MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 5 Oct 11

• We have a border security deal (reportedly)!  “A much-ballyhooed perimeter security deal between Canada and the United States will come with a $1-billion price tag for new border facilities and programs to make trade and travel easier, The Canadian Press has learned. The Conservative government will use money cut from existing programs to cover the hefty cost of the international pact — an attempt to protect the continent from terrorist threats while speeding the flow of people and products across the 49th parallel. The deal, as described by several sources, is more evolutionary than revolutionary, falling short of the grand vision outlined with fanfare eight months ago when Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama announced negotiations ….”  More here.
• Libya Mission  Latest ROTO takes first flight downrange.  “The CP 140 Aurora aircraft continued to add to an impressive list of firsts, flying its first mission over Libya and its first strike coordination and armed reconnaissance-coordinator (SCAR-C) mission during Operation MOBILE. On 22 September 2011, crew from 405 Long Range Patrol Squadron at 14 Wing Greenwood, flew its first intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission over Libyan soil ….” (via CEFCOM Info-Machine)
• “NATO defense ministers are exploring ways Wednesday of ending the alliance’s aerial campaign in Libya and training Afghan security forces for a larger role in their country’s war. In a speech before the meeting, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged NATO member states to cooperate more closely and pool their resources in order to make up for the shortfalls that have plagued the alliance’s operations in Libya and Afghanistan. “It would be a tragic outcome if the alliance shed the very capabilities that allowed it to successfully conduct these operations,” said Panetta, who is making his first visit to Europe after taking over from Robert Gates as Pentagon chief in July. European members and Canada provided most of the strike aircraft used in the Libya campaign. But the war exposed shortages in their capabilities in strategic transport, aerial surveillance, air refueling, and unmanned drones, most of which had to be supplied by the U.S. ….”  More on the U.S. poking allies to crank up the military capabilities here.
• Afghanistan (1)  Poking the Defence Minister in Question Period – again – on (based on a book that’s not out yet) being out of the loop on Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan (2)  Canada fighting the fight (against polio) in Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan (3)  Editorial:  “Part of the rationale for military intervention in Afghanistan was the deplorable state of women’s rights, and the need to free women from the gender apartheid practised by the Taliban. This was a country where women could not have direct contact with men after the age of eight, could not go to school or work outside the home, visit public baths to stay clean, wear nail polish, high heels or be seen in public without a burqa, or a male relative. As the 10th anniversary of the military invasion approaches on Oct. 7, the hard-won gains that women have made over the past decade must be safeguarded. They cannot be sacrificed for the larger goal of ending Afghanistan’s protracted conflict ….”
• Provincial politicians use CF search & rescue as provincial campaign lighting rod. “Newfoundland nd Labrador’s premier and the opposition leader say search and rescue services provided by the federal government must be investigated to see if improvements are necessary. Progressive Conservative Leader Kathy Dunderdale said a recent episode of CBC’s The Fifth Estate on search and rescue has left her with concerns about the military’s service. “It is not satisfactory to the people of this province, to the people who earn their living on the sea, to be at further risk because of a slow response time or policies that affect response time in marine search and rescue,” she said. Dunderdale said she plans to vigorously pursue the issue of search and rescue with the federal government. Liberal Leader Kevin Aylward agreed and went further, calling for a full inquiry into federal search and rescue services. Both Aylward and Dunderdale are campaigning in preparation for the provincial election on Oct. 11 ….”
• Wounded Warriors, Mental Health & Suicide (1)  “For decades, the issue of suicide in active soldiers and retired veterans was something that no one wanted to talk about. But a number of programs both within and outside the military are finally focusing attention on the issue. How big a problem is suicide in Canada’s military? It’s difficult to say. The Canadian Forces reports that the suicide rate among currently active soldiers is actually lower than that of the general public. But once many of those soldiers are released from the military, research shows their suicide risk can rise to higher levels than that of civilians. Assessing the toll can be difficult, because beyond the clear-cut suicides are the more subtle instances in which soldiers end their own lives. A veteran who drinks heavily to dull mental pain might be engaging in a slow form of suicide. A soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder and anger issues might take reckless risks if he’s lost his will to live. And how about the veteran with depression who ends up homeless and dies far too young? None of these deaths would register on the books as a suicide, but all might well be traced back to the soldier’s time in service ….”
