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MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 17 Feb 12

Afghanistan (1) It appears Postmedia News’ Matt Fisher is back downrange – with less-than-glass-is-half-full news from those he’s talked to (in spite of the headline) “Like a balloon with a slow leak, the U.S.-led war against the Taliban is gradually running out of air. The Obama administration’s somewhat mixed message about accelerating the drawdown of U.S. combat forces in Afghanistan while keeping Special Forces here has had an effect on some of the American troops who, from my talks with them, have figuratively packed their bags and in their minds are already halfway home. As a fearless Canadian woman who has worked closely with Afghans for many years grimly put it to me during a chance meeting Thursday near the Canadian Embassy: “It’s over, isn’t it?” That’s certainly the way many of my friends in Kabul feel about the war. The first and only question these Average Joes were asking was: “Is Obama really serious about ending combat operations next year?” When I in turn asked them what would happen if this were to come to pass, the universal answer was: “We’re doomed.” Maj.-Gen. Mike Day, the charismatic head of Canada’s training contingent and the NATO officer responsible for building up Afghan security forces, said that there is no chance that the alliance will leave Afghanistan any time soon. “We are going to continue post-2014, there are no ifs, ands, ors or buts about that,” Day said. “I read in the press, and it’s frustrating, idiotic really, to say we are out of here by the end of 2014. That has never been the case and never will be the case. We will continue. What is true is that the mission will change and we have to prepare for that.” ….”
Afghanistan (2) A blog to (belatedly on my part) recommend: Afghanistan-A-Go-Go, written by someone preparing to head downrange – good reading.
Way Up North (1a) Photos and videos of the troops doing their thing in the Arctic on Exercise Arctic Ram here (video) and here (pix), courtesy of the Land Force Western Area Info-machine – more via the “Army of the West’s” Twitter feed here.
Way Up North (1b) The Edmonton Journal‘s dedicated page to the exercise here.
Way Up North (2) An Edmonton Journal reporter’s take on embedding way up north: “So live tweeting sure didn’t work out well once we set out for the forward operating base! Sorry about that. The plans for how and where we would embed kept changing as the hour approached, and I was hopeful we would at least have a single-bar signal, but no such luck. Today is the first time I’ve had access to any news from outside since Monday afternoon. I already had 111 unread emails. But I shouldn’t really complain. Many of the 1,500 troops involved with the northern training exercise Arctic Ram are cut off from their families for about a month. At our camp, Forward Operating Base Maiden 1, each soldier got 10 minutes on a satellite phone for Valentine’s Day. It’s sweet and cute to watch because their face and voice goes all soft as they stand off to the side of the road and seek out a quite spot – so different from the joking or just sharp, military business that’s normally going on. Photographer Ryan Jackson and I embedded with the military for two days this week as they attempt to relearn basic skills forgotten during a decade of focus on Afghanistan ….”
Way Up North (3) “If Canada wants to keep an eye on the northwest passage as it opens for shipping, it should buy 20-foot boats for the Canadian Rangers – the Inuit and other northerners who are already living in and watching out for the northern land, argues Pierre Lablanc, former commander of the Canadian Forces Northern Area. “Apart from the five icebreakers that will be operating in Canadian waters during the summertime, the Canadian government has very little presence in the maritime domain,” said Leblanc, who oversaw northern military operations from 1995 to 2000. Leblanc lent a critical eye for my background preparations as I prepare to cover Arctic Ram, the northern winter training exercise involving the Edmonton-based 3 PPCLI. I wrote up the interview but then lost cell phone contact so I’m posting now ….”
Way Up North (4) More talk about a(n eventual) full-time shipping route through the Arctic: “…. Recently while talking to a large gathering of master mariners, marine officers and engineers at the Maritime Spectrum 2012 organized by the Company of Master Mariners of India, Capt Binod Dubey, Claims Executive of SKULD, Hong Kong and author of ‘Ice Navigation Managing Cold Climate Risks’ gave a detailed account on “Arctic route – Commercial visibility and challenges” which he described as the New Trade Link between Europe and Asia. “Taking the Northern Sea Route (NSR) can reduce the voyage time for ships from the estimated 40 days to just 22.5 days fetching a time saving of 17.5 days @ 28.2 MT of fuel,” explained Capt Binod Dubey. “Going by today’s fuel cost this amounts to a saving of $ 300,000. If the tonnage is larger the cost works out much less. Environmentally this NSR turns out to be more beneficial as there is less NOx emitted which is around 50 tons, CO2 is down by 1557 tons and Sox by 35 tons.” ….”
“U.S. and Canadian service members conducted Joint Operations Access Exercise 12-01 (at Fort Bragg in North Carolina) Feb. 10-13. Airmen with the 93rd Air Ground Operations Wing joined forces with airborne units from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and Canada’s Company M, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Royal Canadian Regiment for the exercise. The Joint Operations Access Exercise gave the airborne forces the opportunity to test their Global Response Force readiness and ability to conduct operations with coalition partners. “The objective of JOAX is to ensure airborne units are current and able to perform a full spectrum of operation skills during a parachute assault,” said Air Force Tech. Sgt. David Edwards, an 820th Combat Operations Squadron squad leader. “Each group has their own objective they are assigned to, and ours was to jump in with our coalition partners and provide security along with helping with the evacuation of civilian noncombatants out of the hostile environment.” ….”
