MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – September 5, 2012
- Afghanistan (1) More on what Canada is doing following Afghan cops & troops shooting up American allies “The Canadian Forces will continue with its mission to train Afghan army and police instructors after it was announced Sunday that the United States was suspending some of its own training in the war-torn country in response to a surge of insider attacks. The U.S.’s halt to allow for a redo of the vetting of recruits leaves the training of about 1,000 Afghan Local Police trainees in limbo. But that move has no impact on the just over 900 members of the Canadian Forces and RCMP in Afghanistan as part of a NATO mission to train instructors for the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police, said Lt.-Col. Christian Lemay, the chief public affairs officer with the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command. The Canadian task force is stationed mainly in Kabul, but also have a satellite team at the Regional Military Training Centre–North in Mazar-e-Sharif. The aim of the mission is to train Afghan instructors who can in turn train their own army and police recruits, Lemay said. In comparison, the U.S.-led project is done on the front lines with the troops. And there have been no attacks directed at Canadians, Lemay said. Still, the NATO mission isn’t without risks, he added. “There’s always a risk whenever you go in a country where terrorism is still at the forefront of the daily activities,” Lemay said. “But what we do out there is not what we’re doing in Kandahar. It’s not about fighting. It’s all about the training. It’s all within camps. It’s all about having the proper leadership.” ….”
- Afghanistan (2) More on Semrau and his book “A former Canadian army officer accused of battlefield murder said he was “gutted” to be thrown out of the military and wishes investigators had bothered to ask his version of events before laying the unprecedented charge. Robert Semrau has started to go public nearly four years after the shooting of a wounded insurgent. His forthcoming book gives an unvarnished view of his experience mentoring Afghan troops, but largely skates around the specific moment that landed him in court and sparked a national debate on mercy-killing. In a phone interview Tuesday he wouldn’t discuss the incident, or even say whether he agreed with the court-martial’s 2010 finding that he shot an unarmed and grievously injured Talib. “I didn’t want the book to be about the incident … it’s not a whistle-blowing book, it’s not a tell-all book,” said the married father of two, who now does security work in northern Iraq. “I wanted to write a story written by a front-line soldier who has been in every scenario.” He bears “no ill will” to the military – he was demoted and discharged – but has strong words for the investigative process. “I wish I could’ve had a say before I was arrested and charged with murder,” he said. “I would’ve liked to explain my side before I was arrested.” ….”
- Afghanistan (3) Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, working with Canada’s War Poet Suzanne Steele, preparing for a memorial concert November 10th “…. In commemoration of the end of Canada’s combat mission in Afghanistan, the CPO has embarked on the largest commission in its history – a Requiem written to capture the profound loss, heartbreak and hope experienced in the struggle for peace. This distinctly Canadian event incorporates war art with historical and contemporary military imagery and serves as a monument to the sacrifices made by our Canadian servicemen and women ….” - more on this from Steele in her blog here.
- New CDS (1) A Sun Media editorialist is reading quite a bit into the choice behind the new CDS “….What likely got Lawson the nod over other short-listed candidates was the Harper government’s position that the F-35 stealth fighter jet is the only choice in replacing our aging fleet of CF-18s. In fact, Lawson, who has flown in the cockpits of the CF-104 Starfighter, as well as the CF-18 Hornet, was a major player in planning for Canada’s controversial procurement of 65 F-35 jets, which the auditor general says could cost taxpayers $25 billion over 20 years ….” While Sun Media refers to CBC coverage of the CDS, they don’t seem to have included this tidbit from the General’s first news conference in response to a question about the F-35: “We will continue to take our lead on the F-35 from the government.”
- New CDS (2) A former Canadian General speaks “At National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa a huge change has just been announced by the PM and his Minister of National Defence, Peter MacKay. The change is the appointment of a senior Royal Canadian Air Force general to be the new Chief of the Defence Staff. And a most capable man at that. For us “used to be” air force people this is great news. “Used to be” is not correct. Once you’re Air Force you’re always Air Force. We remain committed to and supportive to the branch of the military in which we served be it in wartime or peacetime. So, to have an RCAF general as CDS instead of a navy or army (admiral or general) in the top post is worth cheering for. That’s so because the last two CDS generals were army. Which meant that the army priorities, prejudices and policies were going to have priority ….” Those who are following the F-35 and Big Honkin’ Ship purchase processes might disagree with the “the Army CDS mainly looked after the Army” line of reasoning.
