MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – August 15, 2012

• Next CDS:  Whoozit gonna be? (1)  “A behind-the-scenes battle over who will succeed the country’s defence chief has spilled out in public and exposed the bitter, often conflicting visions of where the Canadian military is headed following the Afghan war.  Rumours have been rampant that the Harper government is willing to go outside the ranks of Canadian Forces brass in order to recall a trusted, retired officer to fill the shoes of Gen. Walter Natynczyk, whose departure is expected within weeks.  One name in particular has been that of former lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie, who headed the Canadian army until 2010 and penned a milestone report that recommended a radical overhaul of the military command structure.  An online media report claiming Leslie had been been interviewed for the job was roundly denied today by several well-placed sources. Leslie, now a senior executive at the CGI Group, would not comment.  The other name churning through the rumour mill is retired air force lieutenant-general Angus Watt, who now heads the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority ….” 
• Next CDS:  Whoozit gonna be? (2)  A further update (via Twitter) from the Canadian Press reporter who wrote the piece referenced above:  “Andrew Leslie has NOT been interviewed to be CDS.”
• Next CDS:  Whoozit gonna be? (3)  “The search for a new head of the Canadian Forces has slipped more than a month behind schedule.  CBC News has learned Gen. Walt Natynczyk, Canada’s outgoing chief of defence staff, has already held his own going away party — a cottage barbecue attended by close staff held in June.  Sources tell CBC News the military was planning for a late July change of command ceremony to herald the appointment of a new chief.  But, now it seems there will likely be no decision until at least the beginning of September. And even that date might be optimistic.  Natynczyk is said to have extracted from the Conservative government the promise of a month’s warning before the top general will be formally ushered out the door, and no such warning has yet been issued.  It’s not clear what is causing the delay. But CBC News has learned the process to select a new chief of the defence staff has become more formal than ever before, with a selection committee interviewing a large number of contenders for the job ….”
  
• Syria (1)  “Some experts say Canada should step up and arm Syrian rebels, but the feds are sticking with a strictly diplomatic and humanitarian role in the crisis for now. Western powers have so far avoided sending the opposition groups military aid, focusing instead on putting diplomatic pressure on the Syrian regime and sending “non-lethal” assistance to the region.  Canada’s government has also offered strong support to the Syrian National Council – one of the primary opposition groups – said University of Waterloo Mideast expert Dr. Bessma Momani ….  Momani says arming the rebels with surface-to-air missiles would help level the playing field against the Syrian military and air force’s superior firepower. Canada is ruling out military intervention for now, “There are currently no plans for Canadian military assistance in Syria,” Defence Minister Peter MacKay said in a statement. “We must take every diplomatic measure that is available to us. Canada will continue to work with our allies to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria.” ….”
• Syria (2)  Man Bites Dog:  A Toronto Star columnist suggesting military action in Syria  “….“We are not contemplating any military assistance at this time,’’ said Baird spokesperson Rick Roth. “That is why now, more than ever, we urge the Syrian opposition to unite around a shared vision for the Syrian people with a realistic transition plan that includes and protects ethnic and religious minorities.’’  The United Nations says an estimated 2.5 million Syrians have been injured, displaced or face problems securing food or other necessities, a sharp rise from about 1 million three months ago.  Without some radical intervention, this will only get worse.”
• So, what’s going to happen to (soon to be) former military buildings on the west coast?  “RCMP officials at the Pacific Region Training Centre in Chilliwack say it’s too early to speculate whether there’s any interest in acquiring the “1041 Building” should it come available with the closure of the Canadian Forces’ Area Support Unit.  And it appears “unrealistic” for the necessary studies to be completed in time to use the building for a new rifle range, said RCMP Insp. Ken Burton, officer in charge of support services at the PRTC.  The University of the Fraser Valley is interested in the property at 1041 Caen Road behind its Trades and Technology Centre, but UFV officials aren’t commenting publicly until after a tour of the property later this month ….”
• Remember the complaints about the food at a Halifax vets’ hospital, and an NDP MP’s look-see into the complaints?  The government’s response:  send in a dietician to take a look  “The Veterans Affairs Minister, Steven Blaney, will appoint a dietician to review the food at the Camp Hill Veterans’ Memorial Building in Halifax after veterans complained about the quality, according to a spokesman.  Long-term care residents at Camp Hill receive $42 a day from Veterans Affairs Canada to fund food, a dietician, staff and supplies. Last week veterans at the home called for an independent audit, labelling the food bland and undercooked.  The food facility at the Queen Elizabeth centre prepares food for four Capital Health sites, including the veterans’ building. While some of the veterans’ food is prepared 24 hours in advance, Capital Health says a lot of care is put into the food ….” – more here.
• Another “Highway of Heroes,” this time in New Brunswick  “The Trans-Canada Highway (Route 2) in New Brunswick has been officially named the Highway of Heroes.  Premier David Alward as well as federal, provincial, municipal and military officials attended a commemoration ceremony Aug. 12 at Officer’s Square in Fredericton ….”
• Ooopsie – Usual caveat:  no shared docs = no idea what else is there  “Newly released documents show two security breaches at Canada’s spy agency prompted employee suspensions last year.  In the most serious case, a Canadian Security Intelligence Service employee was suspended for five days without pay over a security incident involving information that’s supposed to be kept in the strictest confidence.  The CSIS employee was found to be in breach of several aspects of the spy agency’s conduct policy, including provisions on security, performance of duties, integrity and compliance with direction.  The breach prompted an investigation by the agency’s internal security division, resulting in an injury assessment — an accounting of damage from a security lapse.  In deciding the employee’s fate, a senior CSIS official weighed the assessment and the fact the employee had no prior disciplinary record ….”
• A German POW remembers his time in a northwestern Ontario camp  “As 96-year-old Paul Mengelberg slowly shuffled down the walkway to the park’s single-storey visitors centre overlooking Lake Superior’s roaring surf, it seemed like yet another example of determination over adversity in the long and full life of one very determined man.  Many people who turned up for Saturday morning’s ceremony to mark Neys Provincial Park’s origins as a Second World War prisoner of war camp wondered if Mengelberg — a German POW who would spend most of his life in his adopted Longlac — would be able to show up, given his current fragile state.  ut Mengelberg, accompanied by his daughter, came after all, showing the kind of grit he displayed in 1940 when a Canadian prison guard pulled his numb and shrunken body out of a freezing creek shortly after he’d disembarked from a CP Rail train in the dead of winter with hundreds of other German POWs ….”
• Remembering Victory over Japan Day, 67 years on.

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