MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – May 26, 2014

• Ukraine (1)  “A Canadian MP says Sunday’s presidential election in Ukraine went smoothly and largely peacefully.  Conservative James Bezan, a member of Canada’s 350-member election observation team, describes Ukrainians as resilient and brave, adding they turned out in substantial numbers across the country to cast their ballots ….”
• Ukraine (2)  “For the third time in four years, the Harper government has sent a large, Canada-only mission to observe an election in Ukraine, despite a report that concluded it would be cheaper, more credible and more effective to join a multilateral international mission.  Some 338 observers are part of Canada’s current independent mission in Ukraine; they are fanned out across the troubled country to assess the integrity of Sunday’s presidential election process.  Another 162 Canadians are also monitoring the election as part of a multilateral mission co-ordinated by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), whose missions are considered the gold standard by veteran election observers.  …. after the first Canada-only mission in 2004, an evaluation report prepared for the government concluded the large scale of that bilateral venture “should not be considered as a precedent but only as a ‘last resort option’ for future Canadian observer missions.”  “The use of multilateral missions for Canadian short term election observers should continue to be considered as the first deployment option,” said the report, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.  Among other things, the report found the cost of going it alone was nearly double the cost of taking part in an OSCE mission: $9,335 per observer for the eight-day 2004 mission, versus $4,981 per observer for a 10-day OSCE mission in Ukraine earlier the same year ….”
• Ukraine (3)  Check here (list of links) or here (Twitter list) for more news between updates
• “Canada’s willingness to send resources to Eastern Europe through NATO and procure a new fleet of fighter jets may cast a light on this government’s not-so-clearly-articulated defence priorities, a military expert says.  When the Ukrainian crisis heated up, the Conservative government announced that it would send out a fleet of six CF-18 Hornets, in addition to supplying funds and aid to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia. A couple of weeks later, the government announced that it would send the HMCS Regina to join NATO’s maritime force.  In the realm of military procurement, the government has committed to acquiring a new fleet of fighter jets — likely the F-35 II Lightning — to replace its aging fleet of CF-18s.  “What you have seen in the past few weeks is that Canada wants to participate internationally,” said Carleton University professor Stephen Saideman, an expert in military affairs. “And the F-35 is a clue, because the F-35 is a plane designed for multilateral military operations—most of its advantages have to do with alliance operations.” ….”
• Nigeria (1)  “Nigerian military say they know where 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in April are but admit they cannot risk “going there with force.” “
• Nigeria (2)  More on whazzup in Nigeria here (EMM News Brief), here (Google News) and here (Yahoo Canada News)
• Commentary  “Canada unlikely to admit Libyan blunder by supporting Gen. Khalifa Hifter”
• Afghanistan  Another Info-machine piece about Canada’s one-time “Thanks for Afghanistan, troops” event
• Danish defence official on Canada’s military relationship w/Denmark  “…. Canada is a highly valued partner for Denmark. As NATO Allies and Arctic neighbours, Denmark and Canada share a history of fruitful collaboration on many global issues. In an ever changing security environment it remains important to continue close cooperation within the Alliance and bilaterally. The Arctic forms an important part of Danish-Canadian cooperation. In May 2010 Denmark and Canada signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding on defence, security and operational cooperation in the Arctic, focusing on mutual cooperation in exercises, staff exchanges and co-operation in rescue operations. In November 2013 the Danish Minister of Defence participated in the Halifax International Security Forum, where he also met with his Canadian counterpart to discuss bilateral cooperation and current international issues.”
• From the Army Info-machine  “EX ROCHAMBEAU 14 takes its name from the Comte de Rochambeau, a man who played a key role in the American War of Independence. He oversaw the sea and land contribution of the French forces who fought in support of the fledgling United States. It’s not surprising that his name was chosen for the EX, a way of highlighting his contribution.  And so, from 10 to 23 May, fourteen NATO member nations  came together in France,  more specifically at Mailly-le-Camp and Mourmelon, to train.  The main objectives of EX ROCHAMBEAU were to validate 3e Brigade mécanisée française as a NATO immediate reaction force and to train the Franco-British Divisional Headquarters as a combined land command component.  Sixteen participants from 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (5 CMBG), based in Valcartier, Québec, and commanded by LCol Yannick Michaud, Commander 5 Combat Engineer Regiment, made the Atlantic crossing to support their NATO colleagues.  The Canadian Army personnel came mainly from the following units: 5 Combat Engineer Regiment (5 CER), 5 Régiment d’artillerie légère du Canada (5 RALC), 1 Battalion Royal 22e Régiment (1R22R) and 12 Régiment blindé du Canada (12 RBC) ….”
• Getting ready to rescue Canadians if needed  “As tensions in the fictitious nation of West Isle increased, local residents  were happy to see members of 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (3 PPCLI) arrive to conduct non-combatant evacuation operations  as part of Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 2014 (Ex MR).  Following this exercise, Vanguard Company will be ready to deploy anywhere in the world, in support of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Development (DFATD), to evacuate Canadian nationals, explains Lieutenant Colonel John Errington, Commanding Officer 3 PPCLI.  More often than not, political instability in foreign countries is the reason for the immediate extraction of  nationals, yet other situations may also trigger the need to deploy Vanguard Company.  “Vanguard Company’s mission during this exercise, and abroad, is to extract Entitled Personnel from different threat environments, whether it’s a natural disaster or political instability,” explains Major Hugh Atwell, Vanguard Company commander with 3 PPCLI.  A non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO) deploys forces within 72 hours in response to a rapidly deteriorating situation in an affected nation that is threatening the safety of Canadians.  A NEO is only conducted when all means of personal and commercial transportation have been exhausted ….”
  
