MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – March 19, 2013

• Budget (1)  “Canada’s top soldier says the armed forces have no fat left to cut ahead of this week’s austerity budget.  But Gen. Thomas Lawson told the Senate security and defence committee he understands that militaries around the world are being forced to operate with less money.  Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s budget on Thursday is widely expected to make substantial cuts across government, and the Defence Department and Canadian Forces won’t escape unscathed.  Lawson, who took over last year as chief of defence staff, said the military already runs a lean operation.  “I would like to think that there was fat in the armed forces,” he said Monday. “I don’t think there is.”  “What we find as we squeeze (is) that there is very little fat,” he added later ….”
• Budget (2) “In the face of further potential cuts to National Defence looming in Thursday’s budget, Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen. Tom Lawson appeared before a Senate committee and held to the lines he’s been delivering in recent weeks: cutbacks at DND will be handled by consolidation and reinvestment.  He also said that while the number of full-time reservists may decrease, the military plans to keep the overall numbers steady.  “What we’re seeing now is the numbers will remain the same, we will not drop below 27,000 – in fact, we’re just about at that number now. What we’ll see is that we’ll have far fewer full-time members of the reserve, and back to a more traditional, Class A or part-time reserve,” Lawson said, calling it a “natural” reduction from a combat role, like Canada had in Afghanistan.  Part-time reservists will now have 37-and-a-half training days per year, he said ….”
• Meanwhile, Canada invests some money into the development of some military-ish hardware  “The Honourable Larry Smith, Senator, on behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, is pleased to announce the awarding of two contracts totaling $635,347 to Adventure Lights Inc. for its pre-qualified innovations, the SMART Beacon and the Clustered Beacon System, through the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP) …. Adventure Light’s pre-qualified innovation, the SMART Beacon, is a mesh networked wearable light beacon system that allows military and civil authorities to instantly identify friendly forces in contact situations. The SMART beacon system also allows for instant visual identification of people, places and objects for military, search and rescue, security and civil applications. A $313,919 contract for this innovation was awarded through the CICP.  The Clustered Beacon System is the world’s smallest, most versatile runway lighting system for expeditionary airfields and first-responder helicopter landing zones. Small enough to be carried by a single person, this portable integrated beacon system allows an unprecedented variety of landing field configurations. This pre-qualified innovation was awarded a $321,428 contract through the CICP ….”
  
• Canadian naval strategy?  What Canadian naval strategy?  More from Mark Collins over at The 3D’s Blog
• ceasefire.ca’s take on “Canadian Forces” vs. “Canadian Armed Forces”
• Mali  Column  “…. Canada’s lead role in the Libya intervention and NATO’s failure to secure the weapons arsenal in its aftermath have led directly to the current crisis in Mali and it cannot be ignored.  There will be no short-term resolution and, while contributing combat troops is not the only answer, “one plane for one week, er … two months, er … indefinitely” is hardly reflective of our responsibility in allowing al-Qaida to destabilize an entire region.”
• Speaking of Libya (no docs shared, so no word on what else is there)…. “The Harper government launched an all-out commercial offensive a full month before the 2011 war in Libya had ended to ensure “a return on our engagement and investment,” newly released documents show.  Canada played a lead role in helping liberate the North African country from the clutches of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, a fact that was to be played up during the drive to secure business opportunities for Canadian firms.  The documents have raised old questions over what role commercial interests played in the West’s decision to launch a military operation in oil-rich Libya, especially given international inaction in Syria.  They have also prompted debate over whether countries that did help oust Gadhafi and install a new Libyan government should have received some type of reward in the form of increased business opportunities ….”
  
• Why Canada can’t afford to ignore the Asian bloc of nations

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – March 11, 2013

• Analyst:  “What NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan and Libya can teach us about sharing the military burden as defence budgets shrink“
• “On behalf of the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister for La Francophonie, the Honourable Yonah Martin, Senator for British Columbia, and Wayne Johnston, founder of Wounded Warriors Canada, will make an announcement ….” this morning.
• Way Up North (1)  “More than 2000 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) soldiers have and continue to participate in a series of winter warfare exercises in northern Canada during the months of February and March …. Three major winter warfare exercises have been completed across the country in Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador, while another exercise is currently underway in Quebec ….”
• Way Up North (2)  “When Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced back in August of 2007 that National Defence would build a deepwater port at Nanisivik, the site of an abandoned mine near to the Eastern entry of the Canadian Northwest Passage, the news was greeted with much anticipation …. Since then, however, little news has been heard of the Nanisivik project, prompting some to wonder whether the lack of visible progress is indicative of a reduced commitment by the federal government to a northern port and to its Northern Strategy in general. The real story is not quite that simple ….”
  
• Way Up North (3)  “The ice isn’t gone yet, but the Americans are already mapping future sea lanes across the High Arctic. The Canadian government, on the other hand, seems set to reduce its already meagre presence in the region. Is this any way for Canada to confirm its sovereignty? ….”
• “Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s days are usually packed with public events, but he had a surprise item on the agenda Wednesday — a visit to Iraq.  Kenney shared word of his visit on Twitter, noting he’s the first Canadian government minister to visit the country since 1976 ….” - more from the Minister’s Twitter feed here, and from his Info-machine here.
  
• Analyst:  “Why we need to wage war on the emotions of extremism, not on the countries where extremism is spreading“
• A reminder:  “…. When it comes to the war on terror, the disenfranchisement of Canadians is a thoroughly bipartisan affair. Recall that it was a Liberal government that introduced the hastily concocted anti-terrorism Bill C-36, soon after 9/11. This allowed for secret trials, pre-emptive detention, and expanded security and surveillance powers, with no sunset clause that would give Parliament occasion to revisit these new tools ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – February 5, 2013

• Mali (1)  “Canada’s ambassador to the European Union is expected to stay quiet during a major meeting in Brussels (today) where the international community will be gathering to discuss the situation in Mali.  Ambassador David Plunkett will be among those from 45 countries as well as the United Nations, African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and the World Bank talking about ways to bring peace and stability to Mali.  But Plunkett will not announce any increase or expansion to Canada’s role in the country, which has largely involved providing humanitarian assistance and deploying a heavy military transport aircraft to help France move troops and equipment into the West African nation.  A government source said Canada will continue to watch developments in Mali, where Islamic militants are on the run in the north of the country, and may make further contributions in the future, including financial support for the African-led military force poised to take over from  French troops who have routed the militants.  “I don’t think we expect this will be a short game,” the source said, noting elections to return Mali to democratic rule won’t be held until July.  However, all indications remain that the government is not interested in getting dragged into the conflict ….”
• Mali (2a)  Columnist on the fight ahead  “…. While France’s initial military objectives have been met, it is evident that the crisis in Mali is the tip of a much larger regional powder keg. Like stepping on one side of a water balloon, pushing the Islamic Maghreb and Tuareg separatists out of Mali has only built up pressure elsewhere.  Even with the addition of 3,300 troops promised by the Economic Community of Western African States, the Malian security forces will be hard pressed to hold the French military’s gains on their own.”
• Mali (2b)  rabble.ca column’s take  “…. The west has been in perpetual war with Muslims of all kinds ever since 9/11, never quite winning. As the Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald has reminded us, Mali is the eighth country in the last four years where western countries have killed Muslims. Shouldn’t the aim in Mali be to determine realistic goals before we kill again?  In the meantime, Canada should be a generous humanitarian donor to Mali’s refugees and displaced people ….”
• Mali (2c)  Another writer aching for the days of the blue beret (question:  can the peace be “kept” if both sides haven’t agreed yet to stop fighting?)  “…. Within the next few weeks, the U.N. Security Council may well authorize an U.N.-led peacekeeping mission to stabilize Mali after the French-led combat mission ends. The success of the peacekeeping mission will turn, in large part, on whether well-trained soldiers from the developed world are involved.  It’s a mission tailor-made for Canada; one that Pearson would undoubtedly have embraced.”
  
