MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 30 Jun 11

• Francis Roy, R.I.P.  He’s home – more here, here and here.
• On Francis Roy, and the Toronto Star, a letter from Canada’s Joint Task Force Kandahar Commander:  “…. I am disappointed that an article in a reputable paper such as the Toronto Star would suggest that some military deaths are treated differently. To lose a comrade in arms, whether at home or on active service, is difficult for all of us. One thing Canadians can be certain of is the respect we, the Canadian Forces, bestow on our fallen ….”
• Joshua Caleb Baker, 1985-2010, R.I.P.  “The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS), the investigative arm of the Canadian Forces Military Police, today charged two Canadian Forces members for an incident that occurred on a training range in Afghanistan on February 12, 2010. The Officer in Charge, Major Darryl Watts, and the Range Safety Officer, Warrant Officer Paul Ravensdale, face six charges and five alternate charges each in relation to the death of Corporal Joshua Caleb Baker and the injury of four other soldiers …. It is alleged that the proper safety procedures were not followed during the training exercise. The case will now proceed through the military justice system.”  More here (Canadian Press), here (Globe & Mail), here, here (Postmedia News), here (Toronto Star), here and here (QMI/Sun Media) – discussion at Army.ca here.
• Afghanistan (1)  “Luck is a subject most combat troops don’t like to talk about in the field — and certainly not on the night they go home. The palpable sense of relief they feel upon leaving the bomb-laced fields of Afghanistan, a country where life and death can often seem maddeningly random, is not something they share very easily. Many troops at barren outposts will quickly hush anyone who tries to describe their survival in terms of luck, as though its invocation is somehow a curse or a jinx. To bring it up as they board the plane is to remind them that some of their buddies are not coming home. The 1st Battalion, Royal 22e Regiment battle group has had fewer fatalities than any Canadian unit of the Afghan war, which for Canada is rapidly drawing to a close ahead of the July deadline established by Parliament for the end of combat operations. Hundreds of troops belonging to Alpha Company, which spent seven months in one of the toughest districts of Kandahar, went home for good in the overnight hours early Thursday. Feeling lucky wasn’t in their vocabulary ….” More on the troops coming home here.
• Afghanistan (2)  Just a reminder: Kabul is one of the places Canadian troops will be stationed once the “combat mission” ends. “The brazen attack by insurgents on a Kabul hotel Tuesday is a clear sign the Taliban remain “a force to be reckoned with” in all regions of Afghanistan as the combat mission for Canada and other NATO troops draws to a close, says one security expert. The attack, which left 19 people dead — including nine insurgents — is an indication well-planned attacks in more secure locations are still possible in the conflict-stricken country, said Jez Littlewood, director of the Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies at Ottawa’s Carleton University. “To do an armed assault on one of the premier hotels in Kabul and conduct that attack for (hours) . . . before it was brought to an end sends quite a strong message in terms of this being a sophisticated attack” ….”
• Afghanistan (3)  “Canada is to assume the lead role for NATO in training Afghanistan’s most senior police officers. Canadians are to be 24 of the 34 mentors advising generals from Afghanistan’s four police forces as well as top officials in the Interior Ministry, according to the Canadian general who runs police training across Afghanistan. “An increased presence of police professionals at the centre of the police development agenda is what Canada has chosen to do in a big way,” said Maj.-Gen. Stu Beare, the Canadian army general who runs police training for NATO across Afghanistan. “There is a shift out of the South to Kabul, out of the basic training system and junior level training right into the heart of the Interior Ministry and the police.” The police advisers from Canada are to be based in Kabul. They are to replace a group of junior Canadian police officers who have spent the past few years working at a grassroots level with police in Kandahar. The move to the Afghan capital comes after Ottawa directed that Canada’s military and civilian presence in Kandahar be reduced to zero by the end of the year ….”
• Afghanistan (4)  “Convincing Taliban fighters to lay down their arms and surrender represents Afghanistan’s best chance for peace in a generation, says the governor of Kandahar. But Tooryalai Wesa is warning insurgents who want to sign up for the Afghan government’s reintegration plan that it is not a welfare program, and they should not expect perpetual handouts. “From my perspective, reconcilation is not a blank cheque by the end of the month,” Wesa said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press. “Peace in Kandahar is impossible without talk, without sitting with people, without sitting with the insurgency.” ….”
