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With white parachutes collapsing on top, the Major Air Disaster (MAJAID) kit was airdropped for the first time into the Canadian Arctic on Tuesday Aug. 26 during Operation NANOOK 2014.
Despite the name, the kit is designed not just for reaction to a plane crash in a remote area, but also to support any type of disasters where survival supplies are quickly required. The kit consists of tents, sleeping bags, heaters, generators, food and water.
If required, the kit would be parachuted from a CC-130J Hercules or CC-177 Globemaster transport aircraft, enabling rapid deployment to the North from 8 Wing, Trenton, Ont., where it is held by the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre (CAAWC).
During Operation NANOOK, the MAJAID kit was tested in response to a simulated cruise ship grounding in York Sound, on the south shore of Frobisher Bay, Baffin Island.
“This portion of the exercise was designed to test our readiness to deploy the MAJAID kit,” said Captain Andrew McGregor, Operations Officer with the CAAWC. “It’s not often that we have the opportunity to deploy direct from Trenton to the North and do an airborne insertion to provide life sustaining gear to survivors of a major SAR incident. It’s very important that we test and project our ability to provide aid to Canadians even in a remote and hostile environment. The drop of the kit went very well.”
While Royal Canadian Air Force Search and Rescue (SAR) Technicians are among the first to arrive on scene by parachute in the event of a major SAR incident, members of the CAAWC also jump, along with the MAJAID’s pre-packed bundles of emergency supplies, to sustain survivors and rescuers during the initial stages of the mission.
CAAWC had 20 personnel taking part in Operation NANOOK, including 12 who parachuted into the exercise along with the MAJAID kit. Once on the ground, the soldiers and SAR Techs practiced unboxing the MAJAID kit and setting up camp. The soldiers, including infantry trades and parachute riggers, each carried a hunting rifle, an important piece of equipment when parachuting into a remote location where predators, such as polar bears, may be present.
Operation NANOOK 2014 is a combined, joint and interagency operation designed to provide a visible presence in Canada’s North and demonstrate the ability to respond to safety and security incidents in the region. The operation took place from 20 to 29 August 2014 and involved more than 800 participants from all branches of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), numerous federal, territorial and regional governments, a ship from the Royal Danish Navy and a maritime patrol aircraft from the United States Navy.