• Mali (3)  More on whazzup in Mali here (Google News), here (EMM Explorer) and here (France’s defence ministry’s daily update in French)
• Syria  Can you spare a few bucks to help someone (allegedly) wanting to fight the good fight?  This from kijiji (also here if previous link doesn’t work):  “I am a ex cdn soldier with experience looking for sponsorship so I can go train and fight with the Free Syrian army. I need to gather about $10,000 for the mission to be successful.”
• Joshua Caleb Baker, 1985-2010, R.I.P.  “It was an emotional day of testimony inside the trial of a former Canadian Forces Commander.  Retired Warrant Officer Paul Ravensdale pleaded not guilty to six charges including manslaughter in death of Corporal Joshua Baker. The 24-year-old died during a training accident in Afghanistan in 2010.  Four other soldiers were injured.  Those soldiers testified for the first time Monday.  They told the military court on Feb. 12, 2010, the only thing standing between them and the C-19 they were learning to use was their body armor. The prosecution says Ravensdale should have never let that happen.  They were standing out in the open when two C-19 land mines, also known as claymores, were set off during a training exercise.  Cpl. Joshua Baker was killed when shrapnel from one of the explosions backfired.  The commander, now retired Warrant officer Paul Ravensdale has pleaded not guilty to six charges including manslaughter and breach of duty ….”
• Need info on the foreign bases that aren’t really foreign bases?  This from the CF Info-machine, just updated about a week ago.
  
• Libya  Curiouser and curiouser  “There’s a kind of Mission Impossible vibe to the relationship between Cyndy Vanier and SNC-Lavalin, the Montreal-based international engineering giant enmeshed in allegations of corruption and consorting with dictators.  Vanier, a Canadian consultant who worked for SNC-Lavalin, has been languishing in a Mexican prison for more than a year while a judge there decides if she was part of a plot to spirit Saadi Gadhafi out of Libya as his father’s dictatorship crumbled under a rebel onslaught in 2011.  According to CBC News, Vanier insists she was hired by SNC-Lavalin controller Stephane Roy, under orders from executive vice-president Riadh Ben Alissa, for a legitimate “fact-finding” trip to Libya.  Mexican authorities allege she was helping set up an exit route for Gadhafi, a senior commander in father Muammar Gadhafi’s regime, and smuggle him and his family into Mexico under false identities. Gadhafi eventually escaped to Niger, Libya’s neighbour, and has been given asylum ….”
  
• Vets’ Ombudsman latest report:  “…. by not providing applicants with copies of documents retrieved and submitted to disability adjudicators, applicants are denied their participation rights and the right to a fair hearing, including the right to be aware of the information that will be considered by adjudicators (the right to disclosure), the right to provide their own information and to challenge the information available to decision-makers, and the right to determine the relevance of information provided to adjudicators. For these reasons, the current practice is procedurally unfair ….” - more from the media here and here.
  
• The Government’s Response:  “The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, …. launched the “Right to Fairness Implementation Plan” to cut red tape for Veterans applying to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) for disability benefits.  The plan addresses the recently issued Ombudsman report entitled “Veterans’ Right to Disclosure: A Matter of Procedural Fairness.” It consists of new measures that will ensure Veterans and their families have a better understanding of the Department’s disability benefit application process for considering information and how that information is used to make a decision on their applications ….”  We’ll see ….
• In other ombudsman news….  “The Canadian Forces ombudsman says the Harper government has an opportunity now to help military families who’ve suffered huge home-equity losses by amending proposed legislation that’s before Parliament.  Pierre Daigle testified Monday before a House of Commons committee that’s studying C-15, the latest attempt in a decade-long struggle to overhaul the military justice system.  Since 2007, as many as 146 applications for reimbursement have been denied to military families for losses they’ve taken after selling their homes because of forced transfers to different parts of the country.  The problem could be solved by giving the country’s top military commander the full power to make one-time payments in grievance cases, Daigle told the all-party Commons defence committee.  “This is an unfairness that people serving this country are facing, and all we want is to solve this unfairness,” Daigle said in an interview with The Canadian Press following his testimony.  The legislation being studied by the committee has been before Parliament several times, in different forms, over the last 10 years without being passed ….”
• “HMCS Ville De Quebec is taking part in an composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX) with the Aircraft Carrier USS Harry Truman, as a memeber of the 1st Combined Destroyer Squadron (1CDS) 1CDS members currently include USS Barry (DDG 52), USS Gravely (DDG 107), the German ship FGS Hamburg (F220), and the Canadian ships HMCS Ville De Quebec (FFH 332) and HMCS Preserver (AOR 510); USS Monterey (CG 61), USS Gettysburg (CG 64), and USS Kauffman (FFG 59).  COMPTUEX is a series of training scenarios designed to certify HSTSG as a deployment-ready fighting force capable of completing operations in overseas theaters ….”
• Way Up North  Head’s up for military training in northeastern Ontario all the way up to Ontario’s James Bay coast  “Canadian Forces personnel from across Ontario will conduct military training in the vicinity of Cochrane, Fraserdale and Moosonee, Ontario, from February 8 to 26, 2013, as part of Exercise TRILLIUM RESPONSE 2013.  Soldiers and military vehicles, including snowmobiles, will be seen in these areas, as well as low flying aircraft including large transport aircraft and helicopters. Military vehicles can be expected to travel at reduced speeds and motorists are advised to exercise care and patience when encountering military vehicles and soldiers on foot or on snowmobiles. Soldiers will be using blank ammunition and pyrotechnics; loud noises may be heard ….” 
• More on Jointex 2013  “In anticipation of a variety of potential future operations, the Canadian Forces are currently engaged in a series of training exercises they began planning three years ago, collectively named JOINTEX 13, which will prepare them to take on a leadership role in multinational expeditionary operations.  ““JOINTEX provides a predictable, repeatable, and adaptable means to learn and improve, allowing us the critical opportunity to play it out in training before living it out in actual operations,’” said Lieutenant-General Stuart Beare, Commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command.  JOINTEX will prepare the Canadian Forces to lead a Combined Joint-Inter Agency Task Force Headquarters (CJIATF), with 1st Canadian Division Headquarters at its centre, responsible for planning and conducting coalition full-spectrum operations with multinational military forces and both governmental and non-governmental agencies.  ““This training allows us to further develop our replication of the contemporary and future operating environments in the live, virtual, and constructive training domains – all at the same time and in multiple locations,”” said Major-General John Collin, Commander 1st Canadian Division.  While the majority of planning and coordination for the exercise takes place at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Kingston, there are also approximately 1,000 Canadian Forces members taking part in the exercise through simulations across Canada because the exercise is computer-assisted ….”
  
• Columnist on Ministers not getting all the information they need (or want)  “…. Canada needs a military, and it needs an effective, capable one. But that requires civilian oversight, as much for the military’s benefit as the taxpayers’. It seems increasingly clear that right now, we don’t have that. And it’s hard to see how that will change any time soon.”
• Academic on what the Army should be preparing to do  “…. With instability throughout Northern Africa and the Middle East, the future of warfare looks likely to be dominated by insurgencies and failed states. Still, the war drums beating in northeast Asia over the Korean peninsula and the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands hedge against the possibility of a traditional state on state conflict marked by conventional capabilities. There are no easy answers to the question of what future Canada must demand its Army to prepare for. The Army clearly wishes to have as much capability it can get out of the state while Canadians might prefer to have only so much capability as we can afford. Hybrid warfare is a great concept to hedge bets, but one that doesn’t shed too much light on the space between those two positions, or on the hard decisions of deciding what Canada’s Army is for.”
  
