MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – October 25, 2014

Attacks on CF in Canada

• Patrice Vincent, R.I.P.  “The family of the soldier who was killed in a hit-and-run in Quebec has reached out with a message of sympathy to the relatives of the suspected radical Islamist who struck him …. – “Les funérailles de l’adjudant Vincent auront lieu le 1er novembre à Longueuil”
• Nathan Cirillo, R.I.P.  “Vigils on Highway of Heroes outlive Afghanistan mission”
• “Cold Lake mosque vandalized with words ‘Go Home’ “ – “Alberta city comes together to clean up vandalized mosque” – “Town rallies around vandalized Cold Lake Mosque” – more
• “Members of Canada’s National Defence staff and Canadian Armed Forces are being asked to remove any reference to their employment on social media profiles, “especially photographs of military personnel in uniform.”  The Canadian Forces Counter Intelligence Unit – Western Region issued a new directive regarding social media practices to soldiers and staff on Friday ….” – “Military gets new social media policy in wake of attacks”
• “For Imam Mohamad Jebara, it’s personal. He looks at his brother, Maher.  “This brother of mine could have been killed,” he said Friday shortly before leading prayers at an east-end worship room. “He is the same rank and the same age. The person killed could have been a Muslim, a Jew, a Hindu. He could have been anything ….”
  
• “Sergeant-at-arms made daring dive to take down gunman: report”
• “Parliament Hill again open to the public; tours to resume next week” – “Visitors flock to reopened Parliament Hill“
• “House of Commons calls in counsellors”
• Commentary “We got off relatively lightly this time” – “Did one man’s attack on Parliament really change Canada ‘forever’?”  – “Can we talk about the causes of terrorism?”

Internal Security

• “Online hate speech could be curtailed under new anti-terror push — In the wake of this week’s attacks in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Ottawa, the Conservative government is poised to bring in new laws to crack down on pro-ISIS sentiments like those posted to Quebec assailant Martin Couture-Rouleau’s Facebook page, CBC News has learned ….” – “Harper government hints at tougher anti-terror laws”
• “Another Canadian jihadi slips through the cracks — Yet another young Canadian has managed to get away to Syria to fulfil his aim of waging jihad and has boasted of his exploits online, an investigation by Radio-Canada’s program Enquête has found ….”
• Commentary  “Our laws are up to the homegrown terror threat”

#CANvsISIL

• “14 Wing Greenwood: Two Auroras heading to Middle East” – “14 Wing Greenwood planes leave to join ISIS fight” – more
• “Aéronefs et personnel supplémentaires partent dans le cadre de l’opération Impact”

Ukraine

• “Canada to Send Over 300 Observers to Monitor Parliamentary Elections in Ukraine”

Other

• “PTSD linked to soldier’s three suicide attempts”
• A reminder:  Under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, “any person charged with an offence has the right …. to be presumed innocent until  proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal.”  “Canadian Forces training instructor now facing assault charges for allegedly mistreating military recruits — A Canadian Forces instructor who is alleged to have mistreated two military recruits is now facing five charges, including assault ….” – From the accuser’s lawyer:  “CFB St-Jean recruit instructor charged for assault on recruits”
• “Labrador hosts biggest NORAD training exercise since Cold War — Happy-Valley-Goose Bay is hosting the annual operation, which involves air force troops training together to defend the north in the face of possible threats ….” – “NORAD exercise continues at Goose Bay despite shooting in Ottawa this week”

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MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 24 Nov 11

