MILNEWS.ca Highlights – March 28, 2019

• #MLI – Op PRESENCE/Africa
• “The United Nations is pushing back against restrictions Canada wants to put on the use of a military transport plane it promised to deploy in Africa … Multiple sources say the offer of the plane came as a surprise to the UN, and the plan has run into numerous snags as Canadian, Ugandan and UN officials wrangle over the details. One UN official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities, says Canada recently provided a list of conditions about where and when the plane can be used. Those included a stipulation the plane only fly in daylight and only between Entebbe and five locations that, according to the UN official, either don’t have any peacekeeping units or are easily accessible by road. As a result, the UN told Canada the arrangement did not meet its needs …”
• “Force protection in Mali: Infantry on the ground, medics in the air”
• “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Mali (S/2019/262)” (UN info-machine)
• “Terror stalks Mali massacre village”
• “Death toll from attack on Mali herders rises to 157”
• “Mali : l’ONU dénonce l’impunité après le massacre d’Ogossagou dans la région de Mopti” (UN info-machine)
• “Le centre du Mali : mutation du terrorisme ?”
• “Au Mali, « l’ampleur du massacre des peuls est inédite, mais elle était prévisible » “
• “Smugglers, jihadists prey on Mali’s rare desert elephants”
  

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• #LVA/Europe – Op REASSURANCE/Cold War 2.0
• “Number of Latvian soldiers stationed at Adazi base to be raised by 600”
• “Ex-Soviet Defense Minister Found Guilty of War Crimes, Lithuanian Court Rules”
• “Former Soviet Defense Chief Convicted Of War Crimes In 1991 Vilnius Crackdown”
• “Trump Says Russian Military Must Leave Venezuela”
• “Russia says troop deployment to Venezuela fully legitimate”
• “Russian Defense Ministry to Create Film Studio for Military Movies”
  

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• #CHN/Pacific Rim
• “Justice Canada studied Trump’s comments on Huawei extradition, documents show”
• “Guangdong firm to build China’s first 10,000 ton maritime patrol vessel” (CHN mil media)
• “Russia, China to Conduct Joint Naval Drills in Late April-Early May” (CHN mil media)
  

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• The Koreas
• “North Korea Spanish Embassy Raid Mystery Deepens”
• “Secretive group seeking to oust Kim Jong-un claim North Korea embassy raid”
• “Cheollima Civil Defense: Group claims raid on North Korea’s embassy”
• “Spain Seeking Extradition from U.S. of Suspects in N.Korean Embassy Raid”
• “Cheollima Civil Defense: What is known about North Korean embassy group”
• “Cheollima: the self-styled ‘government-in-exile’ fighting to free North Korea”
• Cheollima Civil Defense page
• Cheollima Civil Defense via archive.org
  

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• #CANinIRQ/Mid East – Op IMPACT
• “Where is the Islamic State group still active around the world?”
  

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• Internal Security
• “ATIPical story: U.S. releases partial CANUSA appendices” (Lux Ex Umbra blog)
  

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• What’s Canada Buying?
• “RCN to use Kognitiv Spark’s Augmented Reality Software to Improve Vessel Repairs”
• “Rheinmetall Canada Awarded Major Canadian Land C4ISR Program Support Contract”
• “Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC), a United Technologies company, and Malaysian aerospace firm Airod signed an agreement on 27 March to support the P&WC PT6A-25C engines that power the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s (RMAF’s) fleet of Pilatus PC-7 Mk II trainer aircraft …”
  

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• Omar Khadr, Continued …
• “Message from Omar Khadr to his supporters” (FREE OMAR site)
  

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• Veterans & Helping Veterans (or Not?)
• “Veterans Affairs did not meet service standards for most programs last year”
  

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• Other Military News
• “Jockeying for a two-year seat on the United Nations Security Council starts early — way early. Three countries are already vying for the two open seats in the regional group known as Weog — Western Europe and Others — for the 2021-22 term. The election is June 2020, and the “others” are Australia, Canada, Israel and New Zealand. The 2020 contenders — Canada, Ireland and Norway …”
• “Canadian troops in Bahrain bust drug runners on the ‘hash highway’ — Zeroing in on a small fishing dhow loaded with heroin in 2 million square miles of ocean is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but a crew of mostly Canadian troops has helped find six in the past two months, hauling in nearly 16 tons of illicit drugs …” (Stars & Stripes, via DND info-machine)
• “RCAF space operators certified and awarded space wings in the U.S.” (RCAF info-machine)
• “Canada’s armed forces, the RCMP and the Canada Border Services agency spent a total of $158,000 to send 42 employees to what’s billed as the biggest small arms show in the world last January. In a written question in the Commons, B.C. Conservative MP Todd Doherty asked for expenditure details about federal employees who were “sent” to the annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Nev … Only three departments or services responded that employees had attended the mammoth Jan. 22 to 25 exhibit — the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency …”
• “National Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has a new press secretary in his office following the recent exit of Byrne Furlong after almost a year and a half in the role. Former Queen’s Park Liberal staffer Todd Lane has been hired in the job …”
• ” ‘It’s like coming back home’: Athletes training for 2019 Warrior Games healing physically, mentally”
• “Once again, the federal budget turns a blind eye to Canada’s military needs”
• “Vancouver ceremony launches D-Day and the Battle of Normandy commemorative events across Canada” (VAC info-machine)
• “Tlingit Code Talkers feted in Alaska for WW II role”

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