• Canada’s Defence Minister drops by Norway  “…. the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, concluded a visit to Norway, during which he held bilateral discussions with his Norwegian counterpart, Minister of Defence Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen …. This visit provided both Ministers an opportunity to share insights and understanding on a wide range of issues and deepen Canada-Norway bilateral defence ties ….”
• Columnist on how the navy spy trial could be drawing Canada’s eye from the real threat  “…. In this century, authoritarian regimes may be more interested in, say, the government’s deliberations over allowing a Chinese state-owned enterprise to acquire a Canadian oil company than in military intelligence. Stealing intellectual property may be a bigger catch than ferreting out double agents ….”
  
• Note to headline writers:  is it “spying” when most of the information is out in the public domain?  “The Mounties compiled a dossier on the Occupy Ottawa movement, scouring social media sites and even quizzing campus security after protesters held planning sessions at a university, newly released documents show.  Meeting notes show there were also plans to monitor the Confederation Park protest site using a camera mounted to the nearby offices of the National Capital Commission.  The camera is normally pointed at Ottawa’s city hall, the notes say. However, the NCC says it does not operate the camera and it did not use the device to monitor the protests from its offices.  The documents show NCC staff did keep close tabs on the makeshift encampment throughout the occupation, snapping dozens of photographs and reporting on the protesters’ activities.  Details about the surveillance tactics are only now coming to light, some 14 months after police ousted the Occupy Ottawa protesters from Confederation Park in late November 2011. It took the NCC until last week to provide documents in response to an access-to-information request from The Canadian Press ….”  No word on whether the documents are being shared, so no clue what else is there.
• More on those OTHER squadrons that helped win the Battle of Britain (10 page RCAF Info-machine PDF)

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – January 25, 2013

• More Mali (1)  The CF’s Globemaster’s ferrying troops, hardware until just after Valentine’s Day “(Yesterday), the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird extended Canada’s assistance to France through the extension of one CC-177 Globemaster aircraft until February 15. This aircraft is available to France to move equipment and personnel to Mali’s capital, Bamako. This aircraft and Canadian Armed Forces personnel will not be part of combat operations.  Canada will continue to monitor events in Mali and the Sahel ….” - more here, here, here, here, here and here 
• More Mali (2)  Nigeria wants more Canada (and more)  “Nigeria’s ambassador to Canada, Ojo Maduekwe, on Thursday pressed his hosts to further reinforce French and African troops battling Islamist rebels in Mali.  In an interview with the daily Globe and Mail, the ambassador said Nigeria and other West African nations, which have committed 3,700 troops to the fight, need the military backing of Canada and other Western nations.  “What is required here is global political will, and global resources far beyond the capacity of African states, to see this thing as a common threat and deal with it,” he said.  “Rather than waiting for this thing to get worse, the time to deal with it is now, by a more imaginative, bolder and more creative response. An incremental approach ultimately is not the smartest thing to do. It will be more convenient for now, but more costly in the future.”  A single C-17 military transport aircraft “is something. It’s not enough,” he added, alluding to Canada’s contribution to the mission so far.  “We need equipment, which we do not have. We need funding for this — it shouldn’t be seen as a regional problem, it’s an international problem. We need training in dealing with this kind of threat,” he said ….”
• More Mali (3)  Analyst on the political play  “…. discussions of Canada’s role in the Mali mission have taken a confusing twist in Ottawa.  Having sent one transport plane to support French troops in Mali, Prime Minister Stephen Harper now says he is seeking “broad national consensus” on what Canada’s next steps should be. In particular, he is reaching out to the New Democratic Party, hoping it will support the effort. This is both instructive and confusing.  It is instructive in that, as the NDP seeks to maintain its position as the Official Opposition, rather than the third or fourth party it was not that long ago, it has incentives to support NATO efforts.  I noticed in my work on the NATO effort in Afghanistan that very new or very old (formerly Communist) left-wing parties feel a certain amount of pressure to support NATO operations so that they do not appear too fringe or pacifist.  It is far easier for more-established parties to oppose a country’s efforts in NATO.  It is confusing because Harper, with his majority government, does not need any votes from the NDP.  Canadian law does not require parliamentary votes for foreign deployments, regardless of the parliamentary votes over the Afghanistan mission.  So, why is Harper seeking the NDP’s support for Canadian efforts in Mali? I recently spent some time on Twitter with Phil Lagassé and Ted Campbell pondering what might be up. The possible explanations are many ….”
• Algeria  Someone’s digging into reports of Canadian involvement  “Canadian officials are on the ground in Algeria probing reports that Canadians were involved in the deadly hostage-taking at a gas plant.  They have joined Algerian officials looking into the assault on the natural gas facility by attackers who reportedly only sought out the westerners working at the plant.  Thirty-seven Algerian and foreign employees were killed when the Algerian military launched their own raid to retake control of the sprawling energy complex.  The Algerian prime minister has fingered at least one of the militants as a Canadian who “co-ordinated the attack.” …. The foreign affairs department confirmed that Canadians investigators are now on scene in Algeria to further examine claims of Canadian involvement.  “Canadian officials are on the ground in Algeria working with Algerian officials to get the necessary information,” said Rick Roth, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.  A spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police would not comment on reports that the Canadian investigators in Algeria are from the Mounties.”
• A reminder that Canada’s no stranger to al-Qaeda  “…. Since 2008, when Canada’s anti-terrorism legislation recorded its first conviction, there has been a steady increase in the number of terrorism-related arrests and prosecutions.  Over two dozen Canadians have been arrested or indicted on terrorism-related crimes in Canada and abroad, the vast majority inspired by al-Qaeda.  Canada’s spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), said last year that it was monitoring 250 people suspected of being involved in terrorism, up from 200 in 2010, and it was spending just under half of its $514m (£326m) annual budget on counter-terrorism.  A “massive, massive effort” for a country with a population of 34 million people, according to CSIS Director Richard Fadden ….” 
• Along the same lines ….  “…. “We know from past history that there have been several occasions where Canadian extremists have gone overseas to participate in armed conflicts and in many cases they end up dead,” said Stewart Bell, who is a senior reporter at the National Post and the author of two books about homegrown terrorism.  In 2008, Ottawa-born Momin Khawaja was convicted under Canada’s anti-terrorism laws for his role in plotting a London bombing with an Islamist extremist group. In 2006, a group of men called the Toronto 18 were arrested and charged for plotting to bomb Canadian targets in retaliation for the country’s involvement in Afghanistan. And just last week, Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana was sentenced to 14 years in prison for providing support to overseas terrorism in Pakistan.  Just last April Richard Fadden, the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, told a Senate committee at least 45 Canadians have travelled or attempted to travel from Canada to Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen to join al-Qaeda affliates.  Fadden also pointed to a “disturbing” number of Canadians or permanent residents involved in terrorist activities overseas back in 2010, naming regions like the Middle East, parts of Africa and South Asia.  The transformation from a Regular Joe to a radical is rooted in ideology, not location, according to Dr. Wagdy Loza, a psychiatry professor at Queen’s University and the retired chief psychologist of Kingston Penitentiary.  “It is not related to location but rather the leader who is convinced and the others who are willing to be convinced,” he said ….”
  
