MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 15 Nov 11

• Afghanistan  Canadian General now second-in-command of NATO’s Afghan training effort.  “Canada’s senior general in Afghanistan has been given a much bigger assignment in a reshuffle of NATO’s top command in Kabul. Maj.-Gen. Mike Day was named deputy commander of NATO Training Mission Afghanistan (NTM-A) last week. Five American generals, a British general and three police generals now report to Day, who will be responsible for the training of hundreds of thousands of Afghan troops and police officers. “Form needed to follow function,” Day said in explaining the changes to the NTM-A, which were made by U.S. army Lt.-Gen Daniel Bolger to streamline the training command in Afghanistan by eliminating a large number of senior staff positions ….”
• “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, congratulates the crews of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships St. John’s, Athabaskan, Algonquin, and the submarine HMCS Corner Brook, and those of the ship-borne CH-124 Sea King helicopters and the CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft, for their outstanding contributions to Operation Caribbe …. Op Caribbe is the standing US-led multinational counter-drug surveillance and law enforcement interdiction operation in the international waters of the Caribbean Basin and Eastern Pacific ….”  Well done, folks!
• “Canada is poised to spend nearly half a billion dollars to gain access to a constellation of U.S. air force satellites designed to foil foreign cyber attacks. Global Mercury, as Canada’s $477 million share of the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) network, is to be known, will be immediately activated when a memorandum of understanding between the Department of National Defence and the U.S. air force is signed within the next few weeks. “Our global security interests are not all protected by planes, ships and tanks. Some of the greatest threats are invisible, but real,” Defence Minister Peter MacKay said ….”
• Mark Collins picks out a tidbit from the article mentioned above on another defence project going through a looooong beginning.  Remember JUSTAS?  A few historical MERX postings here, here, here and here.
• Way Up North  “The Canadian military will have to look to commercial contractors and possibly even exchanges with the Americans in order to sustain itself when forces are built up in the country’s far North, a series of internal Defence Department documents show. All three branches – the navy, air force and army – have begun to grapple with the specifics of the enormous, logistical challenge presented by the Harper government’s Arctic policies. A series of reports, briefings and planning directives, obtained by The Canadian Press under access to information laws, show that the biggest concern isn’t getting forces into the harsh region, but the ability to keep them supplied with fuel, ammunition, food and shelter ….”  Again, no sign of sharing the documents so we can get some context.
• “Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama are poised to unveil their long-promised border security agreement in Washington in early December. The deal comes after lengthy behind-the-scenes negotiations involving a new plan that will see both governments co-operate and share more information as they adopt a “perimeter security” approach to the border ….”
• Mark’s thoughts on the guys who want to bring you the F-35 wanting to compete for a new fixed-wing search and rescue plane.
• Speaking of the F-35 ….  “U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham that defense budget cuts of as much as $1 trillion may lead to the termination of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 jet. In a letter today to the two Republican lawmakers, Panetta said reductions beyond the $450 billion, 10-year defense budget cuts already planned would reduce the “size of the military sharply.” If a special committee of lawmakers fails to reach agreement on U.S. deficit reduction, that would trigger a so- called sequestration. That would involve at least another $500 billion in defense cuts over a decade and reduce Pentagon programs in 2013 by 23 percent if the president exercises his authority to exempt military personnel, Panetta said ….”
• What’s Canada Buying? (1)  Someone to sell maritime comms equipment to Poland, borrowing proposed new load-bearing equipment, new autopilots for VICTORIA Class subs, cyanide poisoning antidote kits (more here) and someone to fix landscaping boo-boos caused by Combat Team Commander’s Course in Gagetown.
• What’s Canada Buying? (2)  “TenCate Protective Fabrics is providing flame resistant (FR) fabric for two successful tenders in the Canadian military market. The first tender concerns the Advance Combat Ensemble (ACE) used by the Canadian Air Force. This military ensemble will be made with Nomex® FR fabric in the TenCate Brigade® product portfolio. The second tender involves TenCate Campshield™ FR liner fabric for use in tents by all Canadian Defence Forces. This FR fabric is also Nomex® based ….”  More in PDF news release here.