• Wounded Warriors, Mental Health & Suicide (2)  From Question Period (QP):  “Hon. John McKay (Scarborough—Guildwood, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, last week, the Minister of National Defence and I, along with others, attended a conference put on by the military called “Caring for our Own”. One of the concerns raised by some of the soldiers was the fear that the military would not be there for them in their hour of need. Specific worries included PTSD, suicide ideation and suicide itself. The next budget will be under severe pressure for cutting these “soft services”. Could the minister give the House assurances that our vulnerable soldiers and their families will be protected from these budgetary pressures? Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of National Defence, CPC): Mr. Speaker, my colleague is correct. My friend was in attendance, along with many members who are specifically tasked with how we deal with the scourge of post-traumatic stress and many of the challenges related to overseas deployments. I am very pleased to report that Canada has in fact become a world leader in fighting the stigmatization and raising awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder and other operational stress injuries. As well, we have increased mental health awareness and we have increased the number of mental health professionals who are dealing specifically with these challenges.”
• Wounded Warriors, Mental Health & Suicide (3)  More from QP:  “Mr. Sean Casey (Charlottetown, Lib.):  Mr. Speaker, there is a great need to enhance suicide prevention programs in Canada. With respect to our veterans, the data is alarming. The suicide rate in the armed services is nearly three times that of the general population. According to a departmental study of all males who enrolled in the regular forces after 1972 and were released before 2007, a total of 2,620 died and almost 700 of them were suicides. Could the minister outline new steps or strategies that his department is undertaking to tackle this crisis among veterans?  Hon. Steven Blaney (Minister of Veterans Affairs, CPC):  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his important question. While mental health was taboo then, it is a priority for our government now. That is why we have established, in conjunction with the Department of National Defence, 17 operational stress injury clinics that provide services to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress across the country and at various levels that they might experience. This approach is working. As of June, Veterans Affairs Canada is helping more than 14,300 veterans with mental health conditions and their families ….”
• New fur hats for the troops (and the animal rights activists are unhappy).  “The Department of National Defence has decided to add fur to the winter gear of the Canadian Forces, a move that’s getting a frosty reception from animal-rights advocates. The government says fur is part of Canada’s heritage and the winter tuque currently in use doesn’t stand up to the rigours of the Canadian winter. So it’s buying an initial run of 1,000 fur-trimmed caps at a cost of $65,000, for use by guards of honour and Canadian Forces starting this winter …. “There are synthetics that are just as good and that don’t necessitate the killing of animals,” Elizabeth Sharpe of the World Society for the Protection of Animals said from Toronto. “Killing animals for their fur is completely unnecessary and cruel.” Lesley Fox of the British Columbia-based Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals says muskrats are known to chew off their limbs to free themselves from leg-hold traps ….”
• F-35 Tug o’ War (1)  Defence Minister Peter MacKay, facing questions from the NDP on the upcoming F-35 buy:   “These aircraft, as the House will know, will replace our aging CF-18 fleet of fighter jets. These aircraft, like other aircraft, have served our country extremely well. They are used in Libya today. They have been used in previous missions, but that they aging. As a matter of course we are taking the responsible step of following a procurement process that has been in place for a significant period of time in which a number of countries are participating …. We committed $9 billion for the replacement of the CF-18. In fact, it not only includes the cost of the aircraft, this will include: spares, weapons systems, infrastructure and training simulators as well as the contingency associated with this important procurement. We are purchasing the most cost-effective variant at the prime of peak production when the costs will be at their lowest. Even the Parliamentary Budget Officer has admitted to that. Why are the NDP members constantly against getting the best equipment for the best forces in the world?”
• F-35 Tug o’ War (2)  The latest from the Associate Minister of National Defence Julian Fantino:  “An overall $9 billion cost estimate is more honest than relying on individual plane costs, says the minister handling the purchase of Canada’s new fighter jets. Despite a promise by manufacturer Lockheed Martin that Canada will get its F-35 fighter jets at a cost of $65 million each, Julian Fantino, Associate Minister of National Defence, says the government’s overall $9 billion estimate is the more honest number. The cost of the F-35 depends on the number of planes ordered by other countries, as well as on how early Canada wants to get its order. The manufacturing cost goes down as more planes come off the assembly line, with Canada expecting the U.S. to absorb the bulk of the F-35′s development costs. “There are just so many variables, and that’s why I think the more honest, ethical response to all these issues is the $9 billion figure, which in fact will be the ceiling that Canada will be investing in these particular aircraft,” Fantino told Evan Solomon, host of CBC’s Power & Politics ….”