• Libya  “Canadians are being urged to immediately leave areas of Libya, including the eastern city of Benghazi, in response to a heightened risk of terrorism targeting expatriates and foreign travellers.  The federal government issued a travel advisory Thursday evening warning its citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Benghazi, Bani Walid and regions of Sabha and Kufra citing what it called an “unpredictable security situation.” ….”
  
• Fighting pirates  “On 27 November 2012, a merchant ship crossing the Indian Ocean took self-protective measures in reaction to two skiffs that were shadowing it. When the master reported the incident to the NATO Shipping Centre (NSC) in Northwood, England, the anti-piracy team based there quickly took action.  “On the basis of further information from the ship, the NSC assessment — produced in conjunction with colleagues at NATO, Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa and the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations office in Dubai — was that this was a Pirate Attack Group,” said Lieutenant-Commander Nicholas Smith of Task Force Northwood, the Canadian Forces team deployed at the NSC.  After determining that the skiffs were part of a Pirate Attack Group, the NSC proceeded to identify and warn all other vessels in the area of the danger. NATO and European Union warships also went to the area to look for the pirate vessels ….”
  
• Way Up North  “Canadian Rangers from seven First Nation communities made a big impression on an army colonel during a four-day visit to northern Ontario.  “It has been a wonderful and very useful experience,” said Colonel Jennie Carignan, chief of staff for Land Force Central Area, the military name for the army in Ontario. “I was absolutely astonished at the way the Rangers have adapted to living extremely well in their environment.  “They are very knowledgeable about their own areas and their role is absolutely critical to the safety of their communities.”  Carignan encountered severe weather conditions during her visit, with temperatures dropping to –40C and windchills reaching as low as –58C. Despite that she shot outdoors with Rangers at Lac Seul, and went snowmobiling with Rangers on the shore of Hudson Bay at both Fort Severn and Peawanuck. She also saw Rangers from Attawapiskat, Kashechewan, Fort Albany and Moose Factory teaching winter survival techniques to soldiers from Toronto at a temporary training site near Moosonee ….”
• “The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, attended a roundtable meeting (yesterday) with members of Branch 001 of the Royal Canadian Legion (in Regina). The event was part of his continued efforts to consult with Veterans and their families to ensure the Government is meeting their needs ….”
• While the American military is finally allowing women to work in combat roles, some U.S. media look at how Canada did it here and here.
• Columnist rips into convicted spy Jeff Delisle
  

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – January 18, 2013

• More Mali (1a)  Canada’s first drop-off complete – this (via Google Translate) from the French defence ministry info-machine:  “…. This day was mainly marked by the arrival of France Helicopter Group aero-mobile. They were transported by a strategic airlifter C17 Canadian, marking the beginning of Canada’s support for the operation Serval …. ” - more from media here.
• More Mali (1b)  Still, France wants MORE ….  “…. While the French military appreciates this logistical support, France’s ambassador to Canada, Philippe Zeller, told CBC News Thursday that his country wants Canada to provide it for longer than the limited period Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Monday.  French President François Hollande and Harper spoke by telephone Wednesday. The brief information provided by the prime minister’s office about the call didn’t indicate that extending Canada’s mission was part of the conversation, but Zeller says that’s when the request was made ….”
• More Mali (1c)  Meanwhile, “France’s appeal for more troops in Mali falling on deaf ears“
  
• More Mali (2)  DFAIT Travel Warning:  Don’t Go to Mali, and Get Out if you’re There!
• More Mali (3)  He’s (allegedly) baaaack….. “He was dubbed “The Uncatchable.” The RCMP tried to catch him anyway, determined to prosecute him for kidnapping two Canadian diplomats and holding them for 130 days in the Sahara desert.  The hunt by the RCMP failed – and now their target, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, is reported to be the mastermind behind a dramatic Algerian hostage-taking raid that reveals the regional perils attached to the French-led military offensive in Mali.  About 20 heavily armed Islamist radicals killed a Briton and an Algerian at a natural-gas complex in Algeria Wednesday morning. They injured six others and captured dozens of hostages, including ciizens of the U.S., Britain, France, Norway, Ireland and Japan ….”
  
• More Mali (4)  Sun Media opinion piece  “….  Why is Canada involving itself in Mali’s civil war? A war between undemocratic military autocrats and Qaddafi-trained Jihadists?  We have no strategic interests, few economic ties, and no cultural or historic attachment with Mali. We’ve called the regime illegitimate and condemned their actions.  Are we just going to keep chasing al-Qaeda around Africa, even if it means teaming up with warlords and despots?  War is a horrible thing. It causes death and destruction. It kills the good alongside the bad. There are plenty of regimes we don’t like around the world, plenty of terrible governments harming their people.  We should learn from our mistakes in Libya and the unintended consequences of our actions against Qaddafi. For every bad guy you eventually kill, you engage and activate unknown others along the way ….”
• More Mali (5)  More on whazzup in Mali here (Google News), here (EMM Explorer) and here (France’s defence ministry’s latest update in French)
  
• More “down the road” talk about the CF  “The Canadian Forces (CF) face an existential question.  It is not the quality of its individual members; they are thoroughly trained and individually highly professional, well-led soldiers, sailors and aviators.  It is not the quality of its equipment, despite substantial concerns over “rusted out” naval vessels, questionable submarines, and delays into the never/never decisions for next-generation aircraft.  Rather, the question is the mission the CF will pursue into the out years of the first half of the 21st century.  And mission equals money; money equals mission …..”
• More in the same vein  “…. At one extreme are those who call for Canada, like Iceland and Costa Rica, to abandon our standing army and no longer be part of NATO. Most Canadians appear to favour a military which is adequately equipped and funded to protect our sovereignty over territorial waters and airspace, and to have a say at the table on global security by rapidly deploying anywhere in the world on occasions when needed to protect civilians under siege. I favour this approach.”
  
• “Canadian military veterans living on Ottawa’s streets need more help, according to an Ottawa city councillor, who is trying to push officials to improve th co-ordination of support services.  Coun. Steve Desroches, who represents the ward of Gloucester-South Nepean, said he believes all the necessary support programs exist in Ottawa to help homeless military veterans.  But Desroches said they are disconnected and not as effective as they could or should be, which means many homeless veteran live under the radar.  “If we can help by identifying them and making sure they’re getting the programs they need, I think we’ll have succeeded,” Desroches said.  “This is about tapping in to the good work the Royal Canadian Legion is doing.” ….” - more here.
• The latest from the VAC Info-machine on how looking into a Toronto veterans’ nursing home is coming along  “The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, announced …. that the first meeting of the External Advisory Committee in charge of providing independent advice on the audit of the Veterans Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre was held on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at the facility. The Committee, chaired by the Veterans Ombudsman Guy Parent, includes representation from organizations involved in Veterans’ issues, and individuals with health expertise …. While the audit is still in progress, on-site visits and interviews with over 100 residents and family members have been recently completed. The audit results are expected in the winter of 2013.  The Veterans Ombudsman, Guy Parent, has elected to participate as an independent observer throughout the audit process and is providing an independent avenue for Veterans and their families to raise additional or other concerns.”
• “A 36-year-old soldier and Afghanistan veteran who had sex with three women without telling them he has herpes, infecting two, pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing bodily harm Friday.  Master Cpl. Mathew Wilson admits he had unprotected sex with two women he met on Internet dating sites and protected sex with a neighbor between 2005 and 2009 …. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 7.  Wilson faces a trial on a charge of possessing child pornography Feb. 24.”
  
