MILNEWS.ca: Inbox Highlights, 29 October 2018

What’s Canada Buying?

• F-35 Tug o’ War
• “Ottawa releases draft tender on purchase of new fighter jets”
• “On October 26, 2018, Canada achieved yet another milestone toward replacing Canada’s fighter fleet, with the release of the draft Request for Proposals to eligible Suppliers for their review and feedback. Suppliers will have about eight weeks to provide feedback. This feedback will be used to refine and finalize the formal Request for Proposals. The entire process is being reviewed by both an independent fairness monitor and an independent third-party reviewer …” (Public Works info-machine)
• Saudi Arms Sales?
• “Why is Saudi Arabia still getting Canadian-made weapons?”
• “Selling to Saudis costs us our integrity”
• “Trudeau’s position on toxic $15B Saudi arms deal evolves and confuses”
• The Rest
  
• Wanted:  “Material for Army NDT Kits”
• Wanted:  “Area Detection and Identification System (ADIS)”

Internal Security (1):  Here …

• “Liberals forced to back down on lower maximum sentences for terrorists after backlash”
• “Extrémisme chez les militaires: du cas par cas annoncent les Forces armées canadiennes”
• “Cyber crime epidemic puts Canadians in the cross hairs” (Senate info-machine)
• “Le SCRS à Montréal lundi recrute des candidats pour des postes en TI et en cybersécurité”
• ” ‘I’d sworn never to go to Syria’: Stewart Bell on his journey to meet a captured Canadian ISIS fighter”

Internal Security (2):  … and in the U.S.

• I see Canada’s not the only country dealing with “travellin’ terrorists” … “Doe v. Mattis Ends with a Transfer and a Cancelled Passport: Lessons Learned” (Lawfare blog) – “American ISIS Suspect Is Freed After Being Held More Than a Year” – “U.S. citizen released after held more than a year in Iraq”
• “5,200 Active-Duty Personnel Moving to Southwest Border, Northcom Chief Says” (DoD info-machine)
• “Online Platforms Provide Refuge for White Supremacist Extremists” (NJ DHS)

#CANinIRQ/Mid East – Op IMPACT

• “Canada’s first resident ambassador to Iraq in 27 years meets Masoud Barzani”
• “Former Syrian White Helmet rescuers, reluctantly resettled, embrace their new lives in Canada”
• “How Canada helped save the White Helmets”
• “Turkish Forces Reportedly Strike Syrian Kurdish YPG Militia Positions”
• “Turkish forces ‘neutralize’ 14 PKK terrorists in N. Iraq”
• “Turkey neutralizes 4 PKK militants in northern Iraq”
• “Turkish forces ‘neutralize’ 14 PKK terrorists in N. Iraq”
• “Yazidi Mothers of Children by IS Face Heartbreaking Choices”
• “Russia’s ambassador to Iraq holds talks with KRG PM Barzani”
• “Iraq President Barham Salih attends PUK meeting on KRG cabinet talks”
• “Italy to end military presence in Iraq by early 2019”
• “Beyond ISIS & Al-Qaeda: The Long Tail of Global Islamist Violence”

#MLI – Op PRESENCE/Africa

• “Two UN Peacekeepers Killed in Mali Attacks”
• “Security Council condemns attacks against UN peacekeepers in Mali”
• “Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on attacks against the United Nations Mission in Mali” (UN info-machine)

#UKR – Op UNIFIER

• “Canadian Armed Forces language training goes international at Operation UNIFIER”
• “Ukrainian serviceman dies in Donbas, enemy violates ceasefire 15 times”
• “47-year-old soldier dies in Joint Forces Operation zone”
• “Enhancing cybersecurity in Ukraine” (NATO info-machine)
• “NATO assists Ukraine with development of course on cybersecurity”
• “Ukraine demands that Russia stop recruiting Crimeans to its army”
• “While Remembrance Day is about honour, it can trigger tough emotions for some veterans”
• “Ukrainian forces deploy armored fighting vehicles to contact line – Lugansk militias” (RUS media)
• “Pro-Kiev Forces Suffer More Casualties In Clashes With Local Militias In Eastern Ukraine” (anti-UKR site)
• “How Ukraine’s Never Ending Transition Makes the Rich Richer and Everyone Else Poorer” (Atlantic Council)

#LVA/Europe – Op REASSURANCE/Cold War 2.0

• “With Russia in its crosshairs, Canada moves to buy a sub hunter”
• “NATO Holds Classified Meeting to Discuss US Pull-Out From Nuclear Treaty”
• “Russia deploys Samarkand electronic warfare systems near NATO’s eastern borders”
• “Russia concerned over Europe’s active militarization — defense chief” (RUS media)

Way Up North

• “Russia Plans Missile-Firing Exercise Off Norway Amid NATO Drills”
• “Military from 13 countries to take part in Finland’s naval exercises”
• “Britain’s Defence and the Arctic: A Timely Reminder” (RUSI)
• “Canada’s aviation policy should reflect the unique challenges of the North: Senator Patterson” (Senate info-machine)

Afghanistan

• “Canada’s Lessons in Afghanistan Not Recorded and Not Learned: Part 1” (Centre for International Policy Studies) – “Part 2”

Veterans & Helping Veterans (or Not?)

• “Mom of murdered cop demands to know if killer still gets veterans’ benefits”
• “The coroner for Ontario’s eastern region has ordered an inquest into the death of Jason Renato Simon. The 20-year-old took his own life in his Ottawa residence in February 2016 after weeks of accessing multiple mental health services, according to a statement from the coroners’ office …”
• “Inquest into the Death of Jason Renato Simon Announced” (Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services info-machine)
• “Mefloquine and ‘Somalia Affair’ raised as part of Saskatoon sexual assault trial”
• “MP urges veterans to speak out against service cutbacks”

Sexual Assault/Harassment in the CF

• “Cabinet documents show transfer of sex-assault investigations to military police was motivated by desire for quick resolution”

Other Military News

• “Navy says engine fire onboard HMCS Halifax ‘minor’ “
• “À la recherche de systèmes de masques à gaz pour militaires à barbe”
• “Today I publish my office’s report titled Positions Over People: An Investigation Into Delays in the Administration of Civilian Classification at the Department of National Defence. This report makes thirteen recommendations to the Minister of National Defence. If implemented, we believe that these recommendations will bring positive change to all civilian employees at the Department of National Defence …” (DND Ombudsman)
• “Options for Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems and the Five Eyes Alliance” (Divergent Options)
• “New honorary colonel for 16 Wing Borden” (RCAF info-machine)
• “Remembering the crash of Boxtop Flight 22” (RCAF info-machine)

#CHN/Pacific Rim

• “Chinese President Orders Military Command Overseeing The South China Sea To Prepare For War”
• “China’s Homegrown Aircraft Carrier Begins Third Sea Trial”
• “Configuration of China’s Aircraft Carrier Battle Group”
• “China to build first Antarctic airport”
• “Foreign universities collaborate with Chinese military scientists”
• “(CHN) Scholars hide military links from western universities”

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