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.

08/31/2026

Why did a change in uniform provoke such a strong reaction?

Over the past few weeks, our discussions about military unification and Royal designations have revealed something interesting.

The strongest reactions haven’t simply been about uniforms. They’ve been about identity.

Military organizations depend on cohesion: the trust, shared purpose and sense of belonging that allow people to function effectively under extraordinary circumstances. Uniforms, customs, battle honours and regimental traditions aren’t simply symbols. They help create the bonds that enable people to work together under pressure.

That also helps explain why the changes introduced during unification in 1968 to "CF Greens" generated such strong reactions. For many, it wasn’t simply a change in clothing or organizational structure. It affected something much deeper: the identity and cohesion of the units in which they served.

More than half a century later, those connections remain remarkably strong.

If cohesion is one of the foundations of military effectiveness… can there ever be too much of a good thing?

📷 Canadian War Museum: Captain Hans Arnsdorf wore this uniform in the Canadian Forces Maritime Command, which replaced the Royal Canadian Navy. Maritime Command shared this green "unification" uniform with the army and the air force, with only the jacket's lapel badges and the beret badge providing a naval identity. The four stripes on the sleeve denoting Arnsdorf's rank of captain have also lost the "executive curl", a small circular loop on the uppermost stripe.

08/28/2026

Knowing what is happening in Canada’s Arctic waters is one challenge. Being able to operate there is another.

Canada’s Arctic coastline stretches for tens of thousands of kilometres, across waters that are increasingly accessible as sea ice changes. Monitoring activity is essential, but sovereignty also depends on the ability to operate where that activity occurs.

The Royal Canadian Navy is expanding its ability to operate in the North with the Harry DeWolf-class Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships, designed to conduct surveillance, sovereignty patrols and other operations in northern waters.

The Canadian Coast Guard also maintains a year-round presence in the Arctic, supporting navigation, icebreaking, search and rescue, environmental response and the resupply of northern communities.

Above the water, Royal Canadian Air Force maritime patrol aircraft and space-based systems contribute another layer of awareness. Beneath it lies one of the Arctic’s most difficult surveillance environments.

No single ship, aircraft, satellite or sensor provides the complete picture.

Awareness is essential. Presence is decisive.

📷 The CH-124 Sea King helicopter with the air detachment for Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) St. John's, circles her ship as it sits in the waters off of Resolute Bay, Nunavut, during Operation NANOOK 11.

08/27/2026

The geography hasn’t changed. The operating environment has.

As northern waters become increasingly accessible, commercial navigation, security, and maritime strategy are becoming increasingly interconnected. Questions that were once largely theoretical are becoming practical.

Maritime historian Dr. Sal Mercogliano and strategic advisor Richard Martin examine what these changes could mean for Canada, its allies, and the future of the Northwest Passage.

Breaking the Ice
Thursday, 10 September 2026 via Zoom

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

08/26/2026

Sovereignty is one of those words we hear often but may not fully understand.

Borders define territory. Sovereignty defines authority.

A sovereign state has the authority to make and enforce its own laws, control its own territory, conduct its own foreign policy, and decide how it will defend its interests.

Canada is a sovereign state. Although we share a monarch with several other Commonwealth realms, the Crown in Canada is a distinct Canadian institution. In Canadian matters, the King acts on the advice of Canadian ministers—not the British government.

Sovereignty is more than a legal concept. It must be exercised through government, diplomacy, defence, law enforcement, border security, and the ability to act in the national interest.

A sovereign country doesn’t answer to another government. It governs itself.

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.

Address

801 11 Street SW
Calgary, AB
T2P2C4

Website

http://www.rausi.ca/

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