OTTAWA — Operation NUNALIVUT 10, the Canadian Forces’ annual exercise in the high Arctic, closed on Monday, featuring the first ever landing of a CC-177 Globemaster at Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert.

The Operation also featured concurrent training between the Arctic Response Company Group and the Canadian Rangers, who conducted their patrols further north than ever before.

Attending the closing ceremonies, Canada’s Minister of National Defense Peter MacKay said that the Canadian Forces successfully achieved their aim of demonstrating and improving upon their capabilities to respond to safety and security challenges in Canadian Arctic areas.

“The unexpected yet successful search and rescue of Australian Tom Smitheringale during Operation NUNALIVUT 10 demonstrates why we need a strong presence in the Arctic, as well as continual improvements on the capabilities to operate here,” he said.

During Operation NUNALIVUT 10, conducted in Canada’s high Arctic, along the most northern tip of Ellesmere Island, in the vicinity of CFS Alert, Ward Hunt Island, Alert Point, and out onto the Arctic Ocean, the Canadian Forces demonstrated the ability to operate in the most challenging and austere conditions.

This major joint operation also saw a Canadian Ranger Patrol Group establish an ice camp 90 km north of CFS Alert on the sea ice, allowing the Canadian Rangers the opportunity to extend their patrol range.