• What’s Canada Buying?  Someone to make fake explosives to test detection equipment (more in Statement of Work – 4 page PDF – here), upgrading the range at CFB Valcartier, someone to manage Canada’s presence at the Farnborough Air Show, and CADPAT rank slip-ons.
• Canada’s top military cop to chair NATO committee.  “The Canadian Forces Provost Marshal (CFPM), Colonel Tim Grubb assumed the post of Chairman of the NATO Nations Military Police (MP) Chiefs’ Committee at a brief ceremony last week in Prague, Czech Republic. The ceremony concluded the committee’s annual meeting …. Colonel Grubb has been the CFPM since 2009 and during his tenure has overseen significant transformation in the Canadian Forces Military Police organization ….”
• “The Pearson Peacekeeping Centre engaged in some diplomacy of its own recently when its leaders invited ambassadors and military attachés to its Carleton University headquarters to update them on its activities. Michael Snell, project manager for the centre, told the group of about 30 diplomats about the work the centre has been doing with the 10 training centres that compose the Association of Latin America Peacekeeping Centres. The centre’s three causes, Snell said, are: women and peacekeeping; supporting new training centres; and enhancing police participation in UN missions from Latin America ….”
• How some of the Americans are doing the War of 1812 anniversary.  “Out of the murk of history and the trough of government funding, here comes the War of 1812 again, 200 years old and as ambiguous as ever on both sides of the Canada-U.S. frontier. “The festivities reach a crescendo!” trumpets the Maryland Bicentennial Commission, as if three years of bombarding, cannonading, spearing, shooting, scalping, burning, sinking, drowning, pillaging, invading, retreating, ambushing, marching, fleeing, starving, freezing, and occupying had been a holiday for all concerned. Undeterred by the carnage – after all, the war didn’t kill THAT many guys, compared to, like, Gettysburg or Hitler or whatever – we are going to have “a Star-Spangled tribute to the defense of America” down here, a display at the U.S. Naval Academy of “the British flag captured at Fort York (Toronto),” plus “a week-long maritime event to kick off the bicentennial celebration.” In other words, there are going to be a lot of people in pantaloons hoisting mainsails and firing muskets before this thing is put away for another century ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 9 Aug 11

• Libya Mission (1)  “The consensus around Canada’s military deployment in Libya looks set to unravel next month, unless there is a resolution on the ground. In late June, the NDP supported a three-and-a-half month extension to Canada’s involvement in the UN-sponsored mission in Libya. But Paul Dewar, the party’s foreign affairs critic, said he would like to see an end to the military mission when the current parliamentary mandate runs out on Sept. 27. “Come the end of the timeline we’ve set in Parliament, I think it’s time to say that’s enough on the military equation for Canada, and that we need to put our focus on the diplomatic and political side, as other countries have done. Norway has just finished its commitment. Canada should be there until September, then we should say we’ve done our bit,” he said …. “  More on the NDP’s GTFO Libya desires here.
• Libya Mission (2)  “It’s not up to anyone outside Libya to decide what happens to dictator Moammar Gadhafi if he’s forced from power, Canada’s ambassador to the country said Monday. Sandra McCardell, ambassador to Libya, says it’s Canada’s position, as well as that of NATO, that Gadhafi must go. But what happens next is up to Libyans, she told MPs at a briefing to the House of Commons foreign affairs committee. “What transition follows is for the Libyan people to determine. It’s their country and they’re responsible for developing a transitional government,” she said. “It will be up to them to determine their future.” Pushed on the question, McCardell said, “There’s no support for impunity” for Gadhafi, but the terms of an eventual peace settlement will come from the two sides on the ground. “I don’t believe the Libyan people … have any interest in returning [to the system under Gadhafi],” she said ….”
• Libya Mission (3)  “Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement: “Canada declares all remaining diplomats at the Libyan embassy in Ottawa personae non gratae, effective immediately. This is the latest step Canada has taken to isolate and delegitimize the Qadhafi regime. “These people now have five business days to vacate the embassy and leave the country. “As part of this declaration, we are also cutting off these diplomats’ access to the embassy’s bank accounts.” “
• Taliban Propaganda Watch  Taliban making hay over downing of Chinook full o’ special forces troops.
