued to Iqaluit.

To make a long (travel) story short, I safely arrived at the city closest to the military base after several more stopovers.  It was very late and I was tired.  I stayed in a hotel next to the airport.  I checked out the next morning, bought lunch and snacks at the airport terminal, and waited for the military shuttle bus to arrive.  The bus driver checked my name on his list and let me board.  The other passenger boarded and we were on our way.

The drive to the military base took several hours.  A CIC captain was waiting for me when I stepped off the bus.  I thanked the driver for the lift and introduced myself to the captain.  The captain took me to the nearby mess hall so that I could eat dinner.  I was also given a meal card.  Without it, I would have to pay for every single meal.   

We drove to the part of the base where the course would be taking place.  It was actually a small cadet camp.  I was taken to the main office and introduced to the other captains who would be the instructors.  I was then shown my barracks and instructed to unpack.  Memories of spending many summers at a cadet camp in Ontario flooded my mind.

I had arrived a day early.  I spent my extra day helping the captains set up all the classrooms and organize their resources.  There would be an LETC and AETC happening simultaneously at the camp.

The remaining officer participants arrived the following day in the late afternoon.  A captain and I drove to the Canex store on base to pick them up.  We arrived in two large blue (military) vans.  I was allowed to drive because I hold a military driver’s license.  We brought the officers and their luggage back to camp.  The captain-in-charge welcomed everyone and gave a quick briefing on timings, how to behave on an active military base, and what to expect.  The people with military driver’s licenses would be the only people allowed to drive the blue vans to the mess hall and anywhere else on base.  I guess that made me and three others V.I.Cs. – Very Important Chauffeurs. 

The rule that stood out for everyone was we were not allowed to leave the base for the duration of our stay due to COVID-19 restrictions.  Being double vaccinated wasn’t enough.  However, if things were needed to be bought off base, arrangements could be made.

I was the only officer from Nunavut, the territories, and the North.  The other participants were from the western provinces.  I had to be on my best behaviour because I was representing 40% of Canada. 

The first two days were devoted to Standard First Aid & CPR, the same course that’s offered by St. John’s Ambulance and Canadian Red Cross.  When you’re training cadets in the field, it’s best to have all officers First Aid qualified.  I passed the course.

SAR Helicopter.

For a week and a half, we learned: writing operation orders, map & compass, geography, proper radio communication, how to operate a handheld GPS, dealing with wild bears, and packing for a day-hike & field training exercise.  Most of these lessons occurred in classrooms, but we were given time to practice out in the field.  These sessions were sometimes interrupted by loud roars of jet engines, and helicopter blades.

On September 30, we were granted permission to wear orange shirts underneath our CADPAT uniforms for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Every Child Matters.

We were given downtime in the evenings to relax and chat.  I found myself answering questions about Nunavut, Arctic Bay, and how cadets operate in the territories.  I also added stories about my time teaching and exploring the land around the community.  The information I provided fascinated the officers. 

I explained that some of the lessons in the cadet program need to be altered because they aren’t written for an Arctic setting.  Teaching cadets how to use a compass is impossible because compasses don’t work in Arctic Bay.  Making shelters from trees is not an option because we’re way above the tree line.  Renting civilian vehicles to transport equipment to a training area is out of the question because Nunavut does not have a territory-wide road network.  We use skidoos and qamutiks.  (There were a few times I explained these challenges and differences to the instructors).

Me in a lean-to shelter.

The most important part of the course was the four-day Field Training eXercise (FTX).  The only way to successfully teach cadets how to survive in the field is to go through it yourself.  We had to: put up a large military tent, set up small camping tents & wash areas, build lean-to shelters & hoochies, know basic knots, safely light Coleman stoves and lamps, chop wood, complete a night navigation, and do fire-picket (night guard duty).  And yes, we were required to spend at least one night sleeping in the lean-to shelter.  I’m glad we were each given two heavy duty sleeping bags.  The temperature got colder at night. 

Hoochies in the background.

Fire picket fire.

We lived on rations for those 4 days, but the instructors spoiled us on the third night by letting us eat boxed dinners prepared by the mess hall.  The main dish was roast beef!

Congratulatory group photos were taken at the end of the FTX.

I received my final course report on the last day of the course.  I passed LETC!  I happily signed the document.  I thanked the instructors for being my, um, instructors.  The CIC officers & I celebrated our final night with pizza and games.  We exchanged contact information and promised to keep in touch.

The journey home took two days.  I had to overnight in Ottawa and Iqaluit.  Frank was waiting for me when the plane touched down in Arctic Bay.  He asked me how the course went and I replied I passed.  He drove me home.

With LETC now complete, the next step in my CIC career is to wait for my promotion to Lieutenant!