Operation Hill Top 15

The first Field Training eXercise (FTX) of the 2015-16 regular training year occurred on the weekend of September 25 - 27.  Cadets corps all over Canada are required to organize at least three FTXs every training year.  FTXs - the cadet program's equivalent of a school field trip - give cadets the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they've learned in the classroom out in the field.  This particular FTX was geared towards the first and second year cadets because one of their training requirements is to complete a 7km hike.

            

Operation Hill Top 15 - as the FTX was called - was originally scheduled to take place the weekend before but had to be postponed due to bad weather.  This was the second event the corps had to postpone due to weather.

            

Planning & preparation for the FTX had begun several weeks before.  Equipment lists and a training schedule were drawn up at a senior staff meeting.  I taught several wilderness survival classes on a Wednesday training night, and senior cadets showed the first & second year cadets how to pack sleeping bags & rucksacks.  The senior cadets also checked the Coleman stoves to make sure they were properly working.

            

We all assembled in front of Inuujaq School's gym, packed & ready for adventure, on Friday, September 25th, at 6pm.  A roll call was taken and then the cadets loaded their duffel bags & sleeping bags onto a pickup truck.  Camping supplies were loaded onto another pickup truck.  We drove out to the camping area in a convoy of pickup trucks and SUVs.  I drove one of the pickups.  We arrived at our destination after a thirty-minute drive: the Second Bridge.

            

The Second Bridge is the name given to one of two metal bridges that are part of the Road to Nanisivik.  For those of you who have forgotten, the Road to Nanisivik is currently Nunavut's longest road at 32km.  Everyone up here usually says that the Second Bridge is the halfway point between Arctic Bay and the old Nansivik Airport which is no longer in use.  3045 Army Cadet Corps has used the area next to the bridge as a camping ground for the last several years.

           

I was expecting to see a lot of snow on the ground because the Second Bridge is located in the mountains.  Surprisingly, there wasn't that much snow, and we could still see the ground. 

            

A white Fort McPherson tent had already been pitched by the commanding officer, Lt. May, and a civilian instructor that morning.  The tent happened to be the new one that was sewn by local elders.  Inside I found the remaining tents that needed to be pitched, the Meals-Ready-To-Eat (MREs), and the Coleman stoves.

            

The cadets immediately went to work pitching two white Fort McPherson tents and one green Arctic tent.  Rocks were collected to act as anchors for the canvasses and ropes.  Once all the tents were up, the cadets were instructed to move in, setting up their air mattresses & sleeping bags.  The male cadets occupied two tents and the females had a white tent all to themselves.  I chose to sleep in the white tent that was designated as the supply/mess hall tent.  The commanding officer warned me that the new tent didn't have an inner liner, but I reassured him that I would sleeping inside two army sleeping bags at night.

            

I was the Officer of Primary Interest (OPI) for this FTX - aka the Officer in Charge.  When the camping site was set up, Lt. May bid me good luck and drove back to town.  I had a civilian instructor and a female Ranger for adult supervision.  Everyone was sent to bed after a short hot chocolate break.

            

Morning reveille

Reveille was at 0730hrs on the morning of Saturday, September 26.  The supply/mess hall tent was tidied up and a Coleman stove was brought in.  Snow & water were collected in large grey pots and boiled on the stove.  The breakfast MREs took about 15 minutes to cook.  Rations are served starting at the bottom of the chain of command - junior cadets to officers.  I was the last one to eat.

            

I taught three classes after breakfast: the five elements of survival, the seven enemies of survival, and proper radio communication procedures.  To survive in the wilderness you need (positive) attitude, shelter, water, fire, and food.  The enemies of survival are pain, cold, thirst, hunger, fatigue, boredom, and loneliness.  During the radio communication lesson, the cadets reviewed the phonetic alphabet, call signs, and proper radio phrases.

            

Soccer

The cadets played a game of soccer for the rest of the morning.  The land on the other side of the road is quite flat and not that rocky.  We used construction pylons to mark the boundaries and goal posts. 

            

Lt. May visited the camp site at lunch time to see how well I was coping with the cadets.  He commented that I was doing just fine as an OPI.  Preparing and managing lunch followed the same routine as breakfast.  The only difference was the meal packages. 

            

Lt. May held a short briefing with the senior cadets & I after lunch.  We discussed how the 7km hikes would proceed in the afternoon.  The first year cadets would proceed towards the First Bridge, led by the civilian instruction.  I would lead the second year cadets towards the old Nanisivik Airport.  My cadets were required to walk with their rucksacks.  Both groups would take juice boxes, granola bars, toilet paper, and garbage bags.

            

Second year cadets.

Both groups left the camp site at 1:30pm.  I assumed it would take us about three hours to complete the hike.  We would walk 3.5km out and 3.5km back.  I was able to take several landscape photos of the camp site and surrounding area once my group reached the top of the first hill.  We followed the Road to Nanisivik.  There were only a few places where the wind was strong.  Lt. May drove back and forth in his pickup truck, checking on the well-being of both groups. 

            

When we reached the halfway point, four of my cadets decided to walk an extra kilometre.  I agreed to let them walk an extra 500 metres before turning around.  While they went the "extra kilometre" I led the other four cadets back to camp.  When there was a break in the clouds, I took a picture of the arctic sun shining brightly over the rocky landscape.  The other group had walked 7km out and were driven back to camp in Lt. May's pickup truck.

            

Dinner was at 1700hrs (5pm) and consisted of more American-made MREs.  The Canadian-made Individual Meal Packages (IMPs) aren't being supplied to cadet corps because the Canadian Armed Forces have priority.  That's unfortunate because most cadets prefer IMPs.  Around this time, Lt. May drove back to Arctic Bay for the night.  He instructed me to burn all the firewood at the evening bonfire.  I happily obliged.  He would return the next morning with several adult volunteers in vehicles to drive everyone back to town.

            

The evening bonfire began at 8pm.  The wood we were burning was part of the large pile the cadets collected from the shoreline cleanup at the beginning of the month.  The only challenge we had was lighting the kindling.  Thankfully, we had naphtha fuel.  When the fire truly became a bonfire, we broke out the marshmallows, hot dogs, and juice boxes.  We all enjoyed roasting marshmallows and hot dogs over an open fire.  I snapped many pictures of the occasion and even took a selfie.  I also took a picture of the full moon.  The bonfire lasted for 90 minutes and was extinguished using snow.  Everyone retired to their respective tents and went to sleep at 2230.

            

Sunday, September 27th was all about tearing down the campsite.  When the cadets woke up, I instructed them to immediately roll up their sleeping bags and air mattresses.  They then cleaned out their tents after breakfast.  Everyone took turns warming up inside the supply tent because the wind was quite cold.  When Lt. May arrived later that morning, we began disassembling the tents.  The cadets also did a garbage sweep of the camping area.  The cadet program teaches cadets to leave a camping area better than it was before and make it appear as if you were never there to begin with. 

            

When the teardown was complete, the cadets were formed up, and Lt. May & I held a quick debriefing.  We commended everyone for completing the 7km hike and for not causing any problems for the OPI.  When the adult volunteers arrived in their vehicles we divided the cadets among the convoy of pickup trucks and SUVs.  On the drive back to Arctic Bay, I photographed a lone iceberg near Admiralty Inlet.