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The Arctic
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daftandbarmy
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Part of the new Arctic strategy is the development of Northern Operational Support Hubs/Nodes (NOSH/NOSN).
Northern Operational Support Hubs enables the projection and sustainment of military forces in the Arctic
The defence of Canada and assertion of sovereignty are high priorities of the Government of Canada, and the Arctic and northern regions are seen as being vital to both.www.canada.ca
Minister Blair announces First Northern Operational Support Hub locations - Canada.ca
Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, announced Iqaluit, Inuvik, and Yellowknife as Northern Operational Support Hub locations.
I can't help but see echos of the old Hudson Bay Company network in this plan. The NOSH sites being analogous to the HBC Forts/Factories and the NOSN sites being similar to the Posts/Depots. It worked then so I can't see why it shouldn't work now.
For the Node sites I wonder if rather than rotational postings to these austere locations you might instead adapt an all volunteer system for those that might enjoy this type of opportunity. The old HBC posts sometimes were staffed with only 1-3 men who acted not only as traders but as liaisons with the local communities, a source of emergency shelter/supplies, etc. Personnel could fill a similar role, not only maintaining the pre-positioned equipment and supplies but coordination with the local Ranger Patrol and other Government agencies, provide facilities for fly-in services (e.g. vaccinations, etc.) and emergencies, SAR assistance, etc.
This was announced by Bungalow Bill Blair a year ago... that's like ancient history.
Are these still happening? I have no idea of course...
Yes. There's nothing big about them. Some runway extensions, hangars, storage sheds, etc.
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Raised it again because the initiative was mentioned in the Defence Industrial Strategy that was just released
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The whole character of the British Empire changed when the Honourable East India Company started taking their wives with them.
Fortunately there no wives were interested in going to the Arctic. The lads had to forage.
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In India they sent the Scots first, who worked their way into the power structure and married into powerful families. The Indians and the Scots got along. Then came the stuffy Brits who banned interracial marriage and made life miserable for those women. That laid the foundations for the mutiny.
daftandbarmy
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And, unlike the East India Company who followed the 'Prime Directive', they spoiled all the fun by banning things like Sati
In 1828 Lord William Bentinck came to power as Governor-General of India. When he landed in Calcutta, he said that he felt "the dreadful responsibility hanging over his head in this world and the next, if... he was to consent to the continuance of this practice (sati) one moment longer."[127] Bentinck decided to put an immediate end to sati. Ram Mohan Roy warned Bentinck against abruptly ending sati.[128] However, after observing that the judges in the courts were unanimously in favour of reform, Bentinck proceeded to lay the draft before his council.[129] Charles Metcalfe, the Governor's most prominent counselor expressed apprehension that the banning of sati might be "used by the disaffected and designing" as "an engine to produce insurrection". However these concerns did not deter him from upholding the Governor's decision "in the suppression of the horrible custom by which so many lives are cruelly sacrificed".[130]
Sati (practice) - Wikipedia
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TFTFY.
. There were plenty of English, Irish and Welsh men in the East India Company who weren’t clamouring for bring home to India. That all changed when the public back home learned of their boys going native, so pressured the government to send missionaries to India. But point taken, there is a reason why in India, they refer to the colonial period as the “Scottish Empire”. I would argue that the British Empire was a largely Scottish venture. The English were just along for the ride and kicked in some coinage.
daftandbarmy
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TFTFY.
But point taken, there is a reason why in India, they refer to the colonial period as the “Scottish Empire”. I would argue that the British Empire was a largely Scottish venture. The English were just along for the ride and kicked in some coinage.
Interesting fun fact... many Innuit dances, and other customs, that are well known today were passed on by Scottish Whalers... and there is an 'Arctic Bar' in Dundee that has long connected with the whaling Captains and their crew.
.... the things you can learn from an Inuit tour guide in a museum on Baffin Island, eh?
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M777 flown to the North for exercise and show and tell for the locals
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Interesting fun fact... many Innuit dances, and other customs, that are well known today were passed on by Scottish Whalers... and there is an 'Arctic Bar' in Dundee that has long connected with the whaling Captains and their crew.
.... the things you can learn from an Inuit tour guide in a museum on Baffin Island, eh?
Further to....
How long has that bar been in existence? Another kayaking adventure.
Finmen: The Inuit Who Paddled 1200 Miles - SNR
It is a little known and extraordinary fact that over 300 years ago the Inuit made crossings from Greenland to the Orkney Isles and northern Scotland. The journey across the hostile North Atlantic is over 1200 miles. Their traditional craft were made of nothing more than skin, bone and...
snr.org.uk
And apparently the locals were friendly
Eenoolooapik - Wikipedia
.....
Aberdeen 57N latitude
South of Greenland 59 N or the same latitude as the top of the Orkneys.
Eskimos spotted off the Orkneys in kayaks, "fishing", probably whaling, as ealy as 1682
The Year 1682: Reports of Strange Little Men Called Finnmen
The Challenge: To paddle from Greenland to Scotland. Could it be done? There had been reports, as early as 1682, of strange little men (Inuits) transiting the treacherous seas from Greenland to Sco…
dennstedt.wordpress.com
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Shortest sea passage from Greenland to Iceland is 300 km across the Denmark Strait.
Iceland to the Faroes is 450 km
Faroes to Shetland is 285 km
Shetland to Fair Isle is 38 km
Fair Isle to the Orkneys is 43 km
The GIUK Gap(s) defined.
1682 is the middle of the Maunder Minimum (1645-1715) when the sea lanes to Iceland and Greenland were blocked by ice, glaciers were reforming in the Cairngorms in Scotland and starving people across Europe were fighting kings, popes, authority and each other.
The ice never made it to Shetland but it did inundate the Faroes. It was 30 km deep around Iceland and Greenland's Viking colonies were cut off for centuries and absorbed.
The Greenlanders probably followed the ice edge for most of their trip. Sealing and whaling.
Iceland to the Faroes is 450 km
Faroes to Shetland is 285 km
Shetland to Fair Isle is 38 km
Fair Isle to the Orkneys is 43 km
The GIUK Gap(s) defined.
1682 is the middle of the Maunder Minimum (1645-1715) when the sea lanes to Iceland and Greenland were blocked by ice, glaciers were reforming in the Cairngorms in Scotland and starving people across Europe were fighting kings, popes, authority and each other.
The ice never made it to Shetland but it did inundate the Faroes. It was 30 km deep around Iceland and Greenland's Viking colonies were cut off for centuries and absorbed.
The Greenlanders probably followed the ice edge for most of their trip. Sealing and whaling.
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