• Libya Mission  “Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Vancouver will depart in the coming days to the Mediterranean Sea to join NATO forces in support of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 to protect civilian populations in Libya. HMCS Vancouver will replace HMCS Charlottetown, which has been on patrol with NATO forces in the region since the early spring with Operation Unified Protector, on a regular rotation of ship and crew …. The ship’s company of Vancouver will continue the exceptional work started by Charlottetown in protecting Libyan civilians. Along with NATO allies, Canadian sailors have helped open air and sea access for humanitarian assistance and have closed it to arms and mercenaries ….”  More on this here and here.
• What’s Canada Buying (1)  “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, today announced that the Government of Canada has awarded a $7 million contract to Ultra Electronics Canada Defence Inc. of Dartmouth, N.S. The contract is in support of a larger Department of National Defence (DND) initiative to renew the Halifax-Class frigates, called the Halifax-Class Modernization / Frigate Life Extension Project (HCM-FELEX). Canada’s 12 Halifax-Class frigates serve as the backbone of the navy fleet …. The modernization of the frigates includes a new command and control system, new radar capability, a new electronic warfare system, and upgraded communications technologies and missiles. The frigates will also undergo a mid-life refit to ensure that they continue to operate at their most effective. The full program is expected to take approximately six-and-a-half years, as currently planned.”
• What’s Canada Buying? (2)  Someone to poke a shipwreck for things that go bang, a new office for Dwyer Hill and a Zamboni (?) for CFB Suffield.
• Remembering (1)  Some folks are upset at the prospect of an east coast university library building dedicated to the memory of fallen Mount Allison University alumni facing the prospect of being torn down - more discussion at Army.ca here.
• Remembering (2)  While it’s actually free verse rather than classic haiku, it’s still an interesting memorial piece of literature.  “Ron Stewart of Kilworth wrote this haiku for the Home County Great Canadian Haiku contest. It will be read at the Home County Folk Festival on July 16. Thanks to Ron for the permission to publish it. Ron gave me information about why he wrote the poem: “The return of a fallen soldier always stirs a strong emotional response in me. The ramp ceremony in Trenton and the drive down the Highway of Heroes is likewise very moving. I have written several poems on the subject. One titled “The Arch for Nicola” has been published. A brief explanation. Nicola Goddard was a graduate of the Royal Military College as am I. The Memorial Arch at RMC is a proud symbol of that little bit of our shared heritage.” ….”
• Remembering (3)  “On the eve of the visit by Prince William and Kate — the future faces of a long-cherished royal institution — a delegation of Canadians young and old is half a world away, preparing for a more sobering connection with their country’s past. A group of military veterans and high school students spanning four generations embarks Thursday on a four-day memorial tour of First World War sites throughout France, paying tribute at monuments to some of Canada’s greatest battles, including Vimy Ridge, Courcelette and Beaumont-Hamel. The tour, sponsored by Veterans Affairs Canada, is timed to coincide with the 95th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, a four and a half month-long military campaign that killed more than a million soldiers ….”
• Royal Visit (1)  “When the hottest couple on the planet touches down on Canadian soil today, they’ll be landing aboard a Canadian air force jet from 437 Squadron at 8 Wing Trenton, Ont. and continuing a 60-year tradition that began with Prince William’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1951. It was then that a young Princess Elizabeth and her dashing husband, Prince Phillip, visited Canada for the first time via a Royal Canadian Air Force C-5 aircraft, “arguably the most luxurious of any aircraft in Canada, if not the world,” says Canadian Forces historian Maj. Mathias Joost. “For 16 years, she ferried dignitaries [not just the royal family] to all continents except Antarctica, logging more than 2.5 million miles in 9,500 hours in the air.” ….”  More on who’s flying the Royal Couple around Canada here and here.
• Royal Visit (2)  The Prince is good to go on co-piloting a Sea King helicopter during his visit.
• Canadian Forces search and rescue teams don’t JUST do their work in the middle of the night during crappy weather (via the CF Info-Machine).
• But you already saw this elsewhere (third item from bottom) about a week ago, right?  “Members of a Canadian air force squadron are in central Kansas through mid-July for a training mission. The 425th Tactical Fighter Squadron, flying U.S.-made F-18 Hornet fighter jets, will train with forward air controllers at the Smoky Hill Weapons Range, maintained by the Kansas National Guard. Smoky Hill is the nation’s largest National Guard bombing range, covering 51 square miles with more than 100 tactical and electronic targets ….”
