By: Warren Gray
Copyright © 2022
“For 75 years, the Canadian Rangers have been our eyes, ears,
and guides in the extremities of our nation. Their role will continue
to be vital in ensuring our sovereignty and national resilience in
the decades ahead as our country comes under increasing threat.”
— General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff, 2022.
The Canadian Rangers are a paramilitary component of the Canadian Armed Forces Army Reserve (since 2007). They provide a limited military presence in very remote areas of the second-largest nation (the U.S. is #4) on Earth (3.5 million square miles), where it would not be economically feasible or practical to have conventional, army units stationed. Their assigned missions include domestic scouting operations, surveillance and sovereignty patrols, first response in emergency situations, disaster relief, search-and-rescue operations, community assistance, and wilderness survival training for conventional army units during joint exercises.
Modern Canadian Rangers trace their heritage back to the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers (PCMR) of 1942, defending the rugged coastlines of British Columbia and the Yukon against the wartime threat of a possible Japanese invasion. The current Rangers were established on May 23, 1947, primarily to conduct surveillance or sovereignty patrols against the possible threats of Soviet naval or air incursions into Canadian territory. They also still conduct inspections of the 47 North Warning System (NWS) radar site and act as guides, scouts, and subject-matter experts in such disciplines as wilderness survival.
Canadian Rangers on search-and-rescue/medevac exercise. Photo credit: Netnewsledger.com.
There are approximately 5,000 Canadian Rangers, divided between five Canadian Ranger Patrol Groups (CRPGs), each commanded by a lieutenant colonel, located in Newfoundland, Québec, Ontario, British Columbia, and the Yukon, with the last component being the largest by far, manned by 2,000 Rangers based in Yellowknife. Their 194 individual patrols are located in various remote, isolated, and/or coastal communities around the nation, each averaging 30 Ranger members, led by a sergeant. These are further broken down into 10-person sections, each led by a master corporal. Each patrol group takes part in at least one major, land-based exercise per year, varying from a few hours to a week in duration, and Rangers comprise at least 90 percent of the Canadian Armed Forces presence north of the 55th parallel.
The Canadian Rangers are all army reservists, with minimal, military training averaging just 12 days of “patrol-sustainment” training per year, and they are manned by a high percentage (about 60 percent) of Inuit, Dene, Cree, Anishinaabe, First Nation, Métis, and other indigenous, local residents who live in the most-remote, northern and coastal regions. The Rangers have an intimate knowledge of northern environments, and rifle expertise due to a hunting lifestyle, with local residents providing the military with a valuable connection to remote regions. The Ranger motto of Vigilans (“Watchers”) in Latin represents their role as the “watchers” over Canada’s most-remote regions.
It’s important to remember, however, that the Rangers are part-time, reservist, paramilitary (not full-fledged, Army soldiers) troops, who are not trained in defensive or offensive, military tactics, or winter warfare, except for a select few volunteers. The Canadian Army officially states that, “While they support Canadian Armed Forces tactical maneuvers and other operations as guides or terrain experts, they are not tactically trained.”
Robert Smol, a retired Canadian Forces intelligence officer with a Master of Arts degree in War Studies from the Royal Military College writes that, “Canada has no full-time, operational, combat military unit permanently stationed in the North…the Canadian government needs to properly train and professionalize the Rangers to the basic, military standard of our Army Reserves. A reorganized and better-trained, equipped, and armed Canadian Ranger contingent could certainly be a valuable part of safeguarding Canadian sovereignty in the North. Provided, of course, that Canadian Rangers are willing to train as soldiers, and that the Forces are willing to train them.”
Canadian Ranger instructors are actual soldiers, however, mostly sergeants and warrant officers (one rank higher), who must adapt to the unique ways of the Rangers. Master Warrant Officer Borton said, “You’ve got to step back from the military and talk with the Rangers in a way they are comfortable with. You have to gain their trust…the Rangers don’t say a lot, but when they do, you’d better listen. They’re the experts in the North, not us. We are up there to make the Rangers’ job easier, so they can use their knowledge and their skills to help their communities. I don’t think of them as my Rangers. They’re my friends. Being an instructor with them can be a great job.”
Ranger instructors carry Remington 870 Police Special 12-gauge shotguns with 14-inch barrels, usually loaded with rifled slugs, for rapidly incapacitating attacking bears. “I carry a shotgun for protection, and to warn the bears,” one instructor noted. “I sleep with a shotgun next to me in case a polar bear pokes its head into my tent in the middle of night. It’s a unique weapon, and it can be devastatingly effective.”
From 1947 to 2015, each Ranger was issued a bolt-action, Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk. 1 military rifle in .303 British-caliber, and 200 rounds of ammunition per year, but those have all been replaced since 2015 with the new Colt Canada C19 rifle in 7.62x51mm (.308-caliber), a license-built copy of the superb, Tikka (of Finland) T3x Arctic rifle. The rifles are mainly used for self-defence against large carnivores, such as polar bears, and for personal survival, since regional surveillance missions are often conducted for extended periods in remote areas, requiring the Rangers to hunt for food.
Tikka T3x Arctic rifle in .308 Winchester. Photo credit: Tikka.
