MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – March 9, 2014

• Finally back, with just a quick update until tomorrow’s return to the routine ….
• Remember the big fire on HMCS Protecteur?  I certainly hope this reddit feed is not correct regarding how sailors from the ship are now being treated.
• From the ShipFax blog  “HMCS Athabaskan has been busy during the last few days and weeks, sailing in and out of Halifax several time during the day and night, and exercising offshore ….”
• Afghanistan  “Canada’s top soldier in Afghanistan is getting ready to pack things up and end the Canadian military presence in the battle-scarred country.  Maj.-Gen. Dean Milner says when Canadians lower the flag next week and pack up their gear, they’ll leave behind an Afghanistan that’s “absolutely, completely different” than when Canadian soldiers first arrived in 2001.  “Canadians significantly contributed to the security that’s now here in the country,” Milner said Friday in a phone interview from the Afghan capital, Kabul. “We’ve got children back in school – close to eight million children in school.”  Milner says there are less than 100 Canadian military personnel in Afghanistan still training Afghan forces to fight the Taliban ….”
  
• Veterans Obmbudsman on the government’s review of the New Veterans Charter  “…. After 15 meetings in this Session of Parliament, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs is continuing its study of the New Veterans Charter by consulting widely with Veterans, Veterans’ organizations and departmental personnel.  In and of itself, this is a good thing, but given all of the evidence that is available and all of the work that has been done before, I would suggest that it’s time for the Committee to focus singularly and squarely on the solutions to New Veterans Charter problems ….”
• “Dominic Larocque has no memory of the moment that changed his life forever.  While serving with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, an armoured vehicle carrying the young corporal drove over an improvised explosive device.  The devastating blast on Nov. 27, 2007, shattered Larocque’s left leg and required an amputation above the knee.  Although he has no recollection of that fateful day, he’s still reminded of it each morning.  “Every time when I wake up I think about that,” said Larocque, now 26. “I have no choice.”  But the Quebec City native was determined not to let the injury define him, so he set out on a course that eventually led him to the Sochi Paralympic Winter Games as member of Canada’s sledge hockey team ….” – more from the Army Info-machine here
  
• Good questions  “What are we doing with all these soldiers? Now that Canada and its allies are entering what military brass like to call an “operational pause” – that is, a period of peace, without major wars being fought or anticipated – that question is hanging in the air, with a double meaning: Why do we have so many, and, literally, what are we doing with them? ….”
• Further commentary  “…. It is to be hoped that those responsible in both government and the military are watching events in the United States and planning accordingly.  Unlike the Canadian government the US Government has set out a vision of how budget cuts are likely to impact on the force structures and capabilities of the US military ….”
• Think tank primer on “Canada and Ballistic Missile Defence“
  
• International Women’s Day (1)  “In honour of International Women’s Day on Saturday, March 8, we will be publishing one profile a day from March 4th to 8th to celebrate the dynamic, skilled, community-minded and accomplished women of the Canadian Army ….”
• International Women’s Day (2)  “The Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of Veterans Affairs, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, paid tribute to all those Canadian women who have played a role in our military history over the past hundred years and more ….”
• Lux Ex Umbra blog on “CSE Commissioner budget cuts not really cuts”
  
• Khadr Boy (1)  From the defence team  “The unacceptable government interference in the case of Omar Khadr first came to surface in 2009 when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Canadian government was responsible for the violations of Omar Khadr’s rights under Article 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  Many Canadians clearly understand that Omar Khadr is wrongly imprisoned ….”
• Khadr Boy (2)  Defence counsel headed to U.K. to make his case  “…. The London Guantánamo is pleased to present the following schedule of talks in London and York where Dennis Edney QC will speak about his client and the many issues involved in Omar’s unique case ….”