• “The first man ever convicted under Canada’s anti-terrorism law should not have his appeal heard before the country’s highest court because his arguments lack “an air of reality,” according to federal prosecutors. The arguments from federal lawyers paint Mohammad Momim Khawaja as a cold-hearted killer who lived the “archetypal life of a modern western Jihadist” with an innocuous job by day and building bombs by night. Khawaja argues that Canada’s anti-terrorism laws are unconstitutional and violate freedom of expression and religion. His appeal also argues his sentence is too stiff ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 29 Jun 11

• Francis Roy, R.I.P.  Arriving home later today.
• Afghanistan (1)  How one woman is supporting the troops, one letter at a time.
• Afghanistan (2)  “…. Over the past few months, on many mornings just like this, Maj. Frederic Pruneau has scanned the landscape, so lush in the nourished floodplain of the Arghandab River, and wondered: “Where are you?’’ It’s not his own place in the sweep of Afghanistan that puzzles Pruneau. He knows where he stands and why, in a few days, he’ll be leaving as his parachute troops — Alpha Company of 3 Van Doos, attached to the 1st Van Doos for this mission — depart the area of operations, depart the country, Task Force Kandahar fading to black. Rather, it’s the enigmatic no-see-em insurgency that has Pruneau taking the lay of the land, sizing up the significance of an opponent that has largely gone AWOL in this, the second half of the Para tour. The traditional spring and summer terrorism surge in Panjwaii has not materialized, insurgency dialed down to a whimper hereabouts. Though hereabouts is, quite frankly, small — a mere 35 square kilometres, south of the river, less than half of the Panjwaii area formerly under Canadian jurisdiction, before this and neighbouring districts devolved to the incoming Americans ….”
• Afghanistan (3)  One soldier’s story, via Globalnews.ca.
• Afghanistan (4)  “If this country ever sorts itself out, Canadians will be remembered for their role. But perhaps bureaucracy will have played a small part as well. On Monday, the Canadian Battle Group commander attended his final regional security meeting – a gathering known as a shura. It was Canada that pushed for the weekly round tables of the major international and Afghan players who are trying to defeat the insurgency. Checks and balances maintain order in developed countries like Canada, so why shouldn’t they be used in Afghanistan? ….”
• Afghanistan (5)  “As Canadian combat forces leave Kandahar this summer, Canada’s man in Kabul has also been saying his goodbyes in the capital. Bill Crosbie’s two-year term as Ottawa’s envoy to Afghanistan ends shortly. In a farewell interview with Postmedia News at Canada’s new embassy complex in Kabul, Crosbie said that the capital, Kandahar, and the country in general are more secure than when he arrived in 2009. He was immensely proud of what Canadian diplomats, other public servants and soldiers have achieved so far in Afghanistan in security and with signature projects such as the Dahla Dam, which brings water to farmers in Kandahar. But the Newfoundlander, who is a cousin of former Mulroney minister John Crosbie, fretted about the country’s future because Afghan leaders are not yet seized with the importance of developing national institutions and the rule of law ….”
• Afghanistan (6)  More on the troops packing up (video, via the CF Info-Machine)
• Afghanistan (7)  “Each story about alleged abuse of Afghan detainees received almost the same response from the government: Officials scrutinized every fact of every story to determine what was needed to be done in response to the media coverage. The facts were laid out in spreadsheets with the claim, its veracity and government response listed. The coverage spurred an official response and that response in turn spurred more coverage. The tidbits of the role the media played in the Afghan detainee affair are buried within the more than 4,200 pages of documents released last week. They are also evidence of changes in international reporting that have forced governments to react quicker to stories available immediately to worldwide audiences ….”
• Taliban Propaganda Watch:  More assassinations, airfield shellings alleged in Kandahar, Uruzgan & Zabul.
• Private Alexander Johnston, 1885-1918, R.I.P.:  “The Department of National Defence (DND) has identified the remains of a First World War soldier found in Raillencourt Saint-Olle, France, in 2008, as those of Private Alexander Johnston of Hamilton, Ontario …. In July 2008, human remains were discovered in Raillencourt Saint-Olle, France. Found with the remains were two collar badges of the 78th Battalion (Winnipeg Grenadiers). The Directorate of History and Heritage was notified of the discovery in February 2009, and the remains were identified through mitochondrial DNA testing, as those of Private Johnston, on March 31, 2011 ….”  A bit more from The Canadian Press here.
