MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 3 Jul 11

• Troops headed to Manitoba to help with floods – again.  “The Government of Canada is sending approximately 200 Canadian Forces personnel to the town of Souris, Manitoba today to assist provincial and municipal authorities in reinforcing flood control measures along the Souris River …. Canada Command’s Joint Task Force West, headquartered in Edmonton, will be coordinating the Canadian Forces assistance effort and work closely with regional authorities to contain and control the flooding. As the Souris river is expected to crest in the next few days, the soldiers from 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (2 PPCLI) and 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (1 RCHA), CFB Shilo, will place sandbags to reinforce the dikes over the affected area ….”  More here, here and here.
• Afghanistan (1)  CDS tells troops to help their colleagues.  “Canada’s top commander attempted to bind fresh and old wounds on Saturday when he bid farewell to combat troops in Kandahar. Gen. Walt Natynczyk, in his final address before the formal end of operations, urged returning soldiers to watch their “battle buddies” and take care of each other as they begin the long journey back to regular life at home. His remarks had a poignant ring for the soldiers of the 1st Battalion Royal 22e Regiment, as two of the four deaths in the last combat tour were suspected suicides. Military police are still investigating the cases of Bombardier Karl Manning and Cpl. Francis Roy — both who were found dead of non-battle related injuries over the last month, just before the end of their seven month tours ….”
• Christopher Reid, 1971-2006, R.I.P. “A mother of an Edmonton-based soldier killed in a deadly blast from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan says she is proud of Canada’s mission as troops are preparing to come home. “All of what the soldiers fought for is to make things better in Afghanistan,” said Angela Reid, 64, who lost her son, 34-year-old Cpl. Christopher Johnathan Reid to a roadside bomb in Aug. 3, 2006. “The soldiers have made some headway when they went over there. Afghanistan was in dire straights before they arrived.” ….”
• Nathan Hornburg, 1983-2007, R.I.P.  “When triumph and tragedy bleed together, it’s a little bittersweet. That’s how some family members of soldiers’ who’ve served and died in Afghanistan view this month’s end to Canada’s combat mission in that country. Then there is the lingering question — was it all worth it? “Something that keeps coming up for me, when I think about all of the heartache and about my own son, is just the waste (of human life) with all of this craziness, starting way back with the attacks on the World Trade Centre,” said Michael Hornburg, father of Calgarian Cpl. Nathan Hornburg, who died in combat trying to rescue a disabled tank Sept. 24, 2007. “Hopefully it will be (worth it) for Afghanistan, but certainly not for me personally … nothing would have been worth it for me (if I could) still have him here with me.” ….”
• Afghanistan (2)  Rex Murphy shares his thoughts.  “…. It may be unpalatable to admit it, but we are starting to end our presence in Afghanistan with neither victory, the only real end of wars even in our enlightened day, nor the fulfillment of those broader and noble pledges toward rebuilding that sad country we made early on.”
• Afghanistan (3)  More on the “packing up to leave” theme.  “A mammoth operation is underway in Kandahar — not to boost security in the area but to tear down the facilities that have housed much of Canada’s military presence in Afghanistan. Work crews are readying a huge amount of equipment to be shipped home thousands of kilometres away. It’s a formidable task, and part of a transition that will see U.S. forces take over security responsibilities in Kandahar province as Canadian combat troops pull out of the war-torn country. Everything from dust filters to armoured vehicles need to be cleaned, fumigated, bar-coded and categorized before they’re packed up ….”
• Taliban Propaganda Watch:  Attacks alleged in Kandahar, Daikondi.
• From Afghanistan to the Arctic.  “While Canada’s combat mission in Kandahar is in its last days, a new training mission has started in Kabul, Canadian fighter aircraft are making daily bombing runs against Libya, and now the armed forces is preparing to send more than 1,000 troops on a huge exercise in the High Arctic next month. “It will be the largest operation that has taken place in recent history,” Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Saturday, moments after bidding an emotional farewell to combat troops now leaving Kandahar. “All of this is very much about enlarging the footprint and the permanent and seasonal presence we have in the North. It is something that we as a government intend to keep investing in.” Exercise Nanook is to play out in several phases on and near Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island throughout August. It will involve CF-18 fighter jets as well as surveillance and transport aircraft, a warship, infantry companies from Quebec and Alberta and 5 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group — Inuit reservists who have broad experience surviving in the extremely austere environment of the Far North ….”  A Russian media take on this here, and more on Canada’s military in the Arctic here.