• Has it been 22 years already?  “An American-led coalition of a half million soldiers mustered in the Persian Gulf in the closing months of 1990. The coalition readied itself for war under the auspices of the United Nations as a result of Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait and its threat to peace and security in the Persian Gulf.  The Allies were under significant pressure given the capabilities of Saddam Hussein’s military forces. The Iraqis possessed considerable military breadth and depth. The Iraqi army had over one million soldiers in uniform supported by more than 5,500 tanks, including modern T-72s and over 3,000 artillery pieces. To this was added the elite Republican Guard who numbered over 80,000 troops. And the Iraqis also boasted over 750 French- and Soviet-made aircraft, including 500 fighters and fighter-bombers …. The Canadian Forces deployed to the Persian Gulf in August 1990, shortly after the UN passed Resolution 661 authorizing an embargo against Iraq to restore peace to the region. Operation Friction, the Canadian contribution to the Allied effort, brought together a Naval Task Group, a field hospital and 24 CF-18 fighters ….”
  
• “An Ontario bodyguard who worked for Saadi Gaddafi provided “invaluable assistance” to the Libyan dictatorship as it attempted to brutally crush an anti-regime uprising in 2011, the Canada Border Services Agency alleged on Wednesday.  At an immigration hearing in Toronto, the CBSA accused Gary Peters of complicity in war crimes, citing the “vital role” it said he had played as bodyguard to Mr. Gaddafi, the son of dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and a commander in the Libyan special forces.  Mr. Peters was so well-entrenched in the Gaddafi regime that he was given a pass card that allowed him unfettered access to any government building, the agency alleged as it for the first time laid out its case against the man it called “Saadi’s bodyguard.”  Summoned to Libya in February 2011 by Saadi Gaddafi himself, Mr. Peters accompanied the dictator’s son to meetings with senior members of the regime and to public rallies where he represented his father, Kristen Smyth, a CBSA officer, told the hearing ….”
  
• “A Pakistani-born Canadian citizen was sentenced to 14 years in prison Thursday for providing material support to overseas terrorism, including a Pakistani group whose 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India, left more than 160 people dead.  Tahawwur Rana did not address the court before U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber imposed the sentence and did not react afterward. But his defence attorneys said the judge was right to reject prosecutors’ arguments that Rana deserved a stiffer sentence because the charges were related to terrorism.  Jurors in 2011 convicted Rana of providing support for the Pakistani group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and for supporting a never-carried-out plot to attack a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005. The cartoons angered many Muslims because pictures of the prophet are prohibited in Islam ….” – more here.

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – November 17, 2012

• Israel (1)  “Prime Minister Stephen Harper condemned rocket attacks against Israel as tensions continued to rise in the Middle East.  His remarks, in Quebec City, came as the Israeli military prepared for a possible ground incursion into the Palestinian-controlled Gaza region, which observers say could lead to a dramatic escalation of the conflict.  Aside from the call-up of reservists, the Israeli Defence Force announced Friday that a highway leading to Gaza would be off-limits to civilian traffic, according to published reports in the region.  Rockets fired by Hamas militants were aimed at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem — two targets previously thought out of range of missiles from Gaza …. Harper’s government has been a staunch, outspoken backer of Israel, and recently won applause from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for the abrupt closure of the Canadian embassy in Tehran.  “We recognize and support Israel’s right to defend itself against such terrorist attacks, but obviously we urge all sides to take all precautions possible to spare any innocent lives,” Harper said Friday ….” - more from the Foreign Affairs minister earlier this week here.
• Israel (2)  “A seemingly unending rain of Hamas rockets on Israeli cities and the threat of a ground attack on the Gaza Strip have prompted fears the violence will escalate and draw in other players throughout the Middle East and the world.  That may seem to be an exaggeration given that Israelis and Palestinians have engaged in numerous short but bloody conflicts, most recently in late December 2008. But thanks to the Arab Spring, the situation this time around is very different.  And though the fighting may seem distant and of little relevance to most Canadians, the reality is this country will be affected if the situation spirals out of control ….”
• Libya  “…. the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, accompanied by the Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Associate Minister of National Defence, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) (La Francophonie), and General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, presented 210 Canadian Forces members with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Operation Unified Protector – Libya medal during a ceremony held at Canadian Forces Base Halifax.  An additional 740 medals were awarded to Canadian Forces personnel in several other ceremonies across Canada and the United States of America today in recognition of their participation in Operation Mobile, the Canadian Forces’ contribution to the NATO-led operation to protect the people of Libya with the enforcement of an arms embargo and no-fly zone ….” – more on the medal here.
• Joshua Baker, 1985-2010, R.I.P.   “The dangers of the Claymore anti-personnel mine were made abundantly clear to soldiers at an Afghanistan training range before an accident that killed a young corporal, a court martial heard Thursday.  Two witnesses at the hearing for Calgary reservist Maj. Darryl Watts testified that Warrant Officer Paul Ravensdale, the range safety officer, had stressed the possible consequences of using the C19.  “He was clear about the duties when handling it. He gave a very thorough briefing with the C19,” said Master Cpl. Scott Lawrence, a medic who was on the range, four kilometres north of Kandahar city, on Feb. 13, 2010.  “He was clear about soldiers being back behind the (firing) lanes.” ….” -  more from the court martial here and here.
• Way Up North  Mark Collins on “At Least the Americans are Not Howling about “Arctic Sovereignty” “
• “Minister MacKay launches the 2012 Halifax International Security Forum” – more on the Forum here.
• “Canada’s military defense capabilities are at risk due to a predicted two-year delay of a new fleet of Earth-watching radar satellites, critics say. But the country’s defense department maintains it has a backup plan.  The delayed Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM) consists of three satellites meant to replace Radarsat-2, a five-year-old satellite that probes Canada’s landmass, and that of other countries, with radar signals. Radarsat-2 is expected to last until 2015, and potentially longer.  Industry Canada, a government department that oversees the Canadian Space Agency, recently revealed that RCM will launch in fiscal year 2016-17, two years later than planned ….”      
  
• “A cyber-attack on key infrastructure such as the power grid could be devastating for Canada, says a recently retired intelligence officer.  Ray Boisvert, a former assistant director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, told a gathering of academics and security professionals Friday that a digital assault would mean malfunctioning cash machines, no gas at the pumps and empty store shelves.  “One significant cyber-attack on a critical infrastructure node will bring calamity upon all of us,” Boisvert said during a panel discussion sponsored by the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies.  “I will say categorically from my experience that the cyber-threat is real, it’s extremely significant, and it’s having a big impact on both public and private-sector interests. And it is fundamentally undermining our future prosperity as a nation.”  Governments and many companies are only now beginning to face the threat from rogue states bent on doing damage or stealing secrets, said Boisvert, who left CSIS about six months ago to become a private consultant.  Boisvert pointed to “worrisome” countries including China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, but stressed the list is much longer ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – November 16, 2012

• What the politicians say about defence spending  “Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Thursday that the Canadian Forces will do its part to help the federal government balance the books by cutting administration and exploring new partnerships with foreign allies.  That may be easier said than done, however, as military officials have been quietly fretting over a very public order delivered by Prime Minister Stephen Harper late last month that the Defence Department focus on “more teeth and less tail.” ….”      
• What it means for (at least part of) the sharp end  “With a volatile federal budget still in the red, cuts are being made across the country, including at CFB Edmonton, where a multitude of issues are currently being faced.  According to Lieut.-Col. John Reiffenstein, base commander at CFB Edmonton, the local base is seeing cuts of more than 50% to its operations and maintenance budget.  Reiffenstein said that, as a result of the new budget, some programs will have to be cut.  “Whereas before we relied on commissionaires… to provide security in a couple of spots, that ate up a considerable portion of my budget,” he said at the Fort Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon.  “We can’t do that anymore, so we’ve got to figure out what risks we can assume in terms of, say, roving patrols; what risks we can assume in terms of having a soldier who’s also a clerk, keeping an eye on the front entrance to a building — things like that.  “We cannot continue to spend money the way we were spending it while we were fighting the war in Afghanistan. Those days are over and our job in uniform is to get on with it.”  Although it has not yet been confirmed, Reiffenstein said that programs associated with areas such as the family resource centre, which provides services like daycare, could be some that see cuts.  “We’re still working through that. I am concerned,” Reiffenstein said ….”
  