• What’s Canada Buying (1)  More EOD robots, apparently.  “The Canadian Army is planning on adding two new UGVs (Unmanned Ground Vehicles) to its family of EOD devices in an effort to continue the re-establishment of its EOD ROV capability. After ‘giving up’ on UGVs in 1995, the army has been moving towards re-developing its UGV capability, James Hewitt, director of combat support equipment management for the Canadian Forces, told the Military Robotics conference in London on 28 June. Working under a $(CAD)700 million equipment budget over eight years, the army plans to purchase two new UGVs to add to the four systems currently in service. ‘We’re building an inventory. That re-establishment is what’s really costing us,’ Hewitt told the conference. ‘You’ve got to spend a long time preparing for the introduction of the equipment. Basic UGV platforms do not change much, what does change are sensor packages, tools and accessories.’ The tender for the first – for a dismounted operations UGV system – is expected to be released by the end of 2011, and the requirements will include: a 5kg weight; the system to be throwable; the ability to fit into a soldier’s backpack; good camera outfit; and the ability to fire a recoilless disruptor. The second tender for a chemical, biological, reconnaissance, and nuclear (CBRN) reconnaissance UGV is expected at the end of 2012 and will call for a 75-100kg platform, which will therefore require a two or three man operation ….”
• What’s Canada Buying? (2)  Sewer, water hook-up for proposed Chinook site in Petawawa, and research help figuring out bad guy’s psychology (via Army.ca).
• “Energy and water shortages combined with climate change could provoke wars within the next 15 years, warns an analysis by the Department of National Defence. “Global reserves of crude oil could become problematic by 2025,” wrote Maj. John Sheahan in a draft version of the report, Army 2040: First Look. He wrote that barring the discovery of significant new reserves and adequate adoption of alternative fuel sources, critical energy shortages could before 2025. “There can be little doubt that unrestricted access to reliable energy supplies is a global strategic issue, one for which, recently, numerous nations have been willing to fight, and have indeed done so,” said the report, released to Postmedia News through an Access to Information request. “Thus the trend that envisions depletion of fossil fuels such as crude oil in coming decades may also contribute to international tensions if not violent conflict.” ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 28 Jun 11

• Francis Roy, R.I.P.:  He’s on his way home – more here.
• Meanwhile, the CF Info-Machine cranks out an updated post traumatic stress disorder.
• Afghanistan (1)  How much the mission is costing (~$11.3B in incremental costs), courtesy of Canada’s Info-Machine.
• Afghanistan (2)  Purple prose team – UP! “Wild dogs howl warnings at night outside the Bulldog’s pen. The Canadian soldiers answer loudly back come morning — moving swiftly from this dusty Afghanistan forward operating base and into an area where insurgents don’t want them to be. By the end of the day’s operation, the Canadians — along with an embedded QMI Agency team — will come under small arms fire. But only after the Quebec-based Van Doos have successfully taken away — then later destroyed — a cache of materials that were likely to be made into deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The fighters from the 1st Battalion of the Royal 22e Régiment — and more specifically, Bravo Company, who have earned the hard-earned war mantle of Bulldog Company — will soon leave this earthen fortress for good. Just like the Soviets, who actually built it decades ago. An approaching end to Canada’s combat role hasn’t seen our troops give an inch to insurgents, who often bark and sometimes try to take a bite when patrols roll out through the front gates ….”
• Afghanistan (3)  “The last Canadian combat soldiers in the Panjwaii district have started to hand over control of the region to U.S. troops, a major sign that Canada’s withdrawal from Afghanistan is underway. Canada’s Royal 22e Regiment, nicknamed the Van Doos, has patrolled the often-hostile region since 2006. Control of the formerly Taliban-held area will soon be passed on to American forces as part of Canada’s gradual pullout from Afghanistan ….”
• Taliban Propaganda Watch:  More than 7 claimed killed in Kandahar, Zabul.
