MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – August 29, 2012

• Lookit the media settling in reading the tea leaves of/offering advice to the newly-named Chief of Defence Staff ….
• “New chief of defence staff Lt.-Gen. Lawson a champion of F-35 jets”
• “Canada’s new top soldier ‘somebody who knows how to play ball’ “
• “New defence chief must inspire trust”
• “Defence chief’s selection sends a coded message”
• “5 issues facing Canada’s new top soldier”
• New CDS “faces challenge as Forces move out of Afghanistan” while being “a good fit for post-Afghanistan forces”      “What Canada’s new top soldier brings to the modern military”
• Finally, some coverage of (alleged) dashed hopes among Canada’s senior service:  “Navy’s hopes for Canada’s top military job scuttled again”
• What’s Canada Researching?  “High-tech robots being developed by a group of scientists near Medicine Hat, Alta., could soon be used to detect leaks in pipelines or avalanches in the mountains.  the drones are being developed at Canadian Forces Base Suffield to use overseas for gathering information or carrying cargo.  Jared Giesbrecht, who is with Defence Research Development Canada, said the drones will play a crucial role in military missions.  “The reason why we do what we do is to keep soldiers safe and to ease their burden,” Giesbrecht said. “That’s really the driving force behind this. Many times you’ll hear things like the dull, the dirty and the dangerous.” ….”
• Nichola Goddard, 1980-2006, R.I.P.  “The first Canadian female soldier to be killed in action while serving in a combat role will be honoured by having a new school named for her in Calgary.  Capt. Nichola Goddard, a 26-year-old artillery officer, died in a Taliban ambush in the Panjwaii district of Afghanistan on May 17, 2006.  Lt.-Col. Scott Long trained with Goddard and says the school will be a great legacy.  He says he knows she would be proud and thrilled.  And he says from a military perspective, it’s good to see the sacrifice of a soldier recognized by the Calgary Board of Education ….”
• One wounded warrior on another wounded warrior’s blog on what sucks (in a lot of detail) about the New Veterans Charter     
• Giving some wounded warriors a bit of a break  ” Over 100 soldiers from Canada and the United States recently headed for a weekend of fishing and golf in Nipawin.  It was part of a coalition between WoundedWarriors.ca and the Wounded Warriors Project in the United States.  The organizations provide support to wounded service members to help them rehabilitate and transition back to civilian life.  This weekend was the brain child of country singers Blake Emmons and Jim Chute.  “Wounded Warriors started out at a campfire last fall with Blake Emmons.  Blake, who is a vet himself, said I’d like to bring half a dozen of my wounded buddies up fishing.  From there is just mushroomed,” says Chute ….”
• Bear with me here – there is a Canadian angle to this next bit….
• Three New Zealand soldiers, including a female medic, were killed earlier this month in an IED blast in Afghanistan.  An author with Canadian connections posted this on a Facebook page honouring one of the fallen (another place to see the Facebook page comments here):  “Oh, so fallen soldier Jacinda Baker liked boxing and baking – did they forget she also liked invading countries we are not at war with, killing innocent people and had no moral compass. She 100 per cent does not deserve our respect for her flawed choices. We are not at war. We are helping America invade another country for their oil. No more than that …. Go to war, expect to be killed. You can’t have it both ways – oh nice little career with the military and shock horror when you get blown up.”  Some folks online took umbrage to this (including some anti-war types:  “…. Burstyn seemed to realise that directing her attack on an individual soldier was not helpful to the anti-war movement, as she was forthcoming with an apology ….”), and set up another Facebook page calling for the author’s passport.  Film maker e-mails an apology and posts same on her blog (screen capture of apology blog post also available here if link doesn’t work), but is also pissed at some comments made about her on the new Facebook page (as well as police response to same):  “…. “I was wrong. I am truly sorry for the pain I have caused with my comments,” she wrote.  “I am especially sorry to the family, friends and loved ones of Jacinda Baker at this very difficult time. Please accept my most heartfelt apologies.  “People have said she was a special person. I am sure that is true. If so then she would not agree with the rape and torture, mutilation and murder threatened in these posts.  “Many posted as New Zealand military personnel. They have pledged to uphold very noble standards. These are not reflected in the brutality and viciousness of these posts.” ….”  Author posts concerns about cops on blog (screen capture of Google Cache of “cops not doing their job” blog post also available here) – now, there’s no posts anymore on the blog.    Canadian and Kiwi cops say they are, indeed, working on looking into the comments she’s unhappy about.  Much commentary on Milnet.ca on this.
• (Something you cannot miss:  here’s a YouTube video (~3 minutes) of these fallen New Zealanders’ unit doing a “haka” in tribute of their fallen comrades – sent chills through me)
• War of 1812  Survey says:  “Recalling and recognizing War of 1812 tough for Canadians”  “There was a war in 1812? Really?  The Harper government has been highlighting a war with our American neighbours 200 years ago, but the relevance of commemorating the event seemed lost on almost all of those who participated in a comprehensive survey for National Defence.  The poll, conducted annually, measures impressions of the Canadian military, its missions, equipment and important events.  Few people who took part in the survey, and in related focus groups, were aware of the anniversary “and even fewer could identify the War of 1812 by name,” said the research conducted by Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc.  “Typically, no more than one or two participants in each group were aware that this year is the bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812, and these people tended to deduce this with simple arithmetic.  “From the year, 1812, they made the logical leap to the War of 1812. Most focus group participants had no prior awareness of this anniversary.”  That may be bad news for the Harper government, which has invested as much as $28 million in historical re-enactments, television commercials, museum exhibits, a $60 commemorative coin, and even a mobile app for smart phones.  The telephone poll of 1,520 people was conducted in February and March this year, while the focus groups were conducted in January and February.  The report revealed that even in areas where the war was fought — specifically Ontario’s Niagara Region — awareness remained foggy.  “In St. Catharines, which is geographically close to where some significant events of the War of 1812 took place, awareness of the 200th anniversary was higher, but still uneven and not widespread,” said the document, released Tuesday by the federal government ….”