• New bosses for the Canadian Forces Joint Signal Regiment, 17 Wing Winnipeg, 429 Transport Squadron, 22 Wing North Bay, 722 Air Control Squadron, 51 Aerospace Control and Warning (Operational Training) Squadron and Land Force Central Area Training Centre Meaford.
• CF-Royals Link  “As Master Cpl. Jody Mitic stood chatting with Prince William, his young daughter seemed unfazed to be in the presence of royalty. Perhaps that’s because to her family, Mitic wasn’t necessarily talking to a future monarch, but to someone more like himself. He’s been through all the same training. Just because they’re royals doesn’t mean they don’t have to do the basic training,” said Mitic. “In our opinion, it’s a brotherhood.” Both William and his younger brother Harry are military men. William is a search-and-rescue pilot and Harry has served a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He also did some of his training in Alberta. William’s wife Kate also has a connection to the Canadian military; her grandfather trained military pilots in Alberta. The royal couple have made a specific effort to meet veterans over the course of their Canadian tour ….”
• Royal Kate gets it.  “The Duchess of Cambridge fears that Prince William will have an accident on a risky helicopter rescue mission …. She opened her heart about her concerns to a military wife on the couple’s royal tour of Canada. Kate said: ‘I always worry, but my job is to support my husband. You should always support your husband.’ She revealed her worries after laying wreaths with William on the tomb of the unknown soldier at Ottawa’s war memorial …. after paying respects to Canada’s war dead, the 29-year-old Duchess spoke to former army private Celine Drapeau. Celine, 52, told her she worried for the safety of her husband, a military policeman, who was away for long periods. ‘You always fear for them not knowing if something is going to happen and it can be very hard.’ Celine said later that she thought it was ‘very brave’ of Kate to reveal her true feelings and it was a ‘great comfort’ to know she understood the fears of service families ….”  More here.
• New, purpler prose attacking Canada’s plans for “foreign bases,” courtesy of the Canadian Peace Congress.  “The Canadian Peace Congress condemns and calls for an immediate halt to the Canadian government’s negotiations for military basing rights as part of the Operational Support Hubs Network, and abrogating and renouncing rights already negotiated with Germany and Jamaica. As Defence Minister Peter MacKay has already admitted, Canada’s “military tempo” is at the highest levels since the Korean War. Instead of opening the way for more bombings and destruction with basing rights spread throughout the world, Canada should reverse its military aggression, which is only in the interests of an imperialist minority and against the interests of the peace-loving majority. The basing agreements allow the Canadian military to enter other countries at any time, violating the sovereignty of the host country, in order to rain death and destruction on a third country ….”
• “In an out-of-the-way spot in an old Dutch cemetery, there’s a place that is forever New Brunswick. Anyone visiting the Gorinchem cemetery from this province could pick it out immediately: a small New Brunswick flag is there, and, at the base of the white headstone, a painted rock from McLaren’s Beach in Saint John. Buried in the grave is the body of Harold Magnusson, a 22-year-old from Saint John who was killed in 1944 in the operation immortalized in book and film as A Bridge Too Far. But the mystery of his burial in a civilian cemetery far from the horrors of Arnhem has created a bridge of a different sort for a Dutch woman who has used the story to reach across time and distance to Canadians. “It was as if someone tapped me on the shoulder when I walked into that cemetery and said ‘Solve this puzzle,’ ” Alice van Bekkum said in an interview during a recent visit to New Brunswick. “I became gripped by the story and it has led to wonderful new friendships … I got involved with Magnusson, and I fell in love with Canada ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 17 Mar 11

• They were just good kids – riiiiiiiiiiiight…. “While members of the Winnipeg’s Islamic community were stunned to learn two former University of Manitoba students are wanted on terror charges, a long-time local scholar of terrorism said it’s no surprise Canadian Muslims are being recruited by al-Qaida. “It’s shocking,” said Shahina Siddiqui, president of Islamic Social Services Association of Canada, which is headquartered in Winnipeg. Siddiqui was at Tuesday’s RCMP announcement of the charges against ex-Winnipeggers Ferid Ahmed Imam, 30, and Maiwand Yar, 27, that relate to a plot to bomb subways in New York City. “There’s a lot of questions and there’s fear and anxiety of how the community will be treated because there’s always a few people who would take this opportunity to target or malign Muslims,” she said. “Like all Canadians, our major concern is the security of the country and there is absolutely no tolerance for anything that would jeopardize it.” Siddiqui said she was acquainted with the family of one of the men charged, but wouldn’t say which. “All we know about them is they came from good families, they were doing well in university, they played soccer,” she said. “They were like regular Canadian kids.” ….”