• “With three of its four submarines undergoing expensive and delayed repairs, Canada’s role under the waves is the subject of renewed controversy. “We keep hearing from (the Defence Department) that the subs are OK, that they’re gonna be fine, but we’ve been hearing this for 10 years,” said NDP defence critic Peter Stoffer on Monday. “Whoever kicked the tires on these didn’t do a good job, and this is taking money away from other aspects and operations of (the Defence Department).” Canada bought its fleet of four Victoria-class submarines second-hand from Britain in 1998 for $851 million to replace its aging fleet of Oberon-class submarines. Stoffer said that “it seemed like an excellent deal” at the time to increase the navy’s capabilities but subsequent repairs have meant the submarines have spent little time operating ….”
• What’s Canada Buying? (1)  Wanted:  someone to determine the latest formula for Post Living Differential allowance and study CFB Suffield’s ecosystem.
• What’s Canada Buying? (2)  Why is it so hard to find someone to run & maintain CFS Alert?  Maybe this time will be more successful than these other times.
• Way Up North (1)  GG dropping by Canada’s Arctic.  “Governor General David Johnston will make his first official visit to Nunavut on Aug. 15. Johnston and his wife Sharon will visit Iqaluit, Qikiqtarjuaq, Repulse Bay, Kugaaruk and Resolute Bay between Aug. 15-21, said a Rideau Hall news release. “As a vital part of our collective history, there is much we can learn from the Inuit culture,” Johnston said in a statement ….”  More in the GG’s statement here.
• Way Up North (2)  “Canada will lose out to Russia’s Arctic shipping routes because it is too small to finance the infrastructure, France’s ambassador for the polar regions said Monday. Melting polar ice will make Canada’s Northwest Passage more accessible in the next decades, but Canada does not seem interested in exploiting it for shipping, said Michel Rocard, who recently returned from a tour of the Arctic aboard the Canadian icebreaker Amundsen. “I have the impression that Canada has given up on the competition to attract a large part of the traffic in 25 or 30 years,” Rocard said. The former French prime minister said Canada is “too small to finance itself the infrastructure” needed to spur commercial shipping through its Northwest Passage — a shorter route between European and Asian markets than the Suez and Panama canals ….”
• Way Up North (3)  “It’s taken 15 years and nearly a half a billion dollars, but the curtain is beginning to come down on one of Canada’s largest environmental cleanup projects. By the end of the summer, cleanup at 19 of 21 abandoned Distant Early Warning Line radar sites across the North will have been completed, according to the Department of National Defence ….”
• PTSD:  it’s not just about soldiers.  “Diagnoses of an affliction once met with only stoicism and stigma within Canada’s national police force have skyrocketed as commanders encourage officers to seek treatment for post traumatic stress disorder. More than 1,700 Mounties have been diagnosed with PTSD, with nearly 300 officers joining the ranks last year alone. Within police circles, the RCMP’s new-found determination to tackle the disorder has quietly raised questions for policy makers at all levels of government. What can be done to better shield police from trauma? How should panels assess claims for taxpayer-funded compensation? And if police PTSD is truly pervasive, why are other police forces apparently doing relatively little about it? ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 8 Aug 11

• Libya Mission  New boss, new reorganization for Canada’s effort in Libya. “Brigadier-General Derek Joyce assumed command of Task Force Libeccio today during a ceremony held at Allied Joint Force Command, Naples, Italy. The task force, which assumes a new, more streamlined structure, will continue Canadian Forces’ activities in support of Operation MOBILE. Concurrent with the assumption of command Task Force Naples personnel and functions were incorporated into the new structure of Task Force Libeccio. Task Force Naples was responsible for coordinating the participation of all Canadian Task Forces within Operation MOBILE. “The task I was given was extremely rewarding in that Task Force Naples worked very hard at providing support and sustainment to the air component of Operation MOBILE, and to Task Force CHARLOTTETOWN, patrolling the waters off the coast of Libya,” said Colonel Paul Ormsby, Commander of Task Force Naples ….”
• Afghanistan (1)  The last of the last “heading into the fight” ROTOs is back (article in French).
• Afghanistan (2)  Some of the bosses talk about the mission (via CF Info-Machine) – video and transcript.
• Afghanistan (3)  “August 7th is not an official statutory holiday but a day for commemoration and for the families who lost their loved ones in peacekeeping missions for Canada, it’s a day to heal. 25-year-old Steven Stock was a Combat Engineer with the Canadian Forces and was killed in Afghanistan in 2008. His father, David, said this day is important because it means his son will never be forgotten and it helps their family grieve. “It’s an emotional release for us all as well and it just heals,” he said. “The more we do these things, the more it heals.” ….”  More from the Veterans Affairs Canada Info-Machine here.
