Posts Tagged ‘CFB Greenwood’
MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 17 Sept 11
- Libya Mission (1) One of the things to look out for in the next session of Parliament: “…. What they’re saying: Harper promises the military will stay in the region until peace is achieved. Opposition parties have indicated they would oppose an extension. What to expect: Another extension of Canada’s military presence in the region is likely – after a symbolic parliamentary debate. No big contributions of foreign aid; the billions in unfrozen assets are seen as more than enough.”
- Libya Mission (2) “Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that he will travel to New York City from September 20 to 21, 2011, to participate in a High-level Meeting on Libya, as well as the Every Woman Every Child event, and a business roundtable hosted at the New York Stock Exchange …. The High-level Meeting on Libya will bring together representatives from countries and international organizations determined to help Libya rebuild and transition to a democratic society. The Conference will also include senior members of Libya’s National Transitional Council ….”
- Libya Mission (3) What the Liberals want: “While the future of Libya must be decided by the Libyans themselves, Canada must not miss an opportunity to play a proactive and constructive role in offering support to the Libyan people during this transitional period, Liberals say. “The U.N. backed military mission paved the way for the fall of the Qaddafi regime, which is an opportunity for Canada to help ensure human rights, democracy and the rule of law are upheld in Libya,” said Liberal Defence Critic John McKay. “Canada’s future role, including a further extension of the military mission, must be openly and transparently debated in Parliament with these goals in mind. Failure to do so will potentially negate all the hard work of the international community and the sacrifices of the Libyan people.” ….”
- Anatomy of a Story (1) CTV ask for and receives travel logs, so it does a story. “Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Walt Natynczyk has spent more than $1 million since 2008 flying on government VIP aircraft as an expensive alternative to regular commercial flights — travelling to sporting events and fundraising dinners, as well as a trip to join his family on a cruise vacation in the Caribbean. Passenger logs obtained by CTV News under the Access to Information Act show that in January 2010, Natynczyk used a CC-144 Challenger to fly to St. Maarten Island in the Caribbean to begin a vacation. He attended a repatriation ceremony a day earlier in Trenton, Ont., and missed his flight for a cruise holiday with his family ….” Shares this tidbit in Story #1: “…. The Challenger cost $10,104 per flying hour to operate in 2009/2010, National Defence figures show. At 9.2 hours, the return trip between the St. Maarten Island and Canada cost $92,956.80. Natynczyk is in Europe this week for a NATO meeting and was unavailable to comment. His spokesman, Lt.-Col. Norbert Cyr, defended the cost, saying in a written statement that Natynczyk “was authorized to use a Challenger aircraft to join his family, who were already sailing aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean.” The trip, Cyr says, was “not deemed to be a personal trip as the vacation delay was service-related.” ….”
- Anatomy of a Story (2) Globe & Mail copies CTV.ca story (without any indication of having seen the logs themselves), including this tidbit of context: “…. In January of 2010, for instance, a repatriation ceremony at CFB Trenton caused him to miss a flight to Saint Maarten Island, in the Antilles, for a cruise with his family. So, he took a government Challenger jet to the island, CTV reported, at a cost of $92,956.80 ….”
- Anatomy of a Story (3) CTV.ca (and others) get PM to comment, sharing the reason why the CDS had to fly to Saint Maarten, adding this bit: “Prime Minister Stephen Harper says government staff are expected to reimburse Ottawa for the costs of any personal travel they undertake using Crown-owned aircraft, after a CTV report revealed that a senior military leader has incurred hefty travel costs in recent years ….” More from Globe & Mail and CBC.ca.
- Anatomy of a Story (4) QMI/Sun Media shares another tidbit: “Prime Minister Stephen Harper says officials will look into the use of government jets after Canada’s top military man was outed for high flying ….” More on this angle from Postmedia News.
- Anatomy of a Story (5) The editorial to set a tone for at least one media outlet: “We’re not advocating that he take the bus, or a geriatric Sea King, but the $1 million spent since 2008 by Canada’s top general on VIP government flights, including to hockey and football games — and $200,000 to come to the Calgary Stampede in 2010 — is too rich ….”
- Way Up North This, from boss of Canada Command, Lt.-Gen. Walter Semianiw: “In an opinion piece, Peter McKenna questions why the Canadian Forces (CF) is operating in the North and its relationship with the Canadian Coast Guard …. As the commander responsible for CF operations throughout Canada, I can assure you that the Canadian military is focusing its attention on the North for all the right reasons – to exercise sovereignty and contribute to the safety, security and defence of Canadians. Further, despite McKenna’s assertions to the contrary, the CF supports having a strong Canadian Coast Guard, which possesses the expertise necessary to operate in Canada’s icy waterways. It is only through co-operation and unity of purpose in employing our respective capabilities that we can accomplish as much as we do in Canada’s North in service to Canadians who live there ….”
- HMCS Protecteur headed to warmer climes. “A CFB Esquimalt naval supply ship will leave home Monday morning and head south of the border to work with the U.S. Navy. HMCS Protecteur will rendezvous with HMCS Algonquin and HMCS Ottawa to take part in an annual task group exercise, which will enhance the crew’s ability to operate as a bi-national team, said Lt.-Cmdr. Nathalie Garcia, navy public affairs officer. Protecteur, which will be gone for two months, will work alongside the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, and Algonquin and Ottawa will join the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group for the training mission in southern Californian waters ….”
- Cleaning up CFB Greenwood’s drinking water. “Atlantic Canada’s largest air force base is upgrading its infrastructure to address water problems, but a ban on drinking the water remains in some areas, says a base spokesman. A new deepwater supply well has been drilled near the residential housing units on the east side of 14 Wing Greenwood, Lt. Sylvain Rousseau said in a news release Friday. The well will provide potable drinking water for the residences and the support area of the base. A contract has been tendered to install the pumping equipment and connect the well to the existing water distribution system. It’s expected to be completed by December. A second well will be drilled for the operations area next year. In the meantime, personnel there will have to continue drinking bottled water until the project is finished in the summer of 2013, Rousseau said ….”
- Defence Minister Peter MacKay wraps up visit to New Zealand. “…. During his time in New Zealand, Minister MacKay met his New Zealand counterpart, Minister of Defence, Dr. Wayne Mapp, Secretary of Defence, Mr. John McKinnon, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Honourable Murray McCully. They discussed, among other topics, the state of current defence operations, defence reform and procurement …. This Asia-Pacific visit provided an opportunity to deepen Canada-Australia and Canada- New Zealand bilateral ties, to discuss military operations and defence transformation, and to exchange views on regional and international matters of operational and strategic importance ….”
- What’s Canada Buying? Wanted: someone to “to collect and supply Aerial Imagery and the Light Detecting and Ranging (LiDAR) data for CFB/ASU Wainwright, Alberta”