Search-and-rescue trainees in Lutsel K'e, N.W.T. help with real-life events

BelindaMichel has been with the Canadian Rangers for 20 years, but her experience has neverinvolved search-and-rescue training, let alone real-life searches,near her community of Lutsel K'e, N.W.T.

But things can change.

This past week, the military's Operation Nunakput was in Lutsel K'e to help train people, including rangers, members of the RCMP and navy, as well as fisheries and wildlife officers. They learned how to seamlessly blend theirskill setstogether fora searchandrescue in their region of the territory.

The training included piecing together make-believe searches by finding debrisor beacons in the water. They alsolearnedto maneuver boats on Great Slave Lake, a much larger body of waterthan what they're used to on the Mackenzie River, where the annual training usually takes place.

And then there was an unexpected addition to the training: three real-life search and rescues.

Michel says it was difficult to balance the challenges of the new training while being on standby for the real searchandrescues. Shewas also a little distracted because her nephew was one of the people on the first boat that was reported overdue.

"I wasn't worried much because he's a bush person and I know how he is on the land," Michel said."But... when it came to 72 hours [overdue], I said, 'This is not like him. What's going on?'"

Michel's nephew and the rest of the people on board, including a two-year-old, were found.

They may have been prettyhungry and thirsty after spending four nights on an island with little supplies, but no one was hurt.

Turns out they hadoverpacked their 18-foot boat when they were heading from Yellowknife to Lutsel K'e last Sunday, and ran out of fuel about 40 kilometres before they reached the community.

Learning from each other

This is the first time Chief Petty Officer Second Class Sean Lothian and Master Seaman Michael Gaudette have been to Lutsel K'e.

They're with the Canadian Navy based in Halifax, and Lothiansays not only is theirinvolvement in Operation Nunakputbeneficial for the rangers and other officers who can learn different techniques from them but they themselvesbenefit from the training on unfamiliar waters.

"People say, 'Water is water,' but it's all different," Lothian said.

Lothian and Gaudette, along with wildlife officer Christian Marcoux and fisheries officer Gerald Filatre, were part of the water crewfor the real-life searchandrescues that happened in the area.

Once the overdue boaters were spotted via Hercules aircraft, thoseon the water went to pick them up.

"We were very fortunate to have lots of folks to deploy," said Mike Nixon, Brigadier General of JTFN, another organization that was involved in the searches.

Operation Nunakput 2016 continues in Yellowknife starting Sunday, and then on to Fort Smith and Fort Simpson.