• Afghanistan (1)  The latest quarterly report is out, this time tabled by the Defence Minister in the House of Commons (unlike the past few released by either the Foreign Affairs Minister or others) – more from media here.
• Afghanistan (2)  Another Canadian unit packs it in at Kandahar Airfield (via CF Info-Machine, only 8 days after the ceremony)
• Afghanistan (3a)  Toronto Star continues pressing story of Afghan interpreter rejected for “fast-track move to Canada” program.  “An Afghan interpreter turned away from Canada says he has been hunted by insurgents on motorcycles because of his work with the Canadian military.  Sayed Shah Sharifi disputes the accounts of Canadian officials who have played down the threat he faces for aiding allied forces in Kandahar.  Indeed, Sharifi, 23, says he was forced to move his family out of Kandahar for more than two months last year for safety after motorcycle-borne insurgents left a chilling warning with his father.  “Your son works with the Canadian Forces and we will kill him,” Sharifi recalled Wednesday in a telephone interview with the Star ….”
• Afghanistan (3b)  TorStar back stops coverage with letters.
• Afghanistan (4)  Rabble.ca columnist complains about CBC call-in show featuring anti-Taliban writer Terry Glavin.  I’m still waiting to hear if the columnist even tried to call in.
• Libya  Columnist shares kudos for Canadian mission commander as preparations continue for today’s “well done on the mission” parade at Parliament Hill.
• Let’s not forget we have troops in Darfur, too – more on Operation Saturn here.
• Mark Collins:  “Canadian Defence Spending–Less There Than Proclaimed”
• Armenian media reports Canadians (military and/or civilian staff) helping NATO help Armenia.  “The NATO-sponsored international expert group is in the Armenian capital Yerevan, from Wednesday to Saturday, within the framework of assistance to Armenia’s reforms in military education. The group comprises military and civil representatives from US, Canada, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Romania, Switzerland, and NATO ….”
• What’s Canada Buying?  Wanted:  someone to design and build “Infrastructure for Tactical Control Radar Modernization, Primrose, AB”
• F-35 Tug o’ War  “The Conservative government insists all of its new F-35 jets will arrive with the hardware needed to talk to ground troops and prevent friendly fire, but some will still need upgrades to make it work.  Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino said the stealth jets will be ready to do whatever the government asks, when it asks. “All of Canada’s F-35s will not only be capable of operating overseas the moment we get them, but be able to communicate with aircraft and know where friendly ground units are well in advance of deployment on operations,” Fantino said under questioning in the House of Commons ….”  More from yesterday’s exchange in the House of Commons here.
• Canadian plane engine company STILL gets some business from an American buy.  “An unusual turn of events on a U.S. military procurement contract has lightly side-swiped three of Quebec’s largest aerospace firms. Wichita-based aircraft maker Hawker Beechcraft Corp. was excluded without explanation last week from a competition to supply 20 AT-6 Texan II light-attack and training planes to the Afghan air force. Its four main suppliers on the bid to the U.S. air force – which would then turn the aircraft over to the Afghan forces – were all Canadian: Longueuil’s Pratt & Whitney Canada for the PT6A-68D 1,600-horsepower engine, St. Laurent’s CAE Inc. for the crew training, St. Laurent’s CMC Esterline for the flight management system, as well as Burling-ton, Ont.-based L-3 Wescam, which was to provide day-light sensors, infrared cameras with zoom and various lasers. The elimination of Hawker Beechcraft apparently makes a winner of the Super Tucano trainer and light-attack aircraft produced by Brazil’s Embraer, the only other bidder for the contract. Matthew Perra, spokes-person for Pratt & Whitney Canada, said by email that “as with any competition there was some investment made, but this amount is not material to P&W Canada.” But it does not signify a loss for Pratt & Whitney Canada – it also supplies the same engine for Embraer’s Super Tucano ….”
• My favourite bit from this piece from CBC.ca on monitoring efforts during the G8/G20:  “…. (an undercover police officer) told the court about how he attended a meeting prior to the Toronto summit. There, a protest-planning group that included several of the 17 main G20 defendants was discussing whether to lend their support to a First Nations rally. Adam Lewis, one of the 17 accused conspirators in the G20 case, interjected, “Kill whitey!” The group chuckled. Lewis, like all but one of his co-accused, is white. When a Crown lawyer asked the officer what he thought Lewis meant, Showan said in complete seriousness, to “kill white people.” “Deliberately or accidentally, the undercover officers misinterpreted hyperbolic jokes as literal statements of belief,” said Kalin Stacey, a community organizer, friend and supporter of the defendants ….”  Really?  I’m guessing is a similar statement was made about the protesters, it would NOT be taken as “hyperbolic jokes”.
• Credit where credit is due:  CBC.ca shared the documents it’s writing about in the above-mentioned story via documentcloud.org (like here for example).  Hello?  Reporters?  News outlets?  Are you listening about sharing ATIP’ed documents?
• Private Members Bill C-354, An Act respecting the establishment and award of a Defence of Canada Medal (1946-1989), makes it through First Reading in Parliament after being introduced by NDP MP Carol Hughes:  “Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be able to reintroduce this bill for the establishment and award of a defence of Canada medal for the men and women who served in the defence of Canada during the cold war. This act represents the hard work and vision of one of my constituents, retired Captain Ulrich Krings of Elliot Lake, who presented me with this proposal shortly after I was elected in 2008. Its purpose is to formally honour the people who defended Canada from within Canada for the period from 1946 to 1989. As such, it is intended to be awarded to individuals who served in the regular and reserve forces, police forces, emergency measures organizations, as well as civil organizations, such as St. John Ambulance, all of whom were concerned with the protection of Canada from the threat posed by the countries behind the Iron Curtain. This medal will recognize the support of the men and woman who gave countless hours to Canadians as they trained and prepared in case of an attack on Canadian soil, which fortunately never took place. Their service to our country came at a time when we became aware of how fragile peace can be and how vulnerable we may become to advances in weapons of warfare. This medal would give something back to all those who worked in those years to keep us safe and prepared. I thank my colleague from Thunder Bay—Rainy River (John Rafferty) for his continued support on this bill and for seconding this item for a second time.”  Caveat:  most Private Members Bills do not end up becoming law.  Discussion at Army.ca here.