- New Air Force Boss Announced (again) “Defence Minister Peter McKay has announced the senior appointments for the Royal Canadian Air Force, including the selection of Major-General (soon to be promoted to lieutenant-general) Yvan Blondin as the new commander of the RCAF. He will assume command of the RCAF, succeeding LGen André Deschamps who will retire, at a change of command ceremony later this fall ….“
- New Canadian Deputy Commander of NORAD appointed “Lieutenant-General Alain Parent became the new Deputy Commander of NORAD during a Change of Office ceremony presided over by General Charles H. Jacoby, Jr., Commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command today at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. “You are the right leader at the right time for this critical job for both our countries to sustain and advance the relevance and strength of NORAD, said Gen Jacoby about LGen Parent during his address. “I will enjoy working closely with you in leading NORAD and coordinating NORAD’s work with NORTHCOM and the new Canadian Joint Operations Command,” he added. In attendance was the Deputy Minister of National Defence, Mr. Robert Fonberg, the Chief of Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces, General Walt Natynczyk as well as Lieutenant-General Andre Deschamps, Royal Canadian Air Force Commander …..”
- “While the Harper government cancelled a much-anticipated tour of the North this year for foreign diplomats, the Department of National Defence is forging ahead with an upcoming tour of military bases and arms industry locations for foreign defence attachés—the latest of many such trips. From Sept. 10 until Sept. 14, DND is organizing a tour of Southwestern Ontario for almost a dozen attachés accredited to Canada, and based out of Ottawa and Washington. All are defence advisers or defence attachés and all have a military rank. The tour will be visiting Canadian Forces Base Trenton, as well as the Canadian Forces College and the Canadian Forces Environmental Medicine Establishment in Toronto, according to Captain Jenny Doucet, who works in DND’s Directorate of Foreign Liaison and is organizing the tour. It will also visit several defence firms in London, Ont. including General Dynamics, Armatec, and Kongsberg Gruppen, as well as Colt Canada in Kitchener, Ont. Joining the tour will be representatives from Australia, Chile, Germany, Israel, South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Nigeria, and the Philippines, wrote Capt. Doucet in an email ….”
- “Former public safety minister Stockwell Day is set to testify in court this week, an appearance expected to offer a rare insight into how the government labels someone a terrorism suspect. The testimony, scheduled for Thursday, is part of a long-running legal battle by Mohamed Mahjoub, who is accused of being a senior jihadist. The Egyptian protests his innocence and has not been charged in Canada, but remains subject to federal restrictions that have kept him in detention or under house arrest for the past 12 years. Mr. Mahjoub has been fighting in Federal Court to contest the “reasonableness” of the security certificate under which he was arrested. In 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the security certificate legislation as contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, giving the government a year to redraft it. An amended version became law early in 2008, when Mr. Day was minister of public safety. As the former minister, Mr. Day’s testimony is hotly anticipated for what it may reveal about the process of determining who is a threat to national security. “I think it will be interesting to see what exactly the minister has relied upon,” said Kent Roach, professor in the faculty of law at the University of Toronto. “Given that it’s a minister’s decision … in some ways it’s surprising that this appears to be the first time that a minister is going to be required to explain the reasons for his or her decision.” ….”
- “The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, and the Honourable Ted Menzies, Minister of State (Finance) and Member of Parliament for Macleod, …. announced that the Bomber Command Museum of Canada will receive up to $59,710 for the eligible costs of the documentary entitled Canada’s Bomber Command Contribution 2012 …. The Bomber Command Museum of Canada will create a documentary on the story of Halifax Aircraft LW682 and the role it plays in the Bomber Command Memorial project in London, United Kingdom. The Halifax LW682 was recovered in Belgium in 1997. The heavily damaged remainder of the aircraft was melted down into 1,600 pounds of ingots and stored at the Nanton museum until recently, when 800 pounds of the aluminium was donated to build the Bomber Command Memorial that was unveiled on June 28, 2012, in London, United Kingdom ….”
- Time becomes the real assassin in the case of Canada’s merchant navy vets ” The 10th annual memorial service for merchant navy veterans held on the Halifax waterfront Labour Day morning could be the last. The veterans’ average age is 88 and time is catching up to those who contributed so much to Canada’s war effort, said Capt. Earle Wagner. The Halifax-Dartmouth chapter of the Canadian Merchant Navy Veterans Association is down to 13 members, and from the outset the members planned to close when their numbers dwindled below 12, he said. If they can’t continue, they intend to give their mementoes to Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School, which has supported them well over the years, Wagner said ….”