• “Former Liberal defence ministers David Pratt and Bill Graham are calling on Canada to get on board with a North American ballistic missile defence (BMD) system.  “It continues to be the missing link in terms of Canada’s defence posture,” Pratt said Monday while appearing before the Senate’s national security and defence committee.  Graham joined Pratt in telling senators that Canada can’t afford to sit on the sidelines while the Americans continue to work on a system to protect the continent from nuclear missile attacks.  “It seems…we’re outside an extraordinarily complex and amazingly new form of a weapons system which will affect our security but (on) which we’re foreign to decisions around its development,” Graham said ….”
  
• From the Info-machine  “HMCS Iroquois displays gunnery excellence in HAIDA trophy victory during recent Task Group Exercise”
• Liberal MP:  “Feds must ensure Canada’s military culture does not include sexual assault — The minister’s promised review following L’actualite’s ‘Special Report’ on sexual violence plaguing our soldiers is a start—but only a start. Why did the minister not know the extent of the problem in his own department until investigative journalists raised the alarm? ….”
• Veterans Ombudsman:  A country that takes care of its vets is a secure country  “Most of us recognize intuitively that there is a direct link between how a nation treats its Veterans and its ability to recruit and retain citizens for its military. It is not rocket science. If it is public knowledge that injured or ill Veterans’ needs are not being met, then why would anyone join the military or stay in it for any length of time? It is for this reason that we have to consider the provision of Veterans’ benefits as a matter of national security.  This should be a fundamental element of the defence of our nation ….”
  
• “The head of Canada’s electronic intelligence agency has been cautioned not to mention China as a source of digital espionage, despite the rise in reports of Chinese hackers being blamed for attempts to penetrate targets in Canada and the United States.  Newly disclosed records obtained by The Globe and Mail show that the Communications Security Establishment Canada’s chief, John Forster, was specifically cautioned before his appearance at a parliamentary committee in February not to say anything of substance about the subject …. The Globe obtained Mr. Forster’s briefing notes through an access-to-information request to the CSEC. Three of several dozen anticipated questions covered in the briefing had to do with the CSEC’s opinions on “alleged Chinese cyberattacks.”  But the phrase appeared only in the anticipated questions – and not in any of the calculated and crafted answers. “For security reasons, I cannot comment on which countries are targeting Canada,” Mr. Forster was told to tell Parliament if the subject came up ….”
  
• World War 2  “Bomber Command veteran celebrates 100th birthday”