• For some reason, it appears to be difficult (if not impossible) to get poppies on NHL jerseys as a symbol of remembrance.  A wide-ranging discussion on Army.ca here on what should be done (and through who) to get this to change.
• Taliban Propaganda Watch  Taliban:  You support full-time U.S. bases in Afghanistan, you’re a “traitor” and will be treated as such.
• Historical Information + Google Earth = World War One Explained Graphically
• War of 1812  “A Newfoundland soldier who died almost 200 years ago and is interred on a remote Ohio island has been remembered. In late October, Lt.-Col. Alex Brennan, commander of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, laid a wreath at the monument where Lt. James Garden rests with other officers who died during the Battle of Lake Erie. “There was a great sense of pride knowing that a generation of soldiers lost 200 years ago has not been forgotten,” Brennan said of the experience. Garden was a member of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, which fought for the British during the War of 1812. The Battle of Lake Erie took place Sept. 10, 1813 as part of the conflict between the Brits and the Americans ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 15 Sept 11

• Libya Mission (1)  “CTV News has learned Canada will extend its military mission to Libya by up to three months to help the country get back on its feet. CTV’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported the development, which is expected to be formally announced next week when Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with other NATO leaders in New York ….”
• Afghanistan (1)  More (again) from the Minister’s spokesperson on how the years of the Afghan fight aren’t going to be carved onto the National Cenotaph just yet.  “…. “These men and women in uniform are in harm’s way and it is clearly inappropriate to commemorate a mission which has yet to be completed,” wrote Joshua Zanin, a spokesman for Defence Minister Peter MacKay said in an e-mail Wednesday. “When the last troops return home to their families at the conclusion of the mission, the full scope of Canada’s contributions in Afghanistan, including all the work of all those who have sacrificed and fallen in the service of their country, will be appropriately recognized and commemorated.” ….”  In case this looks familiar, here’s what the spokesperson told The Canadian Press earlier this week: “…. “These men and women in uniform are in harm’s way and it is clearly inappropriate to commemorate a mission which has yet to be completed,” said Joshua Zanin, a spokesman for Defence Minister Peter MacKay. “When the last troops return home to their families at the conclusion of the mission, the full scope of Canada’s contributions in Afghanistan, including all the work of all those who have sacrificed and fallen in the service of their country, will be appropriately recognized and commemorated.” ….”
• Afghanistan (2)  On how long it’s taken to recognize previous wars:  “…. It took almost 20 years after the devastation of the Second World War for the federal government to design and erect the national war monument in Ottawa. The inclusion of that war as part of the monument didn’t take place until 37 years after it ended. The 26,971 Canadian soldiers who fought in the Korean War were ignored by both Canadian media and government until 1982 as well. “At the end of the war, Canadians returned to a peaceful nation that almost seemed to be unaware of the conflict across the ocean that had taken 516 Canadian and hundreds of thousands of others’ lives,” Senator Yonah Martin, who has championed the cause of recognizing Korean War veterans, said recently ….”
• Afghanistan (3)  One columnist’s view on why more Afghan interpreters should be allowed into Canada:  “…. This is not just an issue of fairness and moral obligation, but of national security. The world is an increasingly dangerous place, and there is every reason to expect that the Canadian Forces will again soon find themselves deployed abroad in hostile lands. Co-operation from the locals during these future missions will be essential. Giving the people of the world’s trouble spots reason to avoid dealings with our soldiers will make the jobs of our military personnel not only harder, but more dangerous.”
• Afghanistan (4)  Something to look for as part of coming changes to the Canadian International Development Agency: “…. as Canada winds down its military involvement in Afghanistan, the Canadian International Development Agency will be “normalizing” aid to a level comparable to its 19 other “countries of focus.” This confirms a poorly-kept secret: aid to Afghanistan was always more about Canadians, candy and Kandahar than about sustainable long-term development. With aid levels frozen, there will be fierce competition for the freed-up funds. We should probably expect new assistance to Libya, where Canadian companies are already jockeying for important reconstruction and oil contracts ….”