• “The Honourable Cheryl Gallant, Member of Parliament for Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, announced today the opening of an Operational Trauma and Stress Support Centre (OTSSC) at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Petawawa. The announcement was made on behalf of the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence …. The centre joins already established OTSSCs in Ottawa, Halifax, Valcartier, Edmonton, and Esquimalt in providing full-service assessment and treatment for CF members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other operational stress injuries. Each centre has an interdisciplinary team of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, mental health nurses, addictions counsellors, and health services chaplains ….”
• Libya Mission:  Canada’s Foreign Minister drops by to visit the rebels.  “Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird was politically surprised and personally moved by his first-hand look at Libya’s rebel council members after a secret trip to meet them Monday. Baird said the group preparing to take power once the country’s dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, is ousted has a strong dedication to democracy, but he added no one should expect that transition to take place overnight. “Our vision is a strong, prosperous Libya, living in freedom and living peacefully with its neighbours,” Baird said after meeting with anti-Gadhafi rebels and delivering trauma kits to help their cause ….” - more here, here, here, and here.
• What’s Canada Buying?  “The Defence Department has purchased nine U.S. presidential helicopters to be stripped down for spare parts for the Canadian air force’s Cormorant search-and-rescue choppers. The nine helicopters were purchased at a cost of around $164 million. That price includes shipping, handling and engineering support. The Obama administration had pulled the plug on the US101, also known as the VH-71, after the projected cost of the aircraft doubled from $6.5 billion to $13 billion US. News reports indicate the U.S. government invested $3 billion into the helicopters, before the Pentagon decided to withdraw from the program. “This package is considered an excellent one-time opportunity for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces to address long-standing CH-149 Cormorant fleet availability issues related to the availability of spare parts,” said Defence Department spokeswoman Kim Tulipan ….”  More on how the U.S. is more than happy to be rid of the choppers here – sounds pretty expensive to shut down the contract, too.
• Intercepts over Alberta.  “The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is conducting exercise flights this week (June 27-30) as they practice intercept and identification procedures …. people living in or around Edmonton, Alberta may hear or see NORAD-controlled fighter jets in close proximity to a U.S. Air Force B-52, which will be taking on the role of a Track of Interest (TOI). The exercise flights could be cancelled due to weather concerns. In order to test responses, systems and equipment, NORAD continuously conducts exercises with a variety of scenarios. These exercises are carefully planned, closely controlled and include exercising airspace restriction violations, hijackings and responding to unknown aircraft ….”
• Honouring Canada’s help during World War 2 in the U.K.  “With Canada poised to celebrate the country’s birthday this week after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive from Britain, a more sombre ceremony symbolizing the deep bond between the two countries – a tribute to fallen Canadian airmen from the Second World War – is quietly taking shape in the U.K. Britain’s Royal Air Force is preparing to unveil a “long overdue” national memorial to Canadian aircrews that helped achieve the Allied victory in the Second World War – including some 10,000 RCAF personnel who lost their lives battling Germany and other Axis enemies. The poignant, maple leaf-inspired monument to this country’s air forces, made of granite cut from the Canadian Shield and transported to Britain earlier this year, is to be dedicated July 8 at the U.K.’s National Memorial Arboretum in the central English countryside ….”
• “30 soldiers of the Bermuda Regiment 2011 Junior Non Commission Officer Cadre have successfully completed the final exercise, tactics phase, after spending two weeks living and working in the field at Canadian Army Training Centre, Meaford, Ontario. This exercise was the culmination of six months lead-up training, and was designed to test the students’ military and leadership skills by putting them through a demanding training regimen consisting of field craft exercises, skill at arms, adventure training, command tasks, map reading and cross country navigation. Under the leadership of Platoon Commander Lieutenant Mark Lavery, the six month course has built on the basic soldiering skills learned during recruit camp, and focused on the basic principles of teamwork, perseverance and military leadership ….”