• Canada’s still waiting for more information from Japan about how it can help the earthquake-stricken country. “Assistance Response Teams available to send to Japan, as well as rapid-deployment field medical facilities, and teams of engineering, humanitarian and search-and-rescue experts. But none of these emergency crews have been dispatched to Japan because Ottawa hasn’t yet received an official request for their services. So far, the only aid Canada has sent is 25,000 blankets that were sent on Wednesday ….”
• As Saudi troops head into Bahrain to help, uh, sort things out there, ceasefire.ca says it’s good old Canadian-built hardware carrying some of the Saudi forces. “…. An estimated 1200 soldiers from the Saudi National Guard and 800 from the UAE entered the country from Saudi Arabia, ostensibly to help protect public infrastructure …. During the 1990s and early 2000s Canada sold more than 1200 LAVs built by General Motors Diesel Division (now General Dynamics Land Systems Canada) of London, Ontario to the Saudi National Guard ….” It’ll be interesting to hear if the issue comes up in Question Period this week, given that it appears ALL parties consented to the deal in the summer of 1991.
• The latest on Canada’s effort to pack up in Kandahar in preparation to leave.  “The biggest challenge for the man planning Canada’s move out of Kandahar is not loading hundreds of vehicles or packing thousands of weapons away. It’s the clock. “Time is going to be the big thing,” Lt.-Col. Steve Moritsugu said in an interview. “We could put more people, we could put more effort, we could put more hours … but we’re done that day. That’s the one constant.” Since July, Moritsugu has led a liaison and planning team of up to 10 members responsible for ensuring all Canadian-issued property — everything from pencils to planes — is out of Kandahar by Dec. 31. It is a massive undertaking. More than 1,000 sea containers must be emptied. Close to 1,000 vehicles must be maintained and cleaned — easier said than done in an environment where dust is everywhere. And thousands of rounds of ammunition must be properly stored or disposed of before the big move ….”
• Taliban Propaganda Watch:  Attacks alleged in Kandahar & Uruzgan, and Taliban say (again) Afghans want NATO outta there.
• Another way to help out wounded warriors, shared via Army.ca. “Operation Never Quit is a project designed to send 7 wounded Canadian Soldiers and a 12 year-old Army Cadet to UFC 129 in Toronto. Op Never Quit is raising money through Sponsorship to fund a full red carpet experience at UFC 129 for these deserving Canadian Heroes. With the remaining money left at the end of the event OP never Quit will be making a donation to the Charity of choice of the wounded Soldiers, in their name ….”
• Good point here about Canadian defence spending, those who want to cut it, and those wanting to send in the troops – anywhere. “…. When Libya erupted, Prime Minister Stephen Harper dispatched three military transport planes, while the navy’s current rapid reaction warship, Halifax-based HMCS Charlottetown, made haste to put to sea. These actions, however, weren’t taken fast enough for the political opposition, the media and several self-style defence think-tanks – the same crowd that is up in arms over the Harper government’s plan to buy F-35 fighter jets, and over what they say is too much military spending. How odd that, on the one hand, these critics give the Harper regime hell for being slow off the mark to deploy military assets while on the other repeatedly condemn them for spending money on the military ….”
