Who are the Australians who were in Kersley last month, and why were they here?
Ten members of the Australian Army’s North West Mobile Force (NORFORCE) were in Canada Oct. 5-21 to participate in Exercise Northern Lights. The exercise, hosted by the 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group 4CRPG), brought the Australians to Kersley, Oct. 11-14.
NORFORCE, an Army Reserve infantry regiment, conducts reconnaissance and surveillance, as well as community engagement in the Northern Territory and the Kimberley Region of northern Western Australia.
NORFORCE’s Area of Operations covers more than 24 per cent of the total land mass of Australia and includes some of the country’s harshest and most changeable climates, according to the book NORFORCE: Modern Warrior, Traditional Values.
Like NORFORCE, the Canadian Rangers is an Army Reserve unit.
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The mission of the Rangers is to provide lightly-equipped, self-sufficient, mobile forces in support of the Canadian Armed Forces’ sovereignty and domestic missions.
The Rangers often operate in sparsely-settled northern, coastal and isolated areas of Canada that cannot conveniently or economically be covered by other parts of the Canadian Armed Forces.
During Exercise Northern Lights, Canadian Rangers shared their unique skill sets and cultural values with the Australians by providing them with opportunities to participate in mobility training, basic survival in the Canadian wilderness, predator and wildlife education and traditional First Nations experiences.
The exercise encourages the creation of new skill sets for the Australians in a new and unfamiliar environment, while expanding their knowledge of the Canadian wilderness, culture and history.
One of the NORFORCE troops who participate in the exercise was Pte. Diane Chanut, a Patrolman with Centre Squadron in Alice Springs.
Chanut, who has served for slightly more than two years with NORFORCE, lives 15 hours away from Alice Springs in Nathan River Ranger Station. When she isn’t serving with NORFORCE, Chanut is a park ranger for Limmen National Park, which is located in the Gulf region of Australia’s Northern Territory.
During Exercise Northern Lights, Chanut says she was surprised by the similarities between NORFORCE and the Canadian Rangers.
“We deal with very similar issues in our daily lives, issues in remote communities in Canada and Australia.
“The one thing I’m very impressed with, and I think NORFORCE could emulate, is the flexibility of the Canadian Rangers – the ability to use their own gear and their flexibility to get the mission done.”
As part of the exercise, Chanut and members of NORFORCE and 4CRPG spent three days at Pen-Y-Bryn Farm in Kersley, doing equine mobility training with Canadian Ranger Paul Nichols, his wife, Terry, and their staff.
“It’s been way more than what I expected.”
“It was a bit of a surprise that it was so involved and hands-on… I thought we were just going to be riding horses, but this is not so much about riding horses, as it is the relationship with horses and learning about horses and how to ride them.”
“This is very new to me.
“The complexities and intricacies of how to interact with a horse has been a real discovery and a real pleasure to learn. I’ve had some interesting experiences with horses before, experiences that have made me a bit more stressed with horses than I’d like.
“Hopefully this experience has given me a sense of how you can work through an issue, whether it’s your own or your horse’s, and you can work together so that the horse is having a good time and you are having a good time.”