F-35 Tug o’ War (1) More anonymous sources sharing their insights, this time with The Canadian Press “Senior defence officials concede there is currently no Plan B — or back-up proposal — to deal with delays in the F-35 jetfighter program, and insist one is not necessary because of recent upgrades to the CF-18 fleet. But there were suggestions Wednesday the Harper government might be casting around for an alternative as Julian Fantino, the associate minister of defence, told opposition parties to “stay tuned” for a response to the Pentagon’s statement that the cost of the radar-evading plane would rise. The Conservatives have been hammered for months in the House of Commons over delays and cost overruns in the multinational project. Other allies, such as Australia, have placed orders for Super Hornets — the newer, beefed up version of the CF-18 — to hedge against F-35 delays. It’s not necessary for Canada to go down that road, said a high-level defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We have no back-up plan. We have a reserve and flexibility in the life extensions we’ve done structurally to our F-18s and in weapons systems,” said the source, referring to the $1.8-billion modernization that’s took place over the last decade ….”
F-35 Tug o’ War (2) More discussion during Question Period in the House of Commons – transcripts of exchanges here and here.
What’s Canada Buying (Big Honkin’ Ship edition)? (1) West coast goodies: “It’s official. Seaspan Marine Corp. and the federal government have signed an umbrella agreement that outlines construction of $8 billion worth of non-combat vessels. The agreement describes the responsibilities and expectations of Seaspan, owner of Vancouver Shipyards, Vancouver Drydock and Victoria Shipyards in Esquimalt, and the federal government during their partnership. It represents the first major agreement between the two under the national shipbuilding procurement strategy. Next on the agenda is completing contract agreements for individual vessels. Offshore fisheries science and offshore oceanographic science vessels will be among the first to be built, said Public Works ….” More here.
What’s Canada Buying (Big Honkin’ Ship edition)? (2) East Coast goodies: “Irving Shipbuilding Inc. and the federal government have reached an agreement on an umbrella contract that will govern the construction of $25-billion worth of combat vessels. A similar agreement was also announced Wednesday with the west coast’s Seaspan Marine Corp., for $8-billion worth of contracts to build seven non-combat ships. The announcement comes a month after Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Halifax and Vancouver to announce that an agreement in principle on the umbrella contract had been reached. The agreement is not a contract to build ships but rather serves as a blueprint that defines “the working relationships and administrative arrangements under which the government will negotiate fair and reasonable individual contracts,” a government news release said. Irving Shipbuilding expects to build 21 vessels for the navy. With the umbrella agreement out of the way, Irving can focus on the next stage of the process, said company spokeswoman Mary Keith. “Irving Shipbuilding is pleased to have concluded this first important milestone that sets the course for Canada’s combat fleet renewal for the next 30 years,” she said in an email. “Our focus now is on finalizing the contract, design and engineering for the Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels. Concluding the umbrella agreement also allows us to undertake the next steps in infrastructure improvements at the shipyard.” ….”
Academic to MPs: time for Canada to think hard about what it wants the CF to be able to do “Canada needs to start having a conversation about what is realistically possible for its military in the upcoming years, as the current course is likely unsustainable given budgetary restraints. That’s according to a military expert who spoke to MPs Thursday morning. In its ongoing discussion about the future capabilities and readiness of the Canadian Forces, MPs on the National Defence committee listened Thursday morning as Phillipe Lagassé, assistant professor at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, said Canada ought to consider adopting a policy of smart defence. That is to say, deciding what areas where Canada could be most helpful internationally to a combined allied expeditionary force, rather than attempting to procure equipment that would be able to do all things in all places. More specifically, Lagassé said, the Canada First Defence Strategy that was introduced was ambitious, but was perhaps unrealistic in its assessment of how to increase the size of the Canadian Forces as well as making improvements to infrastructure. Basically, it costs a lot and as it currently stands, said Lagassé, it is an unsustainable structure. So, he argued, it is probably time that Canada reassess what it wants its military capabilities to be, and whether it can balance its role in certain areas strategically with its allies in order to serve more specialized functions with what might in the end, be cheaper equipment ….”
Former East Coast General named as Nova Scotia’s new Lieutenant Governor
Watch for protesters at a conference slated for Ottawa next week “War profiteers, the Harper government, and military commanders from Canada, the UK, and the US are converging in Ottawa at the “Conference of Defence Associations” annual general meeting. Once again, they’ll be pushing for war for the 1%, at the expense of the 99%. But this time the stakes are higher than ever. PROTEST the war machine 5pm, Feb 23, 2012 Help spread the word. Download and distribute the poster or flyers. Gather at the Ottawa Human Rights Monument, followed by a march to the pro-war conference at the Chateau Laurier, for a mass die-in at the doorstep of the war profiteers ….” I hope none of the protesters are driving their cars to the protest, given one of the topics on the conference agenda is “Energy security concerns”
A…. wide-ranging piece via Sun Media/QMI generally supportive of transexuals in the CF: “…. Canada’s military is drafting such things as dress and behaviour guidelines. One of these epistles was the focus of the Coren show …. The order is signed by Rear Admiral Andrew Smith …. “Canadian Forces transsexual members are a valued and integral part of the CF and they have the same right as any other person to work in a harassment free workplace.” He advises senior staff to “process the special requirements of CF transsexual members, especially during their transition period.” Transition can include sex-change ops, which the military pays for. As a libertarian, I have trouble with that part. I say live and let live — on your own dime. Sure, join the navy, have the surgery, be whatever gender floats your boat. But pay for it yourself. Especially when hundreds of medical procedures, including dentistry, aren’t covered. Besides, if the operation sets you straight, as it were, surely it’s worth $20 grand to you ….”

Written by milnewsca

17 February 12 at 7:45

Posted in Afghanistan, Kandahar, Arctic Defence & Sovereignty, Blogroll, F-35 Fracas, Military Ethos, Opposition & Protest, What's Canada Buying?

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