• Afghanistan (5a)  More CF story recycling – 27 Aug 11:  Army News tells us about how CF engineers are converting sea containers into lodging for ANA troops.  14 Sept 11:  CEFCOM Info-Machine uses same article to remind us CF engineers are converting sea containers into lodging for ANA troops.
• Afghanistan (5b)  How is the ANA going to get those converted sea containers?  CF logisticians, UP!
• Ronald Kevin Megeney, 1982-2007, R.I.P.:  Second trial of Reservist charged in killing Megeney continues, with reporter noting the blisteringly obvious.  “A Canadian soldier who was in Afghanistan when a member of his section was fatally shot at Kandahar Airfield in 2007 says everyone in the group had been given extensive weapons safety training …. everyone in the section of 10 soldiers had been given extensive briefings on weapons handling and safety before leaving Canada and again on arrival in theatre in December 2006 ….”
• Canada’s CDS is dropping by to visit his Russian equivalent.  “The Chief of the Defence Staff, General Walt Natynczyk, is conducting a three-day visit with his Russian counterpart, Army General Nikolay Yegorovich Makarov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation / First Deputy Minister of Defence and General of the Army. The purpose of the visit is to gain the Russian perspective on a range of issues to improve and develop Canada’s bilateral military relationship with Russia. “During my first meeting with General Makarov last January in Brussels, I received his invitation to visit Moscow to expand on our initial discussions,” said General Natynczyk. “This visit is an important opportunity to strengthen Canadian-Russian military ties, and exchange views on some of our common defence interests. I hope that General Makarov will honour us with a visit to Canada so we can continue to build on our relationship.” This is the first time in almost a decade that a Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff has visited Russia to meet its top military leadership ….”
• Defence Minister Peter MacKay highlights the highlights of his visit to Australia.  “…. While in Australia, Minister MacKay met his counterpart, Australian Minister for Defence, Mr. Stephen Smith, Minister for Defence Materiel, The Honourable Jason Clare, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, The Honourable Warren Snowdon, and Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd. During the meetings, they discussed defence reform, procurement practices, general Asia-Pacific defence issues, and the transformation of the Australian Defence department …. Canada and Australia worked closely together in Afghanistan, and continue to build on their strong bilateral defence relations. Minister MacKay agreed to loan two Husky armoured vehicles and one Buffalo mine-protected vehicle to Australia until the end of 2012, which will allow their engineers in Oruzgan province to detect explosive hazards with low metal content, such as mines and improvised explosive devices.”
• What’s Canada Buying:  Used Sub Edition (1)  Harsh, but with a kernel of truth. “When Britain held a scratch-and-dent sale in 1998 to get rid of some surplus submarines, Canada went shopping. Our 30-year-old fleet was long past its prime and Ottawa wasn’t ready to commit to the cost of new ones. That was 13 years ago. The deal seemed too good to turn down at the start: Just $750 million for an eight-year lease/purchase — about a quarter of the estimated replacement value — for four barely-used diesel-electric submarines that had been mothballed only because Britain had moved to an all-nuclear fleet …. As with a lot of cool stuff we bring home from yard sales, it didn’t take long for the deal to seem a little less of a bargain. Within a year, the National Post was reporting that hidden costs and a wish list for upgrades had pushed the real tab for the four used subs to somewhere in the neighbourhood of $2 billion ….”
