Thursday, December 01, 2011

Civilians to help military in Arctic searches

A civilian air rescue group says a co-operation deal with the military means search planes could be anywhere in the Arctic within three hours.

“With the increasing number of overflights and activity in the Arctic, especially resource companies doing exploration, it’s probably timely that this is all coming together right now,” said John Davidson of the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association.

Davidson said details are being worked out in an agreement that would charter privately owned airplanes with trained civilian spotters to do initial searches for travellers lost in the Arctic. The planes, already based in larger northern communities such as Iqaluit, Inuvik and Yellowknife, would be able to respond more quickly than military planes based in Winnipeg or Trenton, Ont.

“Our goal here is to eliminate the search phase for the DND (military) aircraft,” said Davidson.

“We’re going to go out, do a bunch of search patterns, hopefully find the individual, or whatever it is we’re looking for, and be able to then direct the (search-and-rescue technicians) or the Hercs directly to the site rather than them having to perform a search themselves.”

The agreement is an extension of similar deals in southern Canada, said Maj. Jonathan Nelles of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

“(The civil air rescue association) has proven itself very successful, particularly in areas where they have ready access to aircraft. They are very effective eyes in the sky.

“We’re not expecting them to be able to deliver the full range of search-and-rescue capabilities. But what the (association) assets do bring is to locate where the need is, hopefully with some information as to what the need might be.”

The association has been operating across Canada since 1986 and has access to about 375 aircraft and 2,596 certified pilots, navigators and spotters.

Nelles said about $500,000 has been allotted to get the program running and to allow the association to increase the number of pilots and spotters it can call on in Nunavut. If it goes well, a similar expansion is planned for the Northwest Territories.

Davidson said all areas of Nunavut should be reachable under the agreement.

“There’s very little area that is not covered on a 450-mile radius,” he said. “You’re probably looking at two to three hours (at most).”

Canada’s Arctic search-and-rescue capabilities have been in the spotlight several times this year. Last spring, Canada signed an international treaty committing it to providing such services in its sector of the North.

In August, a plane crash outside Resolute, Nunavut, during nearby military manoeuvres drove home the importance of quick response. In October, a search-and-rescue technician died while trying to reach a father and son in ice-choked waters near Igloolik.

Arctic expert Rob Huebert at the University of Calgary’s Centre for Strategic Studies applauded the deal.

“It makes eminent sense,” said Huebert, who added that Denmark uses a similar arrangement in Greenland.

In another signal the federal government is upgrading northern search capability, military officials say rescue procedures will be part of a planned training school being built in Resolute.

“It’s going to be a training centre that’s going to be used by various users in the Canadian Forces,” said Maj. Bill Chambre. “Search and rescue would be one possible user.

“We’re not training to conduct warfare in the Arctic. We’re training to be able to operate in the Arctic.”

Some building materials are already on site, Chambre said. The rest are expected to arrive next summer.

The training centre would be attached to an existing scientific facility and would be operated by Natural Resources Canada.

It would be able to accommodate 140 soldiers and would include a large storage building for snowmobiles, ATVs, an infirmary and an operations centre that could be used as headquarters for rescues or other activities.

“We will be able to run an operation out of there.”

The cost is pegged at $18 million and the school is scheduled to be open by 2013.

The Canadian Press

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