The Canadian Rangers


Book Description

The Canadian Rangers stand sentinel in the farthest reaches of our country. For more than six decades, this dedicated group of citizen-soldiers has quietly served as Canada's eyes, ears, and voice in isolated coastal and northern communities. Drawing on official records, interviews, and participation in Ranger exercises, Lackenbauer argues that the organization offers an inexpensive way for Canada to "show the flag" from coast to coast to coast. The Rangers have also laid the foundation for a successful partnership between the modern state and Aboriginal peoples, a partnership rooted in local knowledge and crosscultural understanding.




Unflinching


Book Description

Elite sniper Jody Mitic loved being a soldier. His raw, candid, and engrossing memoir follows his personal journey into the Canadian military, through sniper training, and firefights in Afghanistan, culminating on the fateful night when he stepped on a landmine and lost both of his legs below the knees. Afghanistan, 2007. I was a Master Corporal, part of an elite sniper team sent on a mission to flush out Taliban in an Afghan village. I had just turned thirty, after three tours of duty overseas. I’d been shot at by mortars, eyed the enemy through my scope, survived through stealth and stamina. I’d been training for war my entire adult life. But nothing prepared me for what happened next. A twenty-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, Jody Mitic served as a Master Corporal and Sniper Team Leader on three active tours of duty over the course of seven years. Known for his deadly marksmanship, his fearlessness in the face of danger, and his “never quit” attitude, he was a key player on the front in Afghanistan. As a sniper, he secured strongholds from rooftops, engaged in perilous ground combat, and joined classified night operations to sniff out the enemy. One day in 2007, when he was on a mission in a small Afghan village, he stepped on a landmine and the course of his life was forever changed. After losing both of his legs below the knees, Jody was forced to confront the loss of the only identity he had ever known—that of a soldier. Determined to be of service to his family and to his country, he refused to let injury defeat him. Within three years after the explosion, he was not only walking again, he was running. By 2013, he was a star on the blockbuster reality TV show Amazing Race. In 2014, Jody reinvented himself yet again, winning a seat as a city councillor for Ottawa. Unflinching is a powerful chronicle of the honour and sacrifice of an ordinary Canadian fighting for his country, and an authentic portrait of military life. It’s also an inspirational memoir about living your dreams, even in the face of overwhelming adversity, and having the courage to soldier on.




Sentinel


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Canada Today


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Direction


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The Canadian Rangers


Book Description

The Canadian Rangers stand sentinel in the farthest reaches of our country. For more than six decades, this dedicated group of citizen-soldiers has quietly served as Canada’s eyes, ears, and voice in isolated coastal and northern communities from coast to coast to coast. How does this minimally trained and lightly equipped force make a meaningful contribution to national defence and to building sustainable communities? One of Canada’s leading experts on northern issues answers this question using official records, extensive interviews, and on-the-ground participation in Ranger exercises. In this meticulously researched history, Lackenbauer reveals why the Rangers have evolved into a flexible, inexpensive, and culturally inclusive way to promote sovereignty, security, safety, and stewardship. This unique organization reflects a successful partnership between the modern state and residents of remote communities, a partnership rooted in local knowledge and crosscultural understanding.




Special Bibliographic Series


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Arctic Bibliography


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Raiders or Elite Infantry?


Book Description

How have the U.S. Army Rangers acted as special operations forces in military operations since 1942? Hogan's study examines the nature and purpose of the Rangers over the past fifty years and shows how they have served as scouts, raiders, assault troops, and elite infantry. They have spearheaded amphibious landings, raided enemy prison camps, patrolled behind enemy lines in Korea, served alongside Green Berets in Vietnam, and carried out special missions in Grenada. Professional officers, military historians, students, and general readers will find this a fascinating history. This analytical account opens with a short description of the origins of the Ranger legend in America and then moves to a discussion of their use in World War II, as commandos in 1942, then as spearheaders in 1943 and 1944, as line infantry in Europe and as special operations forces in the Pacific. This provocative assessment also traces the development of Ranger raider units in Korea, the special training and use of Green Berets as Rangers in Vietnam, and the shifting of Ranger roles into more complex and varied types of operations in Vietnam and Grenada and in a world of increasing terrorism and changing combat situations. Illustrations, maps, and a lengthy bibliography add to the usefulness of the study.