Canadian Rangers

The Canadian Rangers (Rangers canadiens) are a sub-component of the Canadian Army under the Canadian Armed Forces reserves that provides a limited military presence in regions of Canada where stationing conventional Army units would not be practical or economically viable. Formally established on May 23, 1947, the Canadian Rangers employs around 5,000 Rangers. The Canadian Rangers are responsible for remote, isolated, and sparsely-populated regions of Canada, such as Northern Canada and the coastlines. They regularly conduct surveillance, sovereignty patrols (SOVPATS), and inspections of the North Warning System. They also act as guides, scouts, and subject-matter experts in such disciplines as wilderness survival when other forces and Army components are in their area of operations. The Canadian Rangers are a unit of the Canadian Armed Forces Army Reserve made up of Inuit, First Nations, Métis, and other Canadians. Though there is a misconception that the Canadian Rangers is a First Nations unit, many Rangers are not; the makeup of each unit simply depends on where the patrol resides. The Canadian Rangers provide a limited military presence in Canada's remote areas and receive 12 days per year of formal training (often more days of training are offered but attendance is not mandatory). They are considered to be somewhat always on duty, observing and reporting as part of their daily lives. Canadian Rangers are paid when formally on duty according to the rank they hold within their patrol and when present on operations or during training events. They are paid in accordance with the standard rates of pay for Class-A (part-time) or Class-B (full-time) Reserve forces, except when they are called out for search and rescue missions or domestic operations (such as fighting floods and wildfires), when they are paid as Class-C Reserves and receive the full Regular Force pay and benefits. The 5,000 Canadian Rangers are split between five Canadian Ranger patrol groups (CRPGs), commanded by lieutenant-colonels and each allocated to a Canadian division (except 1 CRPG, which is currently allocated to Joint Task Force North).