• Remember these complaints about how some vets are being treated at Sunnybrook’s vets’ facility in Toronto?   It appears someone’s got some ‘splain’ to do….  “Relatives concerned about the care their frail loved ones are receiving at Canada’s largest veterans facility said they were pleased Ottawa had sent in an inspector.  At the same time, they said they were skeptical about the impact the move would have on care levels at the Sunnybrook Veterans Centre.  “I think it’s great, but now they’re going to be prepared for it and everything is going to be bustling clean and everything is going to be all fine,” said Rodney Burnell, who’s ailing father George has been at Sunnybrook for three years.  “This inspector should go without them knowing. They’re going to be put on a big show.” …. the office of Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney said he was immediately dispatching a “senior official” to look into the complaints.  Sunnybrook spokesman, Craig DuHamel, said inspectors visited the unit on Friday.  “They didn’t express any concerns,” DuHamel said. “I think they were satisfied with the care we’re providing.” …. Even though it operates in Ontario — which has a nursing-home inspection regimen and regulations enacted in 2007 related to long-term care standards — the veterans facility does not fall under the province’s scope ….”
• More on Sunnybrook…. “The federal government has ordered a thorough audit of the country’s largest veterans facility following complaints from family members about substandard care, The Canadian Press has learned.  A senior official, who requested anonymity, said Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney gave the order on Thursday after hearing the “disturbing” allegations of neglect of frail vets at the Sunnybrook Veterans Centre.  The audit would focus both on how taxpayers’ money is being spent and on the quality of the care provided, the official said.  “We’re just trying to make sure that what veterans are getting there is of top-notch quality,” he said from Ottawa.  “We want to make sure we’re basing our action on credible evidence; the audit is the only tool to allow us to really determine what’s going on the ground there.”  The official said the aim is to have the audit completed by early next year. It will be as thorough and as detailed as possible, include conversations with relatives of patients, and the results would be made public, he said ….”
  
• Remember Trevor Greene, who survived and continues to recover from an axe to the head during a shura in Afghanistan?  Here’s your chance to click and vote to help a school get him get some quasi-robotic hardware that’ll help him walk- vote now, vote often.
  
• Someone identifying himself as a CBC radio producer is looking for reservists and families dealing with PTSD via Milnet.ca – and is learning how the perceived actions/decisions of some of his colleagues may be poisoning his well, too, rightly or wrongly.
  
• Israel Nails Bad Guys in Gaza (1)  In case you haven’t heard, Israel’s nailed a major bad guy in Gaza – more at the IDF’s English-language blog here.       
• Israel Nails Bad Guys in Gaza (2)  “The rain of rockets, and talk of an Israeli military incursion into Gaza, presents the Harper government with the first significant test of its newly negotiated defence partnership with Israel.  But Defence Minister Peter MacKay cautioned Thursday that Canada wants to see cooler heads prevail in the escalating conflict.  Over the last two years, officials in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have been given private assurances that Ottawa was behind them. MacKay went so far as to say in 2011 that “a threat to Israel is a threat to Canada.”  The two countries have signed a memorandum of understanding covering defence and industrial initiatives, as well as information-sharing.  The agreement is non-binding, unlike the NATO charter which requires member states to come to each other’s defence. Netanyahu has long said Israel will manage its own defence, and MacKay played down the potential impact of the agreement in the current crisis.  “We’re very far away from any such decision-making,” he said in an interview, prior to the start of the Halifax International Security Summit.  “What we want to continue to do is appeal for calm, appeal for diplomacy, discussions.” ….”
• Israel Nails Bad Guys in Gaza (3) “Escalating violence between Israel and militants in Gaza could be the “spark” that ignites more serious conflict, Defence Minister Peter MacKay says.  Rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip into Israel, including in a fatal attack on Thursday, and Israel’s assassination of a prominent Hamas leader and ongoing airstrikes have many fearing broader military action.  “The last 24 hours have demonstrated the degree of volatility that people in the region are facing,” MacKay said in an interview Thursday.  “Having a rocket strike so close to Tel Aviv, lives lost. This is the type of spark that can have all kinds of extremely serious consequences in a region that … some would describe as on a slow boil,” he said ….”
• Libya  “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, accompanied by the Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Associate Minister of National Defence, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) (La Francophonie) and Member of Parliament for Madawaska-Restigouche, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, and other senior military leaders will award NATO service medals to 210 Canadian Forces (CF) members who served as part of Operation Unified Protector (later this morning in Halifax) ….”
• Ceasefire.ca on “Why is Canada going soft on cluster bombs?”
  
• Remembering (1)  You can run (and kick over flags), but you can’t hide…. “(Toronto) Police are looking to charge a man with mischief after he allegedly kicked over Canadian flags at the Sunnybrook hospital cenotaph on Remembrance Day.  They say the man was jogging past the hospital grounds on Bayview Ave. south of Lawrence Ave. E. around 2:30 p.m. Sunday when he allegedly kicked down some of the flags displayed for ceremonies.  The man was photographed giving a finger gesture to onlookers. The image was posted to the Toronto forum on the website Reddit, by a user who said the flags were sold for a Legion fundraiser.”  More from the Toronto Sun here.
• Remembering (2)  The Repatriation Memorial hasn’t been up for very long, and already this…. “Residents in Trenton, Ont., have expressed outrage and disgust after an Afghan war memorial was vandalized only days after Remembrance Day services.  The incident, which took place early Wednesday morning, has evoked a strong community response.  Home to CFB Trenton, the military plays a strong role in the community of 20,000.  A furious Quinte West Mayor John Williams said he’s received hundreds of emails and notes from residents upset by the recent vandalism attack.  “I’ve heard people on talk-back radio asking what the punishment should be,” he said. “We should set an example when we catch the individual responsible for this. There’s just no excuse.”  Two CCTV images from the memorial’s site have been released showing a man with a baseball cap destroying flowers and plants at the Afghanistan Repatriation Memorial, then walking away ….”
• Remembrance (3)  “Remembrance Day 2012: A bit of Canada in Djibouti”
• New senior Chief Warrant Officer for the RCAF
  
• “The fourth quadrennial Military Judges Compensation Committee report on the compensation of military judges is now available on the Department of National Defence website ….” - check for the report here.
  

