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From 1991 to the present, members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and civilian police forces, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), have served in peace operations in the Balkans. Their mission was to provide security and stability following the breakup of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Nearly 40,000 Canadians have served in the Balkans, and 23 CAF members died while deployed there.

The Canadian Rangers are a unique organization within the Armed Forces, created to provide a paramilitary presence in the North and in other remote areas made up of mainly local Indigenous populations. The current number of Canadian Rangers in 2021 is roughly 5,000.

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on October 13, 2003. Partner content is not updated. DON'T EXPECT MUCH sympathy from Sgt. Paul Coppicus. For the rugged soldier from Moosomin, Sask., tackling challenges on your own initiative is the only way to prove your worth.

Just a few days before he and Prime Minister Stephen Harper made their surprise March trip to visit Canadian troops in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor tried to calm growing anxiety about the combat role Canada appeared to be taking on in Kandahar.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on June 26, 2006

The road they died on could hardly even be called one.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on October 13, 2003

Their widows wept. A bagpiper played an old, sad song. The faces of comrades were ashen. Memorial services for fallen soldiers are, of course, painfully unique to the families and friends of the dead; but what they offer the nation is familiar ritual, perhaps a feeling of closure.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on October 20, 2003

A band of Americans and pro-American Canadians living in Upper Canada, the Canadian Volunteers were a company-sized regiment that fought on the American side during the WAR OF 1812.

The Canadian War Museum, Canada's national museum of military history, was opened in 2005 on the south bank of the Ottawa River. The museum, originally begun in 1880 as an informal collection of military artifacts, was moved in 1967 to an archives building on Sussex Drive with most of the collection stored off-site. In 2001, the Federal Government announced the decision to fund the construction of a state-of-the art new building to be situated in the LeBreton Flats area of downtown Ottawa. Designed by Moriyama & Teshima Architects in a joint venture with Griffiths Rankin Cook Architects, the Museum opened in May 2005. Appropriately, its opening coincided with the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and also the 125th anniversary of the museum itself.

CANLOAN was a volunteer program that loaned Canadian officers to the British Army during the Second World War.

The Canadian Towed Array Sonar System (CANTASS) has been used by Canadian ships since the late 1980s for long-range detection and identification of submarines. It is a passive system that “listens” but does not transmit any noise. The CANTASS uses a hydrophone array developed by the US Navy in conjunction with a powerful signal processor developed by Litton Systems Canada Ltd. The CANTASS has been fitted to the Annapolis-class destroyers, Halifax-class frigates, and the Oberon and Victoria-class submarines.

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the capitulation of Quebec City in 1759 made the strategic situation of New France desperate. Despite a victory at the Battle of Sainte-Foy, the French forces found themselves isolated in Montreal by the British. The French commander, François-Gaston de Lévis, wanted to continue the fight. However, to avoid a pointless loss of life, the Governor of New France, Pierre-Rigaud de Vaudreuil, decided to surrender the city. With the capitulation of Montreal to the British forces on 8 September 1760, Great Britain completed its conquest of New France.

On 12 July, Hull crossed the Detroit River unopposed and occupied Sandwich (Windsor). On 20 July, the general issued a bombastic proclamation to the Canadian militia to throw off their British shackles and embrace American liberty. Reconnaissance revealed that Amherstburg was weakly defended.

The capture of Fort Niagara on 18-19 December 1813 was a British victory over the US during the War of 1812. American troops had occupied Fort George and the village of Niagara (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) in Upper Canada since May 1813. As winter approached and the condition of the American troops worsened, it was discovered that British troops were approaching to retake the fort. Command of Fort George had devolved to Brigadier General George McClure. With just over 100 troops, McClure decided to withdraw across the Niagara River to Fort Niagara. Before leaving, he implemented instructions sent by secretary of war John Armstrong to destroy Niagara.

The two schooners of the United States Navy, the Tigress and Scorpion, were constructed during the War of 1812 at Erie, Pennsylvania, in time to take part in naval actions in the Battle of Lake Erie on 10 September 1813.

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on July 13, 1998. Partner content is not updated. On Oct. 2, 1987, a woman named Connie went to the singles quarters at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick, convinced she was going to become a movie star. Two soldiers in the base bar had persuaded the 23-year-old woman that all she had to do was pose for what they called "Sunshine Girl-like" photos. This article contains sensitive material that may not be suitable for all audiences.