• What’s Canada Buying:  Used Sub Edition (2)  Where “independent research, advocacy and consulting group”, read “think tank that has yet to take a pro-CF position”:  “Canada’s naval submarine program is a bust and the time is perfect for the federal government to scrap the four-vessel fleet, says the president of the Rideau Institute, an independent research, advocacy and consulting group in Ottawa. I don’t think we’ll ever see all four submarines operating all together and at their full capacity,” Steven Staples said Tuesday. Two weeks ago, the HMCS Corner Brook was put dockside until at least 2016 as a result of damage caused by hitting the ocean floor back in June. As a result, none of Canada’s four Victoria-class submarines are in action …. “I think an argument could be made by the government that they are still committed to the navy by spending upward of $30 billion on a new surface fleet …. I think it is becoming painfully clear that the sub fleet is providing no benefits to Canada in terms of our defence and, in fact, is probably more of a hazard to submariners than any benefit to the navy.” ….”
• Didn’t MP Bob Dechert get the memo that Communist governments have been known to use journalists as spies, or have their spies pretend they’re journalists?
• Ooopsie….  “As a spy, he was said to be sloppy. So sloppy that his masters would complain he “compromised” security and “jeopardized” their credibility – just by showing up for work. But Marc-André Bergeron, fired four years ago for alleged incompetence, has been vindicated by winning his claim of wrongful dismissal. In doing so, he has revealed a rather remarkable state of affairs at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. CSIS, whose bosses lament that they are held to impossible legal standards in court cases involving terrorism, couldn’t muster sufficient proof to fire one of their own. “The employer failed to discharge its burden to present the necessary evidence,” a federal tribunal ruled in mid-August, ordering Mr. Bergeron’s reinstatement or an alternate “appropriate remedy.” ….”  Public Service Labour Relations Board decision here, decision summary here.

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 6 Jun 11

• Here’s hoping for a full and speedy recovery. “Two sailors were injured as a Canadian submarine hit bottom near Nootka Sound, off the west coast of the Island. HMCS Corner Brook, under the command of Lt. Cmdr. Paul Sutherland, struck bottom while conducting submerged manoeuvers during advanced submarine officer training, said Navy spokesman Gerry Pash. “The submarine’s crew, in accordance with their training, brought the submarine to the surface, conducted an internal damage assessment and carried out a series of safety checks. Two sailors suffered some bruising as a result of the incident. No fuel was released into the environment,” Pash said. “The boat is now underway and scheduled to return to Esquimalt tonight for further assessment,” Pash said. An investigation will be ordered to determine the cause of the incident. There were 60 personnel on board at the time of the incident which is a lot for the sub which would normally carry a crew of 49 plus a few trainees, Pash said. They were doing advanced officer training which is probably the most challenging training exercises conducted in submarines because it focuses on developing the skills of potential submarine officers,” Pash said ….”
• Afghanistan (1)  The hockey meme appears, again, in coverage of CF troops overseas.
• Afghanistan (2)  A bit more history from the early days of the mission from Postmedia News’ Matthew Fisher.
• Afghanistan (3)  “…. In terms of lasting achievements that can be listed to offset Canada’s cost in blood and gold, the growing strength of the insurgency makes any such tally premature. And however historians record this conflict, as an intervention or a war, in the future, it will not be defined as a “victory” for the US-led allies.”
• Taliban Propaganda Watch:  Almost 20 claimed killed in attacks across Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul.
• Today’s the anniversary of D-Day and the Normandy landings – message from the Governor General/Commander in Chief here, the PM here, the Defence Minister here and the Veterans Affairs Minister here.
• Yesterday was Canadian Armed Forces Day – message from the Governor General/Commander in Chief here, the PM here and the Minister of National Defence here.  A bit more on this here.
• What’s Canada Buying? (1)  Some editorial advice from the East Coast on how shipbuilding contracts should be parcelled out:  “…. Let’s not rattle on about what we’ll get from the big contract. Let’s make an honest case on what a good deal Canada gets by choosing the Halifax bid. Let’s agree right now the Irving group should win the contract by guaranteeing it can produce the ships on time, on budget and with unassailable quality assurance. Anything short of that is nothing more than special pleading and entitlement. We don’t “deserve” the contract. Arguing that Nova Scotia should get the work because we need it is just as bogus as Duffy’s implication that voting Conservative should make the difference. The Irving shipyard should win the lead contract based on its capabilities, its record of building naval ships, the investment of its owners and their sincere commitment to deliver value for money for Canadians. There is no other fair and just measure by which these contracts should be awarded ….”