• “A fringe Quebec pro-independence group is tasking dozens of its burliest members to act as security guards for a protest planned for Prince William and Kate’s upcoming visit to the province. But the head of the Quebec Resistance Network insists his organization hasn’t employed the imposing chaperones to clash with law enforcement. Instead, Patrick Bourgeois says the bruisers will be there to ensure the weekend demonstration doesn’t get out of control. He says the guards were hand-picked based on brawn. “Even myself, if they tell me what I to do — they’re so big that I’m going to listen to them,” Bourgeois told The Canadian Press in an interview Monday. “We chose them based on build. There’s no one in there who’s 100 pounds soaking wet.” Bourgeois said protest organizers plan to cause civil disobedience during the royal visit — but no violence ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 27 Jun 11

• Francis Roy, R.I.P.  Latest CF dead identified (CF statement here, another statement by Minister of National Defence here) – more here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
• While I disagree with Rosie DiManno’s assessment that any in the CF committing suicide could be seen as “a traitor to his own kind and, at least in some quarters, viewed differently as a casualty of war”, this part disturbs me a bit:  “…. Master Corporal Roy’s colleagues and friends have been offered counseling by Padre Grahame Thompson, Task Force Kandahar senior chaplain and a major. Asked if any had availed themselves of his solacing, Thompson said last night: “To be truthful, none, not yet.” ” One hopes that people who need any kind of help will avail themselves of it.
• Afghanistan (1):  The Canadian Press offers up this round-up of “the good, the bad and the ugly” of the mission.
• Afghanistan (2):  Remember MP and former DefMin John McCallum suggesting Canadian troops may have committed war crimes in Afghanistan?  At least one columnist demands an apology now.
• Taliban Propaganda Watch:  At least 25 alleged killed, +7 “tanks” claimed destroyed in recent Taliban statements.
• Open source information bibliography on Taliban anti-air claims and capabilities updated here.
• Point, on how DND treats its war wounded, from the Winnipeg Free Press:  “Canadian military doctrine emphasizes flexibility and the ability to adapt to new circumstances, but when it comes to integrating wounded soldiers into the regular force, the generals and admirals at the National Defence Headquarters seem trapped in the past ….”
• Counterpoint, on how DND treats its war wounded, from Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff (highlights mine):  “…. We will ensure our men and women in uniform who have sacrificed so much receive the very best medical treatment and support possible. Furthermore, I have directed that no service person who has been wounded in Afghanistan be released, unless they have personally initiated the release process themselves. I can also assure you the Canadian Forces provide all wounded-in-action personnel the necessary time and support needed to recover from their wounds. We will also assist them in seeking additional opportunities to transition with confidence to the next phase of their lives ….”
• Libya Mission (1)  Winnipeg Free Press editorial:  “…. That there has been a civilian death toll resulting from the NATO involvement in Libya is not in dispute. Col. Gadhafi’s claim, however, has exacerbated anxieties that already existed within the NATO alliance that the United Nations authorized a no-fly zone over Libya to protect that country’s citizens from the atrocities committed by its megalomaniacal leader. Faltering members of the alliance are using this as justification for their apparently imminent withdrawal. Even some Canadians, who have a huge military investment in the Libyan operation, are now expressing doubts. Ending the operation, however, is not a useful option. It would simply mean that civilians who died have died in vain, as Col. Gadhafi resumes his dictatorship and exacts his revenge upon the rebels. Civilian casualties in Libya are martyrs, not victims. It is a Canadian responsibility to stay the course and to ensure that they were not martyred for no purpose.”
• Libya Mission (2)  Funny how a lot of media focus on how firm the PM is with his caucus, but only a few outlets note Jack Layton weilding the no-longer-socialist whip across the floor, in this case regarding the recent Libyan mission extension vote.
• What’s Canada Buying:  Big Honkin’ Ship Edition  “…. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his ministers say on every occasion that the yards will be selected through a merit-based, transparent competition, and that officials will make the decisions on the basis of the proposals, not politics. They show every sign of meaning what they say, but the request for an extension ratchets up the pressure. One shipyard will get about $25 billion of the work, another will receive an $8-billion share, and the third will get table scraps. Three provinces have a lot riding on this, and there can be only two winners. Whichever premier loses will be more or less forced to complain bitterly and allege impropriety. It’s hard to keep the politics out of politics.”
• Remember this idiot, taking a whizz on a war memorial in Ottawa a few years ago?  Measures are in place to keep this from happening again.

Francis Roy, CSOR, R.I.P.

This from DND:

Earlier today, Brigadier General Dean Milner, Commander, Joint Task Force Afghanistan announced the name of the Canadian Forces member who was found dead from non-combat related wounds on 25 June 2011.

Master Corporal Francis Roy from the Canadian Special Operations Regiment based at CFB Petawawa, Ontario, was serving in Afghanistan as a member of the Special Operations Task Force.

As the incident is presently under investigation by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, no further details are available at this time ….

Condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of the fallen.  We mourn with you.