• “Cpl. Andrew Knisley has known his share of frustration with the artificial leg he’s worn for the past two years. The prosthetic limb, which straps to his pelvis, does not allow him to easily navigate stairs or uneven terrain. Last week, for instance, his knee unexpectedly gave out as he walked across a beach on the Ottawa River. “I went down like a sack of potatoes,” says Knisley, 27, whose right leg was destroyed by a bomb in Afghanistan. But recently at the Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre, Knisley received a new prosthetic limb, the X2, that he hopes will significantly improve his mobility. Knisley is the third Canadian soldier to be fitted with the device, which represents the latest in artificial knee technology ….”
• Wounded warriors take on Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa (video via CTV.ca).
• “University of Regina researcher Mathew Fetzner has seen the mental toll that war can have. The 27-year-old is now a doctoral student in the university’s psychology department, but was once a military man himself. His first degree was a bachelor of arts in psychology from Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. He reached the rank of corporal and spent six years in reserve units. Fetzner’s grandfather served in Korea and his brother is a captain based at CFB Gagetown. Fetzner was never deployed himself, but watched his buddies go overseas …. That experience is prompting Fetzner’s research on the effects of aerobic exercise on reducing post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. This week, he was awarded a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Fetzner will get $50,000 per year for three years through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. “My ultimate goal for this is to find ways to better treat individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder,” Fetzner says ….”
• F-35 Tug o’ War  One blogger’s view:  “…. I can see how the F-35′s stealth capability and relatively short range (it won’t make it from one end of the Arctic to the other without expensive in-air refuelling) might be the perfect jet fighter for say, Israel or American adventures in the Middle East. But for Canada? We don’t know for sure, because the statement of requirements is not public. And that breeds the suspicion that they were written with what the Americans had in mind, not with what Canada needed ….”
• And we should be surprised the U.S. has intellegence and other government agencies keeping an eye on the economies of its major trading partners?  “The CIA secretly painted Pierre Trudeau as a politician torn between being a leader of the Third World and a genuine player with global industrialized nations, declassified records show. The January 1982 assessment of the Liberal prime minister’s ambitions is among several detailed — and until now virtually unknown — analyses of the Canadian economy by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Through the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, The Canadian Press obtained more than a dozen CIA reports that explore various aspects of Canadian commerce, industry and technology during the Cold War era. The assessments reveal a keen interest in Canadian affairs on the part of an agency better known for waging a covert war against East Bloc spies in the decades leading up to the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall ….” Sure would be interesting to see the reports now that they’re public….
• “German prisoners of war who spent much of the Second World War in a Manitoba logging camp purchased mail-order items from the Eaton’s catalogue, kept themselves impeccably groomed and even staged “temporary” escapes into the nearby countryside. Those are just some of the findings of a three-year archeological dig in Riding Mountain National Park, located about 300 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, where the Whitewater PoW camp was located. Adrian Myers, a PhD student from Stanford University, has been leading the project since 2009, when he first arranged an agreement with Parks Canada to access the site which had sat neglected and abandoned for decades, little more than a few overgrown foundations still visible. The site was once a bustling wilderness work camp housing about 500 people. About 450 German Afrika Korps soldiers were sent to the camp after their capture in October 1943 during the Second Battle of El-Alamein in Egypt. They were kept at the camp until October 1945 ….”

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 – 31 May 11

• Karl Manning, 5 RALC, R.I.P.:  Arriving at CFB Trenton this afternoon – more here and here.
• Meanwhile, Manning’s parents are having a hard time believing what happened – French version, Google English translation.
• Remembering the fallen through art. “For one parent it meant staring into the eyes of a son lost too soon. For another, it was a chance to honour the daughter who was taken too early. Canadians across the country will get a chance to see for themselves a hand-painted mural of the 156 members of the Canadian Forces who lost their lives as part of the mission to Afghanistan. The Portraits of Honour, created by artist Dave Sopha, is to be unveiled in Trenton, Ont., on Tuesday and will travel from coast to coast to give Canadians a chance to honour those who gave their lives to better those of others. The oil-painted mural stretches three metres by 10 metres and features the faces of every Forces member who has died as part of the Afghan mission. Sopha used photographs and advice from family members to make each face an honest depiction of the person. “Each one takes me about 80 hours and I become almost like their best friend,” Sopha said in an interview. “I sit there and talk to them and work on them all day and all night.” He has spent more than 6,500 hours on the mural but says his work won’t be complete until Canada’s combat mission in Afghanistan comes to a close in July ….”
