The Royal Alberta United Services Institute

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The Royal Alberta United Services Institute

Founded in 1920, Royal Alberta United Services Institute encourages/promotes the Arts, Sciences & Literature related to Canada's Defence & Security Community.

Our Vision

To be the premier organization in Alberta linking the public with members of the Canadian military and their role within and beyond the border of Canada. Our Mission

The Community

To encourage and promote the Arts, Sciences and Literature related to Canada's Defence and Security Community.

08/25/2026

At RAUSI’s May Fireside Chat, TC Energy President François Poirier explored the relationship between capital, competition, and national security. One idea stood out: global trade and state security are fundamentally interconnected.

That conversation naturally leads to Canada’s Arctic.

As international attention focuses on Canada’s North, questions of sovereignty, commercial shipping, resource development, and security are becoming increasingly intertwined. Understanding the Arctic today means understanding all of these issues together, not in isolation.

Maritime historian Dr. Sal Mercogliano and strategic advisor Richard Martin will examine how a changing Arctic is reshaping security, commerce, and maritime strategy.

The conversation continues.

Breaking the Ice
Thursday, 10 September 2026 via Zoom

Register today to be part of it. rausi.ca/breaking-the-ice

08/24/2026

If Canada’s military was unified in 1968, why did the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force return in 2011?

Because what returned were the historic service identities—including the traditional names of the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force—not separate militaries.

The Canadian Armed Forces remained a single unified force under one chain of command. Restoring the historic service identities recognized generations of military tradition, heritage, and public identity while preserving the unified command structure established in 1968.

Today, the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force are three of the Canadian Armed Forces’ principal commands, alongside Canadian Joint Operations Command, Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, Military Personnel Command, and Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command.

Heritage returned. Unification remained.

08/22/2026

Every mission deserves an after-action review. Perhaps our own experiences deserve the same opportunity.

Writing encourages us to reflect, find meaning in what we’ve lived, and discover the stories we want to tell.

The War Stories Society’s Veterans’ Writing Workshops provide a welcoming, supportive environment where veterans come together to write, make sense of experiences, encourage one another, and grow as storytellers. No writing experience is required.

These free 9-month workshops are available in Calgary, Edmonton, Kingston, and virtually starting in September. New workshops in Comox and Nanaimo are also launching in January 2027.

Learn more and register: https://warstoriessociety.com/workshop/join-our-workshop

RAUSI is proud to support initiatives that strengthen Canada’s military community and help preserve the lived experiences that deepen our understanding of military service.

War In Pieces

08/21/2026

Detecting something approaching North America is only the beginning.

It must be tracked and identified. Its behaviour has to be assessed. Information must reach those responsible for deciding whether a response is required.

For the defence of North American airspace, Canada does not do this alone. Nor does the United States.

Canada and the United States operate the North American Aerospace Defense Command — NORAD — as a binational military command.

Its network includes satellites, ground-based and airborne radar, command and control systems and fighter aircraft. In Canada, the Canadian NORAD Region is headquartered at 1 Canadian Air Division in Winnipeg and is responsible for the surveillance, identification, control and warning required to defend Canadian and North American airspace.

When necessary, Canadian CF-18s can be deployed to northern Forward Operating Locations, including Inuvik, Yellowknife and Iqaluit. Those locations are now being upgraded as Canada modernizes its contribution to NORAD and prepares for the F-35.

But NORAD’s defining feature isn’t simply the equipment. It is integration.

Canadian and American personnel, sensors and aircraft contribute to the defence of the continent through a shared command structure.

NORAD isn’t the United States defending Canada. It is Canada and the United States defending North America together.

Canada’s Arctic makes that cooperation increasingly important. Its enormous distances also raise questions about infrastructure, range, logistics, and the ability to operate effectively in northern conditions.

As activity in the Arctic grows, so too does the importance of being able to monitor, reach, and operate across the region.

A border on a map is only the beginning. Sovereignty must be exercised.

📷 Two CF-18 Hornets from 401 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Cold Lake, Alberta, approach a CC-150 Polaris Airbus from 437 Transport Squadron in Trenton, Ontario to conduct air-to-air refueling operations over the Canadian Arctic during the NORAD Exercise AMALGAM DART 21-2, on March 23, 2021.

08/20/2026

The Arctic has been strategically important for decades. But it’s becoming more accessible—and that changes the strategic equation.

Richard Martin brings more than two decades of military leadership and strategic advisory experience to the discussion. As a former Canadian Army infantry officer and founder of Alcera Consulting, he works with organizations navigating complex risks and strategic challenges.