• Speaking of the HMCS Charlottetown, it’s now part of a different operation now that OP Mobile to get Canadians outta Libya’s seems to be done with.  “…. On 2 March 2011, the frigate HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339) left her home port of Halifax for the central Mediterranean as part of Operation MOBILE, Canada’s participation in the multinational effort to evacuate foreign nationals from Libya. The military evacuation concluded on 8 March, when Charlottetown was still in the mid-Atlantic, and the frigate was consequently reassigned to Op SIRIUS. Charlottetown’s tasks include locating, tracking, reporting and boarding of vessels suspected of involvement in terrorism. Commanded by Commander Craig Skjerpen, with a crew about 240 officers and sailors and a CH-124 Sea King helicopter detachment, HMCS Charlottetown is a highly ready and technologically advanced ship capable of the full spectrum of maritime operations ….”
• Check out the CF-18 demonstration team’s new web page here.
• “The Goose Bay air base in central Labrador has spent millions of dollars to prepare for a military exercise that has now been cancelled for the second time in as many years. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization exercise was scheduled to train forward air controllers – people on the ground who help guide planes to bomb targets. The Canadian military has spent millions upgrading the practice target area for the exercise, which would have brought hundreds of people to Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay for part of the summer. The exercise was originally scheduled for last summer, but was held in the U.S. instead. Now NATO has backed out of plans to hold the exercise at CFB Goose Bay again. A military spokesperson said NATO will still hold the exercise, but it will be held in the U.S. where it is expected to cost less.”
• F-35 Tug o’ War “…. The pertinent question not being addressed is that any possible alternatives would mean settling for generation-four or upgraded generation “four and a half” fighter replacements – essentially what the current CF-18s are, after several airframe and avionics upgrades over their long service life …. The CF-18s will be pushing 40 by the time new aircraft are deployed. Canada will still likely still be flying whatever fighters replace them in 2040 and beyond, so it makes no logical sense to buy aircraft that will be essentially obsolete before the first one is delivered – paying for upgraded mid-20th-century technology with 21st-century money ….”
• Remember Canada’s work toward converting some Leopard tanks to Armoured Engineer Vehicles?  Potential bidders are getting another deadline extension.

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 28 Feb 11

• Canada’s Foreign Affairs department confirms it’s working on the “safe release” of a Canadian, Colin MacKenzie, in Afghanistan.  The Taliban has issued a statement claiming a captured “Canadian national” is a spy, saying they’ll be releasing a video shortly.  A bit more from the Canadian Press here, CBC.ca here, CTV.ca here, Agence France-Presse here and the BBC here.
• A couple of more versions of the Taliban’s “we have a Canadian spy” statement, in Arabic and Pashto (with a Google translation of the Arabic version) here.
• It appears, according to media accounts here and here, that the missing man, 1)  has been missing for 3 months (with RCMP involvement since November), and 2)  wanted to learn Pashto. In case one needs reminding, here’s DFAIT’s recommendations about touristing in Afghanistan:  ” …. Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada advises against all travel to Afghanistan. Canadians undertaking travel despite this warning take serious risks. Canadians already in Afghanistan should leave. The security situation remains extremely volatile and unpredictable ….”
• “A U.S. squadron will head to Kandahar’s Dand district next month in a move that will enable the Canadian military to start “saturating” the western neck of Panjwaii before the conclusion of combat operations, Canada’s top soldier in Afghanistan says. The 1st squadron of the 2nd Stryker Regiment will leave the Uruzgan province and take command of the Dand battle space in mid-March from the 1-71 Cavalry of 10th Mountain Division. The 500-member cavalry has been under the command of Task Force Kandahar, stationed alongside Canadian and Afghan forces in the relatively calm district since May. The 700-member Stryker squadron will fall under Brig.-Gen. Dean Milner’s command until the Canadian military mission ends in July. Two companies of soldiers will go to Dand and a third will be deployed to Panjwaii ….”