• Kevin Megeney, 1982-2007, R.I.P.:  Latest Court Martial of man accused of shooting delayed until August. – more here.
• Afghanistan (1):  The PM drops by as the combat mission wraps up.
• Afghanistan (2):  The PM reminds us it’s still dangerous…. “The first significant wave of Canadian troops destined to train Afghan security forces arrived on the ground Monday, marking the beginning of a major shift in Ottawa’s contribution to the war-ravaged nation. The announcement was tucked into Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s farewell tour of Kandahar. Instability reigns in many parts of Afghanistan and it was brutally driven home over the weekend in a deadly Taliban attack in the northern part of the country. “Obviously in every part of Afghanistan, dangers exist. We’re about this,” said Harper, who emphasized Canadian advisers and trainers will work in classrooms behind the wire, not on the front lines ….”
• Afghanistan (3):  …. while mentioning the BIG danger seems to be gone.  “…. As Canadian troops prepare to pivot, moving from a combat role to a training role in two months, the Prime Minister all but declared victory for this mission, both in front of some 500 soldiers at New Canada House, but more passionately to reporters afterward. “We have to look at this mission as a great success,’’ Harper said. Canadians took on the toughest province in Afghanistan, he said. But the success was much greater than that, he added. “The world came to Afghanistan because Afghanistan had become such a terrible and brutal place — it had become a threat to the entire world. “Whatever the challenges and troubles that remain, Afghanistan is no longer a threat to the world. “This country does not represent a geostrategic to the world. It is no longer a source of global terrorism.’’ ….”  More of that messaging here, here and here.
• Afghanistan (4):  “After four volunteers were murdered by the Taliban for participating in a $60-million Canadian-funded project to eradicate polio in Afghanistan, Rahmattulah Bashardost continued to help distribute vaccine to more than 350,000 Kandahari children because, he said, it was the right thing to do. “The Taliban threatened to kill me if I did not quit this job, but what else can we do?” Bashardost asked. “We must support our people and our country. “Doing this in Kandahar is a hard thing because the roads are so often blocked by the Taliban, by Afghan security forces or by (NATO’s) International Security Assistance Force. To stop polio you have to pay attention, road by road, street by street even if in some villages the elders do not cooperate.” Bashardost and several dozen of the 8,000 anti-polio campaign volunteers in Kandahar were honoured Thursday with commemorative plaques by Canada and the provincial government in a ceremony at the governor’s palace ….”
• Taliban Propaganda Watch:  Not one, but two choppers allegedly shot down in Zabul.
• “One in four Canadian soldiers returning from Afghanistan is suffering from mental problems or “high-risk drinking,” according to post-deployment screening reports obtained by The Globe and Mail under access to information. In the past decade, as Canadian Forces were called on to undertake perilous new missions, the military has struggled to understand the scope of mental-health problems among troops. The first comprehensive study of front-line soldiers based on their actual medical history is still under way, leaving questions about stress disorders to self-reporting surveys. The latest survey, completed last June, covered more than 17,000 soldiers returning from all regions of Afghanistan since 2005. It found that while most “report good mental health,” there was “an important minority” of 12 per cent who had one or more mental-health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. In addition, “harmful” or “hazardous” drinking was reported by a further 13 per cent of the troops. Canadian Forces Ombudsman Pierre Daigle has called PTSD and related stress illnesses “a real hardship for Canada’s soldiers, sailors, airmen and airwomen for many years to come.” The Ombudsman is set to publish a major investigation of mental health among troops in coming months ….”  Meanwhile, the Globe has chosen to NOT share the report obtained via ATIP – interesting, considering the piece is written by a journalist who’s helped campaign for more freedom of information from government.
• Meanwhile, “…. The CF continues to over-extend its mandate in filling the many gaps in (Veterans Affairs Canada’s) patchwork of often inadequate programs. A new universal approach which has veterans, the CF, their families, medical, and business experts needs to be driving veterans’ policy. Canada does not have to reinvent the wheel. We did it right after World War II. The ingredients are the same: income bridging, comprehensive post-secondary education, business start-up assistance, housing assistance and extended medical care all working towards a program of complete and universal financial, professional and psychological transition. Either Canada relearns a universal and comprehensive approach to caring for its releasing and injured military or one day the eager recruits may dry up. Otherwise, a military collective bargaining unit may be the only way to force government to act where once Canada was only too eager to care.”