Drawing on both military and strategic perspectives, Richard will examine how increasing Arctic navigability is changing Canada’s security, maritime strategy, and ability to protect its interests.

As commercial access expands, questions of sovereignty, security, and strategy become increasingly interconnected.

Breaking the Ice
Thursday, 10 September 2026 via Zoom

Understand what’s changing. Register today.
rausi.ca/breaking-the-ice

08/19/2026

Recent reports about the challenges facing U.S. Navy ships during operations in the Middle East highlight an often-overlooked reality of naval power: logistics.

Extended deployments, fewer opportunities for port access, and disrupted supply networks place increasing demands on ships, crews, and the systems that keep them operating.

Earlier this year, we explored why replenishment ships matter and why naval deployments cannot continue indefinitely. Replenishment at sea allows warships to remain on station longer, but it cannot replace everything a secure port provides. Maintenance, repairs, crew support, and many forms of resupply still depend on access to shore-based infrastructure.

Modern naval power isn’t measured only by the number of ships a country possesses. It also depends on the logistics, infrastructure, and partnerships that allow those ships to remain at sea when and where they are needed.

Current events are a reminder that strategy doesn’t end when a ship leaves port. In many ways, that’s where logistics truly begins.

08/18/2026

"The Arctic has been a vital national interest ever since the Soviets and the Americans could fly bombers over the North Pole."

One of the biggest misconceptions about Canada’s Arctic is that it has only recently become strategically important. According to Richard Martin, that’s simply not the case.

The Arctic has been a vital national interest for decades. What has changed is its navigability. As commercial activity increases, Canada must be prepared to monitor, operate, and protect its interests in an increasingly accessible region.

Watch Richard explain why the Arctic is entering a new chapter—not because it suddenly matters, but because the way it matters is changing.

Explore the issues. Challenge assumptions. Register today.
https://rausi.ca/breaking-the-ice

08/17/2026

In 1968, Canada unified the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force into a single organization: the Canadian Armed Forces.

Why?

The government believed a unified military would reduce duplication, improve efficiency and make it easier for the three services to operate together. Separate headquarters, logistics, administration and support systems were combined under one command.

The idea was not unique to Canada. Joint operations were becoming increasingly important during the Cold War, and many countries were looking for ways to improve cooperation between their armed services.

Not everyone agreed with how unification was carried out. While many of the administrative changes remain in place today, the loss of traditional service identities, uniforms and customs was deeply unpopular among many serving members and veterans.

Whether viewed as a necessary modernization or a loss of military heritage, unification remains one of the most significant reforms in Canadian military history.

08/14/2026

Watching Canada’s Arctic once meant looking primarily to the skies for approaching bombers. Today, the challenge is much broader.

Aircraft still matter. So do cruise and hypersonic missiles capable of approaching from great distances and different directions.

The Arctic is no longer watched through a single lens.

Canada’s northern approaches include thousands of kilometres of coastline and Arctic waters. Ships operate on the surface. Submarines can operate beneath the ice. Satellites and other space-based systems have become increasingly important to both surveillance and military operations.

These can look like separate defence problems. Increasingly, they are also an information problem.

Canada needs to know what is approaching, where it is, what it is capable of, and whether seemingly unrelated activities across different domains are connected.

That is the idea behind all-domain awareness: bringing information from different sensors and sources together to create a more complete picture of what is happening in and around North America.

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) itself already reflects part of that evolution. In addition to aerospace warning and aerospace control, its mission has included maritime warning since 2006 — sharing awareness and understanding of activity in Canadian and American maritime approaches and waters.

Seeing an aircraft is one thing. Understanding what is happening simultaneously in the air, at sea, beneath the surface and in space is a much bigger challenge.

In the Arctic, information is becoming as important as geography.

08/13/2026

What makes an Arctic shipping route commercially viable?

For years, that question was largely theoretical. Today, changing conditions are making it increasingly practical, and raising new questions about global trade, maritime security, and Canada’s Arctic.

Dr. Sal Mercogliano is a maritime historian, shipping expert, and Associate Professor at Campbell University. Widely recognized for his analysis of global shipping and maritime logistics (What's Going On With Shipping?), he brings a unique perspective to how events at sea influence economies, supply chains, and national security.

As pressure grows on traditional maritime chokepoints, the commercial potential of Arctic shipping is becoming more than a maritime issue—it is increasingly a strategic one.

Breaking the Ice
Thursday, 10 September 2026 via Zoom

Explore the issues. Challenge assumptions. Register today.
https://rausi.ca/breaking-the-ice

Address

801 11 Street SW
Calgary, AB
T2P2C4

Website

http://www.rausi.ca/

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