User:4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group/sandbox

Three months after the December 7th 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbour, a group of concerned citizens from Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley organized to stand watch over their shoreline and readied to defend it from Japanese attack. The legacy of that citizen commitment to Canada’s defence remains today in the form of the Canadian Rangers.

The 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (4 CRPG), Headquartered in Colwood, BC, perpetuates the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers of the Second World War and maintains the time-honoured watchful gaze upon western Canada’s remote and coastal regions. The men and women of 4 CRPG operate in a very similar manner to the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers living and working in Western Canada's most remote coastal and inland locations.

During the Second World War, many of the men from the Cowichan Valley headed eastward to join Canadian Expeditionary Forces fighting in Europe, but those who remained recognized that Canada’s remote west coast was left unprotected and vulnerable to a potential Japanese attack after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. On 03 March 1942 the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers were organized within the Department of National Defence and for the next three years, until the end of the Second World War, Pacific Coast Militia Rangers volunteers increased to around 15,000 throughout British Columbia, ever watchful and safe-guarding Canadians. 2017 will see the 75th anniversary of the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers with 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group commemorating and honouring those from the PCMR. The legacy of standing watch continues with 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group.

4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group consists of 43 patrols located in remote regions across Western Canada and as far south as southern Vancouver Island. There are over 1,000 Canadian Rangers operating part-time in 4 CRPG, as well as over 800 Junior Canadian Rangers learning valuable life-skills, traditional values, and outdoor skills.