The Royal Alberta United Services Institute

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.

Defending doesn’t always mean warfighting.Shadow fleets, ambiguous maritime claims, electronic interference and other gr...
10/07/2026

Defending doesn’t always mean warfighting.

Shadow fleets, ambiguous maritime claims, electronic interference and other grey-zone activities deliberately operate in the space between routine competition and open conflict.

How should states protect navigation rights and respond to coercive behaviour without turning every challenge at sea into a military confrontation?

That is the difficult space between the shadow and the shield—where deterrence, presence, international law and military capability intersect.

On 08 October, Rear Admirals Lars Saunes and Robert Girrier join RAUSI to explore how states navigate that increasingly complex environment.

CHOKEPOINTS & FLASHPOINTS
When Freedom of Navigation Draws a Line in the Sea

8 October 2026
Free | Online | Registration Required

https://rausi.ca/chokepoints-and-flashpoints

Royal Canadian Navy Maritime Forces Pacific / Forces maritimes du Pacifique Canadian Armed Forces U.S. Navy U.S. Naval War College U.S. Naval Institute Sjøforsvaret Royal Canadian Navy Fans Royal Canadian Navy Fans

10/06/2026

A container ship may fly one country’s flag, be owned in another, carry cargo belonging to companies around the world—and serve supply chains that cross political boundaries.

For Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Lars Saunes, that interconnectedness makes an old idea of maritime warfare much more complicated in 2026.

Hear more this Thursday at Chokepoints & Flashpoints.

8 October 2026
1800 PST / 1900 MST / 2100 EST / 0300 CET next day
Free | Online | Registration Required

Explore the issues. Challenge assumptions. Join the conversation.
https://rausi.ca/chokepoints-and-flashpoints

10/06/2026

A preview of Thursday’s conversation.

Why do alliances and partnerships matter when freedom of navigation is challenged?

Rear Admiral Robert Girrier calls it “the throw weight of the like-minded”—the collective strength that comes from nations acting with coherence, consistency and shared interests.

Hear more from Girrier and Rear Admiral Lars Saunes this Thursday at Chokepoints & Flashpoints.

Explore the issues. Challenge assumptions. Join the conversation.

8 October 2026
1800 PST / 1900 MST / 2100 EST / 0300 CET next day
Free | Online | Registration Required

rausi.ca/chokepoints-and-flashpoints

Peace doesn’t come with a cheque attached.We often talk about a “peace dividend”—the resources and opportunities that be...
10/06/2026

Peace doesn’t come with a cheque attached.

We often talk about a “peace dividend”—the resources and opportunities that become available when conflict ends. But what does that actually mean?

In his latest analysis, Andrzej Fałkowski looks beyond the slogan to explore what a peace dividend actually means for governments, businesses and households.

Lower defence-related costs may create room for other priorities. Reduced geopolitical risk can make businesses more willing to invest. Greater stability can give households something equally valuable: the confidence to make longer-term plans.

But none of it is automatic. Defence requirements don’t disappear when fighting stops, and the benefits of peace aren’t necessarily distributed equally.

Perhaps the most valuable dividend isn’t money at all, but the ability to plan for the future.

Read What Exactly Is a Peace Dividend? by Andrzej Fałkowski.

🔗 rausi.ca/news/analysis/854-what-exactly-is-a-peace-dividend

A disruption in one narrow stretch of water can have consequences far beyond the ships trying to pass through it.Conflic...
10/05/2026

A disruption in one narrow stretch of water can have consequences far beyond the ships trying to pass through it.

Conflict, mines, sabotage, electronic interference and attacks on maritime infrastructure can threaten strategically important waterways—and the energy supplies, shipping routes and supply chains that depend on them.

But what happens when keeping those waterways open moves beyond diplomacy and international law?

Warfighting on the high seas in 2026 looks very different from the naval conflicts of the past. New technologies, asymmetric threats and increasingly contested maritime environments are changing both the risks and the response.

At CHOKEPOINTS & FLASHPOINTS, Rear Admirals Lars Saunes and Robert Girrier bring decades of operational experience to a timely question:

When access to the world’s waterways is challenged, what does it take to protect it?

8 October 2026
Free | Online | Registration Required
https://rausi.ca/chokepoints-and-flashpoints

Explore the issues. Challenge assumptions. Join the conversation.

Royal Canadian Navy Maritime Forces Pacific / Forces maritimes du Pacifique Canadian Armed Forces U.S. Naval War College US NAVAL Institute U.S. Navy Sjøforsvaret Royal Canadian Navy Fans Royal Canadian Navy Today and Yesterday

What does it take to protect freedom of navigation in some of the world’s most contested waters?Rear Admiral Robert Girr...
10/02/2026

What does it take to protect freedom of navigation in some of the world’s most contested waters?