• A snapshot of Canadian mentoring work with Afghan troops: “A hint of irritation is evident in Capt. Eric Bouchard’s voice as he tries to figure out where his counterpart in the Afghan National Army is going.  Canadian and Afghan forces have barely begun a two-day mission to search villages and fields in the central Panjwaii district, and already there’s confusion between the two groups. It seems the Afghan platoon commander paired with Bouchard has neglected to bring a proper map, and he’s leading his troops off the planned route.  Bouchard’s first instinct is to tell him to get back on track, but he restrains himself. After all, this operation has been organized by the Afghans and Bouchard’s job is to mentor their soldiers, not lecture them. Showing respect is paramount.  “Tell him the first objective is over that way,” Bouchard instructs his interpreter. “But … but, ask him where he wants to go.”  Such interactions are common for Canadians serving in the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team, also known as the OMLT or “omelette,” which provides on-the-job training for Afghan soldiers in the field ….”
• Taliban Propaganda Watch:  More attacks alleged in Kandahar, Uruzgan.
• Wounded warrior preparing for run on artificial leg:  “When army Sergeant Jamie MacIntyre joined Toronto’s annual run in support of St. John’s Rehab Hospital two years ago, he had a special reason for taking part: Among those getting a new lease on life from the widely acclaimed facility was his friend Master Corporal Jody Mitic, who’d lost both legs in 2007 in Afghanistan after stepping on a land mine.  This year, Sgt. MacIntyre has a still better incentive for participating: Last June, two months into his second tour of Afghanistan, he too trod on a roadside bomb and his left foot was blown off. So when he does the Achilles St. Patrick’s Day 5K Run/Walk on March 13, together with his wife and some military colleagues, this time he’ll be running with an artificial leg …”
• Operation GTFO Libya More details are coming to light about why Canadian planes had to leave empty from Libya last week. “…. MacKay said Sunday the two aircraft had arrived in the middle of the night and officials were having difficulty both identifying Canadians who were waiting at the airport and determining if they were allowed to leave the country. The planes had been given a limited amount of time to remain at the airport, so aircraft from other countries could land. “There was very little co-operation being extended to Canadians by officials at the airport,” MacKay told CTV’s Question Period in an interview from Halifax. “And so they were then told they had to leave because there were specific time slots that were being given to countries at that time.” ….”
• “Two more Canadian military planes are being dispatched to the eastern Mediterranean to help with the evacuation of Canadians in Libya. Defence Minister Peter MacKay tells CTV News’ Question Period the pair of Hercules transport aircraft were deployed and could be used to land in austere areas of Libya outside of the capital Tripoli. An estimated 100 Canadians are still trapped in the country, many of them believed to be oil workers. The British military, including members of its special forces, used a Hercules to fly under the Libyan radar and rescue 150 Britons and foreign nationals in a desert area. A spokesman for the prime minister said Stephen Harper was spending the day in briefings on the evolving situation in Libya ….” More on that from Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister here.
• Here’s what the PM had to say about what happens next with Libya: “…. Canada earlier today implemented the following binding sanctions contained in the Resolution:
  • An arms embargo requiring all states to prevent the sale or supply of arms into Libya, or the export of arms from Libya;
  • The inspection of cargo going into Libya;
  • A travel ban on Muammar Qadhafi and 15 individuals closely associated with him; and
  • An asset freeze against Muammar Qadhafi and members of his family….” More from the Canadian Press here.
• More news on the latest in Libya here (Google News), here (EMM News Brief:  Libya),  here (NewsNow), here (BBC) and here (Al Jazeera English).
• F-35 Tug o’ War “The fighter plane at the centre of one of Ottawa’s hottest political debates has taken its first test flight over the skies of Texas.  The hour-long flight of the first production model of the Lockheed Martin F-35 II Lightning stealth fighter went off without a hitch, said test pilot Bill Gigliotti.  “The aircraft was rock-solid from takeoff to landing, and successfully completed all the tests we put it through during the flight,” Gigliotti said.  The flight was an important developmental milestone for the aircraft that Canada plans to begin using in 2016 to replace its aging CF-18 fleet ….”