MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – October 5, 2012
- Afghanistan “Canadians soldiers will face the threat of “insider”attacks when training recruits for the Afghan National Army, similar to the attacks that killed dozens of America soldiers in the past year, says Brig.-Gen. Christian Juneau, head of the army in Western Canada. But Juneau said those attacks are likely “a blip” rather than a growing trend and the Afghan army is improving “as more and more are trained.” “The Taliban are pretty good at doing something spectacular, but it doesn’t necessarily reflect the trends,” Juneau told the Journal editorial board on Wednesday. “Every now and then you have a flash that captures world attention, but these are blips.” ….”
- “The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, announced …. the full implementation of key elements of his Privacy Action Plan 2.0, which was launched in May 2012. This is part of ongoing efforts to further strengthen the protection of personal information at Veterans Affairs Canada …. The Privacy Action Plan 2.0 builds on the success of the Department’s original 10-point Privacy Action Plan, which was announced in October 2010 to address concerns with how Veterans Affairs Canada was safeguarding the privacy of the men and women it serves ….” – more on the plan here and a bit of history of why the plan was needed here.
- Stuart Langridge, R.I.P. “The former national chief of the Canadian Forces’ detective agency told a federal inquiry …. that investigators probing the 2008 suicide of Afghanistan veteran Stuart Langridge didn’t tell him that the troubled soldier had left a suicide note. And in the most direct criticism yet levelled against the National Investigation Ser-vice investigators by a superior officer, retired Lt.-Col. William Garrick told the Military Police Complaints Commission inquiry that it was wrong to keep contents of the note from Langridge’s mother and stepfather to whom it was ad-dressed. In the simple handwritten note, Langridge asked for a private, family funeral. Unaware of their son’s last request, the family agreed to a military funeral. It was 14 months before the NIS revealed that the note existed. Langridge’s mother, Sheila Fynes, has testified that the family was “devastated” when they were eventually handed the note ….”
- “The Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) formally stood-up today in the presence of the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, and stewarded by General Walt Natynczyk, Chief of the Defence Staff, during a ceremony conducted at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum …. Led by Lieutenant-General Stuart Beare, CJOC is the part of the Canadian Forces that is responsible for the planning and conduct of operations across the full spectrum of military activity from humanitarian assistance, through peace support and stabilization, to combat …. By integrating the functions of Canada Command, Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, and Canadian Operational Support Command, which it replaces, CJOC closes functional gaps, eliminates administrative duplication, and permits the allocation of resources to new and emerging demands. CJOC will work closely with other government departments, the armed forces of traditional allies, like-minded nations, and multinational organizations ….”
- “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, will be making an infrastructure announcement at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Petawawa on Friday, October 5, 2012 ….“
- From the RCAF Info-machine (almost a month after the fact) “From September 4 to 9, 2012, 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron supported ‘C’ Company, 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (known as 3VP), on Exercise Spartan Dagger at Canadian Forces Detachment Dundurn, Sask. Spartan Dagger was a ‘live’ (with live ammunition) and ‘dry’ (without live ammunition) fire exercise that built on battle skills that have been practiced throughout the year. 408 Squadron worked with 3VP to provide section-level airmobile raids ….”
- From the NORAD Info-machine (the same week as the event) “This is the first time the name of a U.S. military combatant command headquarters includes a Canadian military officer’s name. The North American Aerospace Defense and United States Northern Command headquarters building at Peterson Air Force Base was named the Eberhart – Findley Building …. in honour of U.S. Air Force General (Ret.) Ralph E. Eberhart and Royal Canadian Air Force Lieutenant-General (Ret.) Eric A. Findley. The naming ceremony occurred during the celebration of the tenth anniversary of U.S. Northern Command, the combatant command charged with the defense of the U. S. homeland following the 9/11 attacks. General Eberhart and General Findley had the watch together on Sept. 11, 2001, to bring order to the chaos of that infamous day ….” – more here.
- Iran One historian’s take “…. what now seems clear is that no Israeli attack will be launched until after the American elections. If Mitt Romney should win, Premier Benjamin Netanyahu likely counts on U.S. participation in a strike. If President Barack Obama is re-elected, the Israeli leaders expect either U.S. participation at the outset — they are likely wrong in this assumption — or American military retaliation against Iranian attacks on their bases in the Persian Gulf or Afghanistan if Iran is foolish enough to do this ….”
- I have to admit I missed this one from August from the Conservative Party of Canada Info-machine: “The NDP is holding kangaroo court meetings in Ottawa in a political attempt to try and fool Canadians into thinking they support Canada’s Armed Forces. But Canadians can see through the NDP’s veiled attempt because the NDP’s anti-Canadian Armed Forces record is clear: Mulcair’s NDP opposes giving the Canadian Armed Forces the tools they need to do their job and protect Canada. The NDP has consistently stood up in the House of Commons to vote against our men and women in uniform at every opportunity. The NDP has voted against every initiative we have brought forward to help our men and women in uniform ….” - the folks that bring you ceasefire.ca are a bit underwhelmed, one guesses, at being referred to as “the left-wing NDP think-tank” in the Tory missive.
- “Despite the Conservative government’s frequent warnings about lingering terrorist threats, it has quietly abolished a federal panel of national security advisers. The advisory council on national security was shut down during the summer — just two years into the three-year terms of its current members. The council was established in 2005 by the Liberal government of the day to provide confidential views on security issues in the post-9-11 era. NDP public safety critic Randall Garrison called the council’s demise “another one of the reckless Conservative cuts.” “This seems to be another one of the things they’ve just tried to sneak by everybody.” University of Toronto historian Wesley Wark, an intelligence expert who served on the council from 2005 to 2009, says there is still a need for the advisory body. “I regret that the experiment has been abandoned, as I think that the conditions which gave it birth — a complex security environment and a need for high-level, independent strategic advice — remain as true today, and will remain true for the future, as they did when the advisory council was first conceived.” ….” – more on the Council’s terms of reference (already archived) here.