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – October 22, 2012

• Afghanistan  Welcome home!  “The first group of Canadian Forces (CF) personnel to take part in Operation ATTENTION (Roto-1) are returning home to Fredericton, New Brunswick, and Trenton, Ontario, after an eight-month mission in Afghanistan …. The CF deployed more than 900 military trainers and support personnel to Afghanistan to take part in Operation ATTENTION, the Canadian component of the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan …. Since February 2012, the CF personnel, primarily from the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, in Gagetown, New Brunswick, were involved in training and preparing the Afghan National Security Forces in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif ….”
• Rare scotch going for a great cause  “A decades-old bottle of very rare Scotch has sold at an auction in Toronto for a record price.  The 55-year-old bottle of Glenfiddich single malt, called Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve, is one of only 11 bottles left in the world. It sold Friday night for a record $52,000.  The winning bidders were a married couple from Etobicoke, Ont., who love Scotch but who wanted only their first names revealed: Dave and Laurie.  Proceeds from the auction went to Wounded Warriors, a not-for-profit organization that assists and improves the quality of life of wounded Canadian soldiers and their families.  Dave and his wife decided to bid in the auction because they have close family members who served in the Second World War and wanted to support Canada’s armed forces.  Capt. Wayne Johnston, founder of WoundedWarriors.ca, said he was grateful for the buyers and William Grant & Sons, the owners of the Glenfiddich distillery, which donated the scotch for auction ….”
• Columnist reminds the system to keep taking care of the troops  “…. Now that Afghanistan is kaput for Canadians, the task of dealing with PTSD “victims” (if that’s the right word) is the responsibility of Veterans Affairs, which these days has to deal with a different sort of wounded soldier than in past wars.  Not all PTSD is the same, but all types can be crippling and all deserve the support that is given to those who have visible, life-altering wounds.  In many case, PTSD is a war wound — and soldiers who are wounded for their country have earned and deserve everything the country can do to repair the damage.  Most would agree with this, but words and deeds don’t always coincide.  Too many of Canada’s wounded feel now that the shooting is over, they are being abandoned. Sometimes, their only protector is media publicity, because that’s what grabs the attention of politicians who make the decisions.”      
• Four new faces on the Veterans Review and Appeal Board ….  “The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, fulfilled today another pledge to Veterans by announcing four new highly qualified appointments to the Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB), effective November 19. Three highly qualified reappointments were also announced.  “With these appointments, the Veterans Review and Appeal Board now has among the highest amount of members with military, medical, and police experience in its history,” said Minister Blaney. “The Veterans’ community has specifically asked for the membership of the Board to be composed of more professionals with this kind of experience, and we are delivering.” …. The appointees announced today all hold either Canadian Forces (CF) or medical backgrounds, and between them, they have a combined 72 years of Canadian Forces experience and 35 years of health care experience ….”  Check out the list of new appointees here.
• …. and one familiar face gone from the VRAB  “An outspoken member of a veterans appeal board, who said his privacy was violated and that the federal agency treats ex-soldiers with disrespect, won’t be reappointed.  Harold Leduc and two other members of the troubled agency have been shown the door, and in their places the Harper government has appointed a nurse with extensive experience in addiction treatment and former military officers.  The changes, which normally garner little public attention, were announced Sunday, one day ahead of Leduc’s appearance before the House of Commons veterans affairs committee.  The Parliamentary body is investigating the Veterans Review and Appeal Board, an independent panel where ex-soldiers can challenge benefits decisions by the veterans department.  Leduc’s long-anticipated testimony is expected to give the Opposition plenty ammunition, particularly the NDP, which has introduced a private members bill to scrap the board ….”
• What else has the VAC Minister been up to?  “The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, today concluded successful meetings with German officials, including the Minister of Defence, in Berlin. During the visit, Minister Blaney outlined Canada’s Veterans programs as Germany considers options for the care and support of its Veterans and explores ways to help remember their service and sacrifices. Minister Blaney also expressed Canada’s ongoing interest in working with international partners to advance Veterans issues.  Along with providing the keynote address to the annual reception of the German Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Minister Blaney held discussions with the Chairwoman of the Defence Committee of the German Bundestag, the Chairman of the Association of German Reservists, a representative of the German Armed Forces Association, and the Brigadier-General responsible for the German PTSD program ….”
• Delisle Spy Case  “U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson is revealing for the first time that Sub-Lt. Jeffrey Paul Delisle sold both American and Canadian secrets to Russia.  In comments during an interview to be broadcast on CTV’s Question Period Sunday, Jacobson said Delisle sold confidential U.S. government information as well as Canadian secrets.  “We don’t talk a lot about national security information like this, for obvious reasons,” Jacobson told host Kevin Newman.  “I will say this: he pleaded guilty to selling secrets of the United States and secrets of Canada to the Russians. That is obviously not good. We’ve had these problems in the past and we want to make sure and the Canadians want to make sure that nothing like this is going to happen again.”  When pressed to explain further what U.S. secrets were passed on, Jacobson refused to reveal details.  “Well, I’m not going to get into exactly what he passed. But there was a lot of highly classified material,” Jacobson said ….” – more here.
• Khadr Boy  You KNEW this was going to happen at some point ….  “Omar Khadr’s $10-million lawsuit against the federal government is likely to pick up momentum now that he’s back in Canada, his lawyer said Monday.  John Norris admits the case, which dates back to 2004 and centres on Khadr’s interrogation by a Canadian official at Guantanamo Bay, has languished for years.  Coincidentally, a case management meeting is scheduled for mid-month and Norris expects things will move quicker now that the main hurdle of getting him back to Canada has been cleared.  “It’s been very much on the back-burner,” he said in an interview Monday. “Now that he’s here it’ll be, I think, moving forward a little bit more perceptively.”  The case relates to information gathered by a Foreign Affairs official who questioned Khadr in Cuba knowing he’d been subjected to sleep deprivation — a technique used to soften detainees. Court records suggest the information was shared with U.S. officials, possibly for use in the case they were building against him.  Initially set at $100,000, the damages were bumped to $10 million in early 2010 after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the government violated Khadr’s charter rights.  The damages sought in the Khadr case are identical to what the government paid Maher Arar after Canadian officials shared faulty intelligence with the U.S. that ultimately led to his arrest at a New York airport and subsequent deportation and incarceration in Syria ….”      
• Libya  “Exactly one year ago, outside the Libyan city of Sirte, a Canadian who commanded 250 rebel fighters came face to face with Muammar Gaddafi. The dictator had just been pulled from a culvert. His time was up. He was about to die.  But the Canadian had orders: Capture Gaddafi. Don’t kill him. Let others decide his fate later.  “I was about two metres from him. There was already a crowd,” recalls Gourbal Djiddi Nokour, a 36-year-old from Hamilton, Ont. “He was in pyjamas, basically. His wig had fallen off. Men were hitting him. He was begging for mercy and yelling that what they were doing to him was haraam,” the Arabic word for sinful.  The beatings lasted a few minutes. Then someone holding a pistol approached. He fired twice, says Mr. Nokour, speaking to the National Post Friday, from Tripoli. Mr. Nokour’s eyewitness account of Gaddafi’s last moments adds detail and clarity to initial and subsequent reports from Libya.  The first bullet tore into Gaddafi’s head; the second, through his stomach. After a moment of shock, a violent frenzy erupted. Gaddafi’s corpse was grotesquely defiled. A tyrant was dead: Cause for a macabre celebration.  But Mr. Nokour had failed his assignment. On the first anniversary of Gaddafi’s death, the Canadian commander has agreed at last to reveal his involvement.  Gourbal Nokour is not a soldier. He’s a civilian, a graduate of York University near Toronto, where he studied political science. He’s a husband and father. He is under contract to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board, to provide “interpretation services.” For that, he is paid $25,000 a year.  Lately, he hasn’t been in Canada very much ….”
• Former Canadian MP a guest of the Israelis  “The family of former MP Jim Manly is concerned for his health and safety after the Israeli navy boarded a ship he was on. The ship was apparently headed to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to break Israel’s maritime blockade against the Hamas-controlled region.  Jim, whose 80th birthday is next week, requires daily medication as a result of two bypass surgeries and his son said they hope the Israeli government gives it to him.  “He’s a bit old to be taking a trip like this but he’s a determined advocate for human rights,” said Paul Manly, adding that his father is so passionate about the issue, there was no way the family could have stopped him from taking the trip.  The passengers on the European ship, the Estelle, also included five members of European parliaments, according to those involved in the campaign.  An Israeli military spokesman said that the ship had been seized without incident and taken to the port of Ashdod, in southern Israel, and that those on board would be turned over to the police.  “I know people have been brutalized and people have been killed on these flotillas,” Paul Manly said. He doesn’t think there has been any violence but knows his father wouldn’t sustain it well.  He said his family only found out the ship had been blocked this morning when he received a call from the media for an interview. The only details he has about the condition of the passengers is through the news.  “I’m just sitting here in a black hole with all of this,” he said ….” – more on the fracas via Google News here or here.
• Ceasefire.ca’s take on Canadian history  “In focusing on wars, the Conservatives are missing out on much of what is important in Canada’s past ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – September 22, 2012