Rear Admiral Robert Girrier (Ret’d USN) brings an operational perspective shaped by senior leadership across the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

During his U.S. Navy career, Girrier served as Deputy Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Director of Operations for U.S. Pacific Command. He commanded two carrier strike groups as well as a destroyer squadron, destroyer and mine countermeasures ship.

He later became the U.S. Navy’s inaugural Director of Unmanned Warfare Systems, responsible for advancing and integrating unmanned capabilities across the fleet.

On October 8, he joins Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Lars Saunes for CHOKEPOINTS & FLASHPOINTS: When Freedom of Navigation Draws a Line in the Sea.

As strategic waterways face competing claims, coercion and emerging threats, how do naval forces protect access while managing the risk of escalation?

8 October 2026
Free | Online | Registration Required
https://rausi.ca/chokepoints-and-flashpoints

Royal Canadian Navy Royal Canadian Navy Fans Royal Canadian Navy Today and Yesterday Maritime Forces Pacific / Forces maritimes du Pacifique
U.S. Naval Institute U.S. Naval War College

What does freedom of navigation look like from the North Atlantic and the Arctic?Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Lars Saunes brings...
10/01/2026

What does freedom of navigation look like from the North Atlantic and the Arctic?

Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Lars Saunes brings decades of experience operating in waters where geography, national interests and maritime security have always been closely connected.

A career submariner, Saunes served as Chief of the Royal Norwegian Navy (@155591847942845) after holding senior operational roles that included command of Norway’s Coast Guard, the Norwegian Task Group and naval operations at Norway’s national joint headquarters. Today, he is a Professor and Distinguished International Fellow at the U.S. Naval War College.

On October 8, he joins Rear Admiral Robert Girrier (Ret’d USN) for CHOKEPOINTS & FLASHPOINTS: When Freedom of Navigation Draws a Line in the Sea.

From contested maritime claims to strategic chokepoints and the changing Arctic, what does it take to protect access to the waterways nations depend upon?

8 October 2026
Free | Online | Registration Required
https://rausi.ca/chokepoints-and-flashpoints

Royal Canadian Navy Royal Canadian Navy Fans Royal Canadian Navy Today and Yesterday

What happens when countries agree that freedom of navigation matters—but don’t necessarily agree on the rules?China and ...
09/30/2026

What happens when countries agree that freedom of navigation matters—but don’t necessarily agree on the rules?

China and Russia are parties to UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). The United States is not, but recognizes many of its provisions as customary international law and conducts Freedom of Navigation Operations to challenge maritime claims it considers excessive.

That raises questions that go well beyond legal interpretation: How do states demonstrate what they believe their navigation rights actually are? When does accepting a restriction risk allowing it to become the norm? And when does asserting a right become a strategic confrontation?

CHOKEPOINTS & FLASHPOINTS will explore the relationship between international maritime law, national interests and naval operations.

8 October 2026
Free | Online | Registration Required
Full details: rausi.ca/chokepoints-and-flashpoints

Explore the issues. Challenge assumptions. Join the conversation.

Royal Canadian Navy Maritime Forces Pacific / Forces maritimes du Pacifique Canadian Armed Forces
Royal Canadian Navy Fans U.S. Navy Royal Canadian Navy Today and Yesterday Sjøforsvaret US NAVAL Institute U.S. Naval War College

Today marks five years since Canada first observed the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.September 30 honours th...
09/30/2026

Today marks five years since Canada first observed the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

September 30 honours the Survivors of Canada’s residential school system, the children who never returned home, and the families and communities who continue to live with its legacy.

Remembrance asks us not only to honour the past, but to understand it. That means listening to the experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, learning the history of the residential school system, and recognizing its continuing effects.

Today is an opportunity to listen, learn and remember.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation offers resources for Canadians who want to learn more: nctr.ca

09/29/2026

We rarely think about the waterways that connect us—until access to them is challenged.

From the Strait of Hormuz and the Taiwan Strait to the South China Sea and Northwest Passage, freedom of navigation is about more than ships. It connects global trade, national interests and international security.

When access to the world’s waterways is challenged, what does it take to protect it?

Join Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Lars Saunes and Rear Admiral Robert Girrier (Ret’d USN)—two accomplished naval commanders with experience spanning the North Atlantic, Arctic and Indo-Pacific—for our next Fireside Chat.

CHOKEPOINTS & FLASHPOINTS
When Freedom of Navigation Draws a Line in the Sea

📅 October 8, 2026
💻 Free | Online
Register: rausi.ca/chokepoints-and-flashpoints

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801 11 Street SW
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T2P2C4

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