• “There will be 2,100 jobs lost over the next three years at the Department of National Defence, but it doesn’t change the department’s recruitment goals for Canada’s armed forces, says a DND official. “The recruiting goals are set out in the Canada First Defence Strategy and that doesn’t change, so what was announced earlier has no effect on recruitment,” said Andrea Cameron, a communications adviser with DND ….”
• Congrats, and here’s hoping one day, the fact that the new person’s a woman won’t make any difference in the announcements.  “Rear-Admiral Jennifer Bennett (links to bio) was appointed as the first female Chief, Reserves and Cadets today, replacing Major-General Dennis Tabbernor upon his retirement from the Canadian Forces. Vice-Admiral Bruce Donaldson, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, presided over the ceremony at National Defence Headquarters. The Chief Reserves and Cadets advises the Chief of the Defence Staff and other senior DND/CF officials about matters concerning the 35,000 member strong Reserve Force to help ensure their unique requirements are integrated with Canadian Forces policies and programs. The Reserve Force includes the Primary Reserve, the Cadet Organization Administration and Training Service, and the Supplementary Reserve ….”
• Time for an apology to the Canadian Airborne Regiment? “…. 16 years after the Somalia inquiry which resulted in its “disbandment in disgrace,” the final commanding officer of the regiment is demanding an apology from the federal government. “When they disbanded the regiment, they tore the heart out of me, and of every other man that was serving that day and serving in that regiment before,” said retired colonel Peter G. Kenward. “It was a miscarriage of justice, it was grossly unfair and it was a politically expedient move by the Liberal government of the day.” …. “The soldiers, the people who built that regiment, 99.9% were so harshly punished for the misdeeds and the wrongs of a few,” said Kenward. “Under any justice system, that is totally unacceptable.” Groups dedicated to the “Airborne Brotherhood” are filled with calls that the regiment be reinstated and the term “disgrace” removed from the official record. Many young soldiers still wear the disbanded colours. The Conservative MP representing CFB Petawawa, the final home of the Airborne, supports the call ….”  Follow the wide-ranging discussion on this at Army.ca.
• What’s Canada Buying? (1)  “Ottawa is no longer imposing penalties on Sikorsky for delays in the production of its fleet of maritime helicopters, which have missed their latest deadline. The federal government vowed in 2004 to slap penalties of $3-million a month – up to a total of $36-million – for delays in the delivery of the aircraft that will replace the aging Sea Kings. At the time, the goal was to get the first Cyclone CH-148 in 2008. However, the contract was later amended to allow for the delivery of an interim, or incomplete, helicopter in late 2010, with fully equipped choppers arriving in 2012. Last year, the government announced more delays, saying the first interim helicopters would arrive this spring. Now the prognosis is for formal delivery later this summer. However, Sikorsky is not paying any penalties these days, as the amended contract imposed a cap on penalties for the “interim” helicopters, which will not meet all of the contractual requirements that were imposed upon Sikorsky seven years ago. “The maximum amount for liquidated damaged for the late delivery of the interim helicopters is $8-million. That maximum amount has now been attained by Sikorsky,” the Department of Public Works said on Friday in answer to a question from The Globe and Mail ….”
• What’s Canada Buying? (2)  “With 70 per cent of its defence revenues coming from within the country, Thales Canada is keeping a close eye on procurement activity in Ottawa. Rumblings of trouble are already starting as the federal government aims to shave $4 billion in annual savings by 2014 from a program spending budget that currently tops $80 billion. Further, in 2010 the Department of National Defence began a strategic review as part of an ongoing process by which the government examines how each of its departments and agencies spends their money ,and how funds can be saved. Given a contract Thales Canada recently received, the firm has an interest in the results of the DND review, said Dave Spagnalo, the company’s vice-president of defence and security. Thales has 140 employees in Ottawa. Thales was awarded a nearly $11-million contract in March to create a new command, control and communications system for defence applications …. “
• G8/G20 Money Pits Watch:  “The bill for security at last summer’s G8 and G20 summits could have been much lower if the government had used more military personnel instead of police officers, Canada’s parliamentary budget officer says. Kevin Page’s comments on Monday came in response to a CBC/Radio-Canada report that revealed the RCMP contracted hundreds of police officers from across the country to travel to Ontario for the two summits, and paid millions in premiums to them for working on days off or during vacations. Page also cited the decision to host the dual summits at separate venues in Toronto and the Muskoka region as the main reason why the final price tag is expected to exceed more than $1 billion. “Could we have saved money? Yes. If the decision was made that we could have had one venue as opposed to two, we could have reduced those costs quite significantly,” Page said Monday. “If we were comfortable having more of a military presence, as opposed to an RCMP presence, we might have been able to save costs further.” ….”