• Well done, War Museum  “The prosthetic leg of a soldier wounded in Afghanistan has become a part of Canadian military history, immortalized on a canvas purchased by the Canadian War Museum.  Sgt. Bjarne Nielsen lost a leg in July 2010 after stepping on an improvised explosive device while on a foot patrol just southwest of Kandahar.  Ottawa artist Bruce Stewart decided to paint the prosthetic leg after visiting The Ottawa Hospital’s Rehabilitation Centre to photograph it.  “It’s kind of an eye-catching piece,” Stewart said. “It’s going to command your attention across a room because … it’s got so much pain behind it. And I think that pain is reflected in there somewhere in the work. At least I hope it is. I tried to.”  Stewart’s painting and his drawing of another soldier were purchased by the museum this week ….”
  
• “The Helmets to Hardhats Canada Web site, dedicated to helping Veterans and men and women in uniform find jobs in the building and construction industry as they transition to civilian life, is now available. On behalf of the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Labour and Member of Parliament for Halton, and representatives from Helmets to Hardhats Canada today highlighted the Web site in Hamilton ….”
• “The Helmets to Hardhats Canada Web site, dedicated to helping Veterans and men and women in uniform find jobs in the building and construction industry as they transition to civilian life, is now available. On behalf of the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Minister for the Atlantic Gateway and Member of Parliament for Fredericton, today highlighted the Web site at CFB Gagetown ….”
• Libya  “The retired Canadian Forces general who commanded the NATO mission in Libya says the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was both an act of terrorism — and a sign of a struggling new democracy.  In an exclusive interview with Power & Politics guest host Hannah Thibedeau, retired lieutenant-general Charles Bouchard said the attack is not a reflection that the NATO campaign ended too early. The fledgling central government faces tremendous security challenges posed by young demonstrators and terrorists and is not yet capable of controlling the threat, he said.  “I think all indications point towards that this was a terrorist action taking place, but it’s also indicative of a government that has not found its full control yet,” Bouchard said in his first interview since the Sept. 11 attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other diplomatic staff. “We just had a recent election, a new prime minister has been appointed, and he faces many, many challenges.” ….”
  
• One writer’s view of Canada as a “warrior nation”  “…. I would say that the people who are supporting the idea of the warrior nation are also, by and large, the people who don’t want to give up an iota of that notion of sovereignty, defined narrowly, and who are also putting a terrified foot in the sand against a future that is already here. This is already an international age. This is already an age in which economic shocks, computer viruses and biological ones and authentic terrorist threats all operate across borders. So what I’m about to say is the thing that is really obnoxious in this camp, which is that it’s inevitable that there will be some kind of greater international order. That’s the only possible civilized way we can move forward ….”     
• Way Up North (1)  “The melt of Arctic sea ice has reached its lowest point this year, shrinking 18 percent from last year’s near-record low.  Summer ice this year is half what it was 30 years ago and is now affecting weather patterns. The massive declines in ice in recent summers have shocked scientists and Arctic experts. Some predict that in just a few years we will witness an event that hasn’t happened in millions of years: the complete loss of summer ice.  “We are now in uncharted territory,” said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Colorado.  “Few of us were prepared for how rapidly the changes would actually occur” as a result of the burning fossil fuels that are warming the planet, said Serreze.  “We could see an essentially ice-free Arctic ocean in late summer by the year 2030,” ….”     
• Way Up North (2)  “Although China does not currently hold any Arctic territories, it is deploying its wealth and diplomatic clout to secure a foothold. The country sees its involvement as important so that it is not shut out of mineral and shipping decisions. The Arctic region has risen rapidly on the country’s foreign policy agenda: this year alone diplomats have visited Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, and also Greenland, where Chinese companies are investing to create a mining industry. Retreating of Greenland’s ice cap has made accessible deposits of many valuable minerals; so far there has been little exploitation of Arctic resources. Greenland’s proximity to the US is also of concern to American officials, who have accordingly stepped up diplomatic efforts with Arctic countries ….”
• “On behalf of the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, Senator Yonah Martin and the Honourable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs, will join Korean representatives to pay tribute to Canadians who served during the Korean War (this afternoon in Ottawa) ….”
• “On behalf of the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, the Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board, Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, and Member of Parliament for Parry Sound–Muskoka, will attend a dedication ceremony for the newly erected Algonquin Regiment Monument in Parry Sound, Ontario. Minister Clement will speak and lay a wreath at the event (tomorrow afternoon) ….”

What’s Canada Buying? September 20, 2012

• F-35 Tug o’ War  “Government records show Canadian CF-18 pilots shut down one of their aircraft’s two engines in midflight more than 200 times since 1988 because of safety concerns.  The revelation highlights a key aspect of the debate over whether the single engine F-35 stealth jet is not only the right aircraft for Canada, but also the safest – or whether the air force would be better off with another dual-engine jet.  Critics of the Harper government’s plan to purchase the F-35 stealth fighter have long maintained that a dualengine fighter is better suited and safer for Canada’s air force pilots – particularly so they will have a backup while patrolling the country’s vast north.  That was one of the main reasons given by the federal government and military for choosing the twin-engined CF-18s as Canada’s main fighter jet in the 1980s.  In a report filed in Parliament this week, National Defence says it does not officially know how many times CF-18 engines have failed since 1988 ….”  Since Postmedia News isn’t sharing the report, here’s the REST of the story, shared for the purpose of viewing for research.
• MORE work at CFB Goose Bay  “Dome Mountain PHC Soil Remediation, Goose Bay, NL. …. The work includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the supply of labour, material, and equipment necessary for the excavation and disposal of PHC impacted soil, re-instatement of site with clean material …. The estimated cost for this opportunity is in the order of $1,992,400.00 ….”
• “The Department of National Defence has a requirement for commercial off the shelf (COTS) Optical Sights (1-8X) …. (for delivery) Within 250 km of the National Capital Region ….” - a few more details here.
  
• “Defence Research and Development Canada – Suffield (DRDC S) has a requirement to detect and locate buried linear conductive objects such as wire, pipes, rods, geological formations, etc. ….”
  
• Wanted:  Canadian companies interested in working on Kabul International Airport.
  
• Libya  “When the Royal Canadian Air Force deployed over Libyan skies, its pilots bedded down safe and sound in hotels in Sicily.  In fact, all Canadian troops there in support of the UN-backed mission in Libya were booked into hotels — an initially ad hoc solution that lasted for nearly nine months and cost taxpayers millions of dollars.  CBC News has learned the Armed Forces likely spent about $11 million on hotel bills, which amounts to more than 10 per cent of the military’s $103 million total cost of the mission.  One spreadsheet shows $7.7 million for accommodations for a few hundred troops in two or three locations on the island of Sicily.  NDP Defence critic Jack Harris says that’s a hefty price.  “It was a temporary mission, and as a result you are going to get a temporary cost,” he said. “But our understanding was — and the Canadian public was led to believe — that they had all the co-operation of the government of Italy, and the use of their base to run operations out of.” ….”