• What’s Canada Buying? (2)  “BAE Systems has conducted factory acceptance testing of the first of 14 57mm MkIII naval guns for the Department of National Defense (DND) in support of the Canadian Navy’s upgrade of the Halifax class frigate. The 57 MkIII serves as the main gun for this ship class and the ongoing upgrade program will deliver much-increased versatility against an ever-widening range of threats. Tomas Erlandsson, director integrated systems for BAE Systems Weapons in Karlskog says: “The upgrade from 57 Mk2 to 57 Mk III makes these guns as capable as our highly-advanced 57 Mk3, including the ability to fire the sophisticated 6-mode programmable 3P ammunition. This program, together with the recent contract to build the 57 Mk3 for the US Navy Littoral Combat Ship program, results in a stable foundation for naval gun production.” ….”
• Russian eyes in Canadian skies. “A Russian Federation aircraft will conduct an aerial observation mission over Canada under the Treaty on Open Skies between 7 and 9 Jun 2011.  A Tupolev TU-154M aircraft, which arrived at 8 Wing Trenton yesterday will conduct an unimpeded observation overflight of Canadian territory, in fulfillment of Canada’s obligations as a State Party to the Treaty on Open Skies. The Treaty on Open Skies is one example of how Canada exercises its commitment to reducing the threat of armed conflict by increasing trust and confidence though developing greater openness and transparency amongst states. The Treaty on Open Skies, entered-into-force on January 1, 2002. Canada and 33 other nations has exercised its treaty rights in having conducted a number of observation flights over other states, including the Russian Federation, Belarus, Croatia, Georgia, Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina ….”
• “A Canadian citizen will learn (today) if he will be extradited to France to face murder and attempted murder charges in the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue. On Oct. 3, 1980, plastic explosives strapped to a motorcycle ripped through the Paris synagogue on Rue Copernic, killing four and wounding dozens. Witnesses placed a man resembling Hassan Diab at the scene, though his passport put him in Spain at the time of the bombing. But the battle to keep Diab in Canada would appear to have been already lost, thanks to a handful of handwritten words on a hotel card and the nature of extradition law. In February, Judge Robert Maranger ruled admissible a questionable French handwriting analysis that supposedly links Diab to the bombing ….”
• “Tahawwur Rana is a 50-year-old Canadian businessman in a heap of trouble. For the past three weeks, Rana has been on trial in a Chicago courtroom charged with several counts of providing material support for terrorism. U.S. federal prosecutors have presented extensive wiretap and surveillance evidence they allege connects Rana to both the 2008 Mumbai attacks and a plot to murder journalists at Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten newspaper. The Danish paper enraged some Muslims by publishing controversial cartoons of the prophet Mohammed. In the coming days, his American lawyers, Patrick Blegan and Charlie Smith, will begin to mount a defence. But Rana’s personal fate is being overshadowed by sensational evidence that threatens to poison Washington’s already troubled relationship with its erstwhile ally Pakistan even further — evidence that appears to show that despite repeated denials, the Pakistani military is secretly training and financing militant groups ….”
• “The prime minister and the president of the United States took time out from the recent G-8 meetings in France to discuss perimeter security. The Deauville talks between Barack Obama and Stephen Harper are the first time the issue has come onto the radar since early February when the two launched a commission to look into the issue -hardly surprising given assorted political distractions like wars and elections. But the government’s throne speech Friday places the issue back on top of the agenda. The topic is vast, complex, and carries massive baggage. How (for instance) are Canada’s immigration interests to be squared with the Americans’ when our domestic workforce is shrinking and theirs isn’t? How does that affect efforts to rationalize approaches to refugee and visa policy? ….”