Joint Task Force (North)
Joint Task Force (North) (French: Force opérationnelle interarmées (Nord)[1]) is responsible for all Canadian Armed Forces operations and administration in northern Canada, namely Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the waters of the Arctic Ocean (within Canada) and Hudson Bay. JTFN is headquartered in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and is part of Canadian Joint Operations Command.
While Canadian military operations in the North date to the Yukon Field Force during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, its immediate history started with the formation of Canadian Forces Northern Area (CFNA) in 1970. CFNA's motto was Custos Borealis (Latin, "Northern Guardian").
Canadian Forces Northern Area was dissolved in 2006 and replaced by Joint Task Force North (JTFN) of the new Canada Command, commanded by Vice-Admiral J.Y. Forcier. Canada Command has since been absorbed by the newly formed Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC), established in 2012. JTFN is currently commanded by Brigadier-General G.D. Loos, OMM, CD. JTFN has received increasing national attention in recent years with greater emphasis being made on Canada's claim to arctic sovereignty.[2] Each summer, hundreds of Canadian soldiers participate in Operation Nanook, an annual display of sovereignty in Canada's northern latitudes.[3] The operation has been held annually since 2007.
Reserve forces
C Company, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4 PPCLI) | light infantry | Yellowknife |
1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group with a total of 58 patrols | Canadian Rangers | Yellowknife |
Canadian Junior Rangers | Canadian Rangers | Yellowknife |
Bases
- CFS Alert: signals intelligence intercept facility
- Canadian Forces Northern Area Headquarters Yellowknife: home to 1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, 440 Transport Squadron, and depending on time of year, many cadet squadrons
- Canadian Forces Northern Area Headquarters Whitehorse: home to Junior Canadian Rangers detachment
- CF Detachment Nunavut: detachment office
Units
- 440 Transport Squadron: based in Yellowknife and attached to 17 Wing at CFB Winnipeg
Closed
- RCAF Station Frobisher Bay: built as a U.S. Air Force airfield and closed 1957; now Iqaluit Airport
- RCAF Station Resolution Island: Pinetree Line station used by the U.S. Air Force 1954–1961; unmanned North Warning System radar site 1991–present
- RCAF Station Resolute Bay: former U.S. Air Force airstrip; now Resolute Bay Airport
- RCAF Station Whitehorse: refuelling station closed in 1968; now Lobird Trailer Court
References
- ^ Force opérationnelle interarmées (Nord)
- ^ When will we get serious about Arctic defence?
- ^ "Operation Nanook". Retrieved 2018-10-16.