Operation Nanook 2010 was the 2010 annual joint exercise of Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

's Maritime Command and the Canadian Coast Guard

Canadian Coast Guard

The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...

 to train for disaster and sovereignty patrols in the Arctic.
Similar exercises were held in 2007

Operation Nanook (2007)

Operation Nanook 2007 was the 2007 annual joint exercise of Canada's Maritime Command and the Canadian Coast Guard to train for disaster and sovereignty patrols in the Arctic.Similar exercises were held in 2008 and 2009....

, 2008

Operation Nanook (2008)

Operation Nanook 2008 was a joint exercise of Canada's Maritime Command and the Canadian Coast Guard, held in August 2008.Canada conducted similar joint exercises, also named "Operation Nanook", in 2007 and 2009....

 and 2009

Operation Nanook (2009)

Operation Nanook 2009 was the 2009 annual joint exercise of Canada's Maritime Command and the Canadian Coast Guard to train for disaster and sovereignty patrols in the Arctic.Similar exercises were held in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011....

.

The operation ran from August 6 2010 to August 26, 2010. Members of the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve

Canadian Forces Primary Reserve

The Primary Reserve is a reserve force of the Canadian Forces. It is the largest of the four sub-components of the CF reserves; those being the Primary Reserve, the Supplementary Reserve, the Canadian Rangers, and the Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service .The reserve force is...

 took part in ground exercises in conjunction with Canadian Rangers

Canadian Rangers

The Canadian Rangers are a sub-component of the Canadian Forces reserve that provide a military presence in Canada's sparsely settled northern, coastal, and isolated areas. Formally established on May 23, 1947, a primary role of this part-time force is to conduct surveillance or sovereignty...

.

Canadian Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper

Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

 traveled to the Arctic.
Unlike previous exercises, foreign services participated.

Participating forces

The Royal Danish Navy

Royal Danish Navy

The Royal Danish Navy is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese territorial waters...

, sent the HDMS Vædderen

HDMS Vædderen (F359)

HDMS Vædderen is a Thetis-class ocean patrol vessel of the Royal Danish Navy. She is employed to exercise Danish sovereignty in waters around the Faroe Islands and Greenland....

 and the HDMS Knud Rasmussen

HDMS Knud Rasmussen (P570)

HDMS Knud Rasmussen is a Royal Danish Navy patrol vessel. Knud Rasmussen and her sister ships normally operate in the waters around Greenland....

..
The HDMS Vædderen

HDMS Vædderen (F359)

HDMS Vædderen is a Thetis-class ocean patrol vessel of the Royal Danish Navy. She is employed to exercise Danish sovereignty in waters around the Faroe Islands and Greenland....

 is a frigate sized Thetis-class ocean patrol vessels, launched in 1996. The Knut Rasmussen is a new vessel, commissioned in 2008, the lead ship of a class specifically designed to patrol Baffin Bay

Baffin Bay

Baffin Bay , located between Baffin Island and the southwest coast of Greenland, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea...

.

The United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 sent the USS Porter

USS Porter (DDG-78)

USS Porter is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. Porter is named after Commodore David Porter, and his son, Admiral David Dixon Porter....

 and the USCGC Alder

USCGC Alder (WLB-216)

USCGC Alder is a Juniper-class, seagoing buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard.Alder was built by Marinette Marine Corporation and launched on February 7, 2004. Alders maiden voyage was on September 12, 2004. The Alder is currently assigned to Duluth, Minnesota as its home port...

. The USS Porter is a United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 Guided Missile Destroyer

Guided missile destroyer

A guided missile destroyer is a destroyer designed to launch guided missiles. Many are also equipped to carry out anti-submarine, anti-air, and anti-surface operations. In the U.S...

 commissioned in 1999. The USCGC Alder is United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 buoy tender

Buoy tender

A buoy tender is a type of vessel used to maintain and replace navigational buoys. The name is also used for someone who works on such a vessel and maintains buoys....

 homeported in Duluth

Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...

, on the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

.

Canada sent the HMCS Montréal

HMCS Montréal (FFH 336)

HMCS Montréal is a that has served in the Canadian Forces since 1993.Montréal is the seventh ship in her class which is based on the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. She is the second vessel to carry the designation ....

, HMCS Goose Bay

HMCS Goose Bay (MM 707)

HMCS Goose Bay is a that has served in the Canadian Forces since 1998.Goose Bay is the eighth ship of her class which is the name for the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel Project. She is the first vessel to use the designation ....

, HMCS Glace Bay

HMCS Glace Bay (MM 701)

HMCS Glace Bay is a that has served in the Canadian Forces since 1996.Glace Bay is the second ship of her class which is the name for the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel Project. She is the second vessel to use the designation ....

, and the CCGS Henry Larsen

CCGS Henry Larsen

CCGS Henry Larsen is a Canadian Coast Guard T1200 Class Medium Arctic icebreaker serving in the Newfoundland and Labrador Region and based in St John's, Newfoundland....

. The HMCS Montréal is a Halifax class frigate

Halifax class frigate

The Halifax-class frigate is a class of multi-role patrol frigates that have served the Royal Canadian Navy since 1992...

, commissioned in 1993.
The Goose Bay and the Glace Bay are Kingston class coastal defence vessels, commissioned in 1996 and 1998. The Henry Larsen is the only icebreaker among the vessels.