The new, premium, $1,875 to $2,500 (in U.S. dollars), bolt-action C19 rifles are expected to operate in temperatures ranging from −60° to 102° F. with moderate to high humidity and be resistant to corrosion from long-term exposure to salt-laden air and water. They have free-floating, 20.1-inch, hammer-forged, matte stainless-steel barrels and receivers for corrosion resistance, custom iron sights for rapid target acquisition at closer ranges, a 4.75-inch, Picatinny rail for mounting a scope (seldom used), a 10-round, detachable, steel magazine, and laminated, birch stock, with a unique, reddish-gray hue on the Colt Canada C19 versions. The original Tikka stocks are more green and brown in color, much like woodland camouflage, as seen above.
It’s chambered only in .308-caliber, and supplied with 200 rounds per year of proprietary ammunition, manufactured in Québec with Canadian Forces sniper brass, and mated with Nosler Accubond 180-grain bullets for bear-defense and hunting purposes. It’s designated the C-180 round. A total of 6,820 rifles were produced and issued, and the old Lee-Enfields were officially gifted to the Rangers as surplus, hunting rifles.
The late Denis Prisbey wrote for Tactical Life magazine on November 22, 2017,that, “The rifle’s sighting system has enough flexibility to stay with that large, 100-meter aperture for perfectly adequate hunting accuracy at relatively close distances…(or) to put a bullet where you want it with tighter groups farther out…The action had one of the smoothest bolts I’ve ever worked with. The oversized handle was very easy to grasp, and the trigger broke at a very clean 3.25 pounds…Tikka guarantees ‘a minimum performance of 1 MOA or better at 100 meters.’
“The 8.13-pound T3x Arctic’s recoil was light and comfortable, thanks to the combined effects of the .308 Winchester caliber and the excellent recoil pad…a 0.9-inch-thick, rubber buttpad to help absorb some of the .308 recoil…The T3x Arctic functioned smoothly…with the 180-grain load…Extraction was effortless…Suggested retail price of the T3x Arctic is a fairly steep $2,199, but this is a quality package, and you’ll likely see it going for closer to $1,800 at local dealers.”
Canadian Rangers test-fire their new, early-model, C19 rifles.
(Note the Tikka-hued, laminate colors on these weapons.) Photo credit: Guns.com.
Beginning in 1997, the Canadian Rangers each received bright red sweatshirts, T-shirts, and baseball caps bearing the Canadian Ranger emblem in green and red. Each Ranger is issued these three items plus Canadian-Pattern (CADPAT) camouflaged pants, combat boots, a safety vest, navigation aids, Gerber or SOG multi-tools, first-aid kits, and the new, C19 rifle, with soft and hard transport cases. More recently, they have also been issued backpacks, ballistic eyewear, and satellite phones, for communication in remote areas, as well as tents, stoves, lanterns, and axes for basic survival in the wilderness.
There is also a Junior Canadian Ranger (JCR) program, open to ages 12 to 18, currently with 3,400 members in 119 locations. These JCR members and their instructors travel with regular, Canadian Ranger patrols to gain valuable, field experience and assist with Ranger duties. Both the Rangers and JCR are open to women, and have significant, female enrollment.
Canadian Ranger team, with female Ranger in the center, and new, C19 rifles. Photo credit: Twitter.
Rangers are expected to be mostly self-reliant in the field, even with this minimal equipment issue, and are considered to be always on duty, reporting any unusual activity in their regions as part of their daily lives although they are only paid when called to active duty. They are reimbursed for mileage and wear-and-tear for the use of personal vehicles and equipment, such as cars, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), pack horses, trailers, sled dogs, boats, and for a variety of privately-owned tools, such as chain saws and generators. They also receive an annual allocation for rations.
In addition to the issued multi-tools (shown below), they may require a variety of personal fixed-blade knives for hunting and survival purposes. Two typical types of Canadian-manufactured, hunting blades are also depicted below:
Canadian Army-issued, Gerber and SOG multi-tools. Photo credits: Gerber and SOG knives.
North Arms Lynx hunting knife, $140. Photo credit: North Arms.
Ranger Knives’ Falcon hunting knife, $76. Photo credit: Ranger Knives.
The Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces are calling 2022 “The Year of the Canadian Rangers,” to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Canadian Rangers. Various events at the local, regional, and national levels are being held to mark the occasion. Canadian Rangers will also be participating in this year’s National Sentry Program, which brings military personnel to Ottawa to stand guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial.
Canadian Rangers on ATVs watch the arrival of a Royal Canadian Air Force CH-146
Griffon (Bell 412EP) transport helicopter during a military field exercise in 2014. Photo credit: CBC.ca.
Canadian Rangers are expected to draw upon their indigenous knowledge while out on patrol, often consulting with their elders in reaching decisions. They also hold conditional military ranks that are dependent upon ongoing acceptance by the patrol group. Regular force or reservist instructors and liaison officers are careful to build solid relationships by following the cultural norms of the local community rather than traditional military procedures, structures, hierarchies, and training. By supporting sovereignty, military operations and nation-building, today’s Rangers represent an effective bridge between Canada’s civilian and military realms.
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Warren Gray is a retired, U.S. Air Force intelligence officer with experience in joint special operations and counterterrorism, and is an NRA member. He served in Europe and the Middle East, earned Air Force and Navy parachutist wings, four college degrees, and was a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Intelligence Operations Specialist Course, and the USAF Combat Targeting School. He has visited eastern Canada and the Canadian Rockies several times, and is currently a published author, historian, and hunter. You may visit his web site at: warrengray54.vistaprintdigital.com.