• Coming up at next month’s Conservative Party convention:  “The Conservatives are to consider whether to declare that any Canadian who takes up arms against the military of this country or one of its allies should be automatically stripped of citizenship and be tried for “high treason.” The resolution is just one of dozens -on issues ranging from tax policy, to euthanasia, to prostitution to samesex marriage-that Tory delegates will discuss at a party convention in June. Currently, the Criminal Code allows for someone to be charged if they assist “an enemy at war with Canada, or any armed forces against whom Canadian Forces are engaged in hostilities, whether or not a state of war exists between Canada and the country whose forces they are.” Anyone convicted is automatically sentenced to life in prison. In recent years, as the war on terror has spread throughout the globe, some have debated whether Canada has enough legal clout to punish people who do battle not only with Canadian troops, but also with allied forces ….”  More here.
• “…. Newlyweds William and Kate will spend Canada Day in Ottawa as part of their whirlwind, nine-day royal tour from June 30 to July 8 to seven cities – Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Summerside, Charlottetown, Yellowknife and Calgary. Heritage Minister James Moore said Monday the royal presence will make it the biggest bash ever in the nation’s capital …. The itinerary will place a special focus on, among others, Canada’s military and war veterans. Both Prince William and his brother, Prince Harry, are members of the British Forces and Harry served a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2007-08 ….” More on the itinerary and theme details here and here.

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 10 Apr 11

• “It is a question that gives Maj. Robert Tesselaar pause. How much have Afghan forces “honestly” planned the latest operation to be conducted in Kandahar’s Panjwaii district? “Not as much as I would’ve liked as the lead planner,” Tesselaar said. “But a fair bit.” With that concise answer, Tesselaar cuts through the generic, sanitized claims of battlefield success and underscores the challenge that will remain once Canadian troops pull out of the war-torn province this summer. The Afghan National Security Forces have indeed improved their skills and boosted their ranks under the guidance of the Canadian military. They have also recently taken on a greater role in planning operations in an effort to flush the Taliban out of strongholds and reassure locals that communities are becoming safer. But the ability of Afghan forces to maintain security independently is an open question, despite Canada’s five-year stay in Kandahar ….”
• “Some chaplains in the Canadian military say they are losing the very programs meant to help them cope with the suicides, marital breakdowns and combat-related stress they face in their work. Monthly reports prepared for the Chaplain General highlight concerns over funding cuts that are affecting some chaplaincy training courses, retreats and meetings that address the strain of tending to Canadian Forces personnel. One branch of the chaplaincy in Halifax reported concerns about the loss of these programs at a time when staff are heavily affected by the ongoing combat mission in Afghanistan, post-traumatic stress disorder among soldiers and increasing workloads. “This is particularly disheartening given that many of these programs were put in place to ensure chaplaincy resilience after so many chaplains were lost to PTSD,” states a report from last July that was obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act ….”
• Election 2011 – “NDP leader Jack Layton unveiled a defence plan Friday that would take the government’s bid for stealth fighter jets back to “square one” so defence priorities could return to peacekeeping and improving Canada’s navy. If elected, Layton said he would abandon the government’s plan to buy 65 stealth fighter jets — which experts say could cost up to $29 billion over three decades — so that Canada’s naval forces are served first ….”
• “This year’s anniversary of the battle at Vimy Ridge is the end of an era, with no surviving First World War veterans in Canada. But 2011 also marks the beginning of a new era, with the first youth-led candlelight ceremony on the eve of the battle’s 94th anniversary. Gov. Gen. David Johnston said this event proved those soldiers who risked their lives for Canada will never be forgotten. “This is the largest youth contingent ever to observe Vimy Ridge Day in Canada. It is an honour to share this moment with you,” Johnston told a group of about 450 youth in attendance at the National War Memorial Friday evening ….” More from the Governor General’s office here.
• CBS News in the U.S. picks up the story of Russell Williams – video version here.