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 19 Feb 11

• It’ll now (one hopes) be easier for more troops and family members to get help when they need it. “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, today announced the establishment of five new Integrated Personnel Support Centres (IPSCs) dedicated to the care of ill and injured Canadian Forces (CF) personnel, and the wider Canadian Forces family …. These new support centres will be added to the 19 IPSCs already operating under the national Joint Personnel Support Unit, which was launched in March 2009 by Minister MacKay. The new IPSCs will be located as follows: Comox, B.C., Cold Lake, Alta., Borden, Ont., Trenton, Ont., and Bagotville, Qué. A satellite unit will also be established in Moose Jaw, Sask ….” More information on the Joint Personnel Support Unit, under which the centres operate, here.
• How one veteran is trying to help other vets who need help. “Most people remember the humble and honourable work of veterans on Remembrance Day. But everyday many citizens unwittingly walk past some who served this country who are among about two dozen of the city’s homeless. Calgary police Const. John Langford, a veteran himself, was working in the city’s core with the mountain bike unit in early 2009 when he discovered fellow former service members among those down and out on the streets. “I ended up talking with a couple of gentlemen who were in the military and one was in the same unit I deployed overseas with,” Langford said Friday. “It certainly struck a chord.” …”
• James Patrick MacNeil, 1981-2010, R.I.P. Fiance (among other loved ones of fallen troops) visits Afghanistan to help heal.
• Myles Mansell, 1980-2006, R.I.P. Road in Langford, B.C. to be named in honour of the fallen.
• Talking about the Afghanistan mission in Edmonton. “Edmonton-St. Albert MP Brent Rathgeber is holding a town hall meeting Tuesday night on Canada in Afghanistan. It’s part of a series of annual forums he has held over the years on various topics. Rathgeber says he got a lot of calls from voters last year when the government announced that it was extending its mission in Afghanistan. Although combat troops are scheduled to leave this July, about 900 other troops are expected to stay in Kabul to train locals. Many had also asked him questions about veterans’ benefits and support programs for troops coming back from the war. “We have a significant number of armed forces personnel in both St. Albert and northwest Edmonton,” he says, so he decided to hold a town hall meeting on the military. The meeting, set for Feb. 22 in Edmonton’s Griesbach district, will feature many officials and military members with experience in Afghanistan, including Edmonton Centre MP Laurie Hawn, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of defence. Christine Burdett of Veteran Affairs will also be there to answer questions ….”
• CF ship, planes help hunt down drug runners. “HMCS Toronto and two Canadian Forces CP-140 Aurora strategic surveillance aircraft return today from the Caribbean Sea, where they were busy performing counter-drug operations as part of Operation CARIBBE. The ship, aircraft and their crews return home following a month-long deployment with the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S), during which 68 bales of cocaine, amounting to approximately 1 650 kilograms, with an estimated value of $33M, were intercepted ….” More from the mainstream media here.
• “Military prosecutors in Guantanamo Bay are preparing to take on more cases in a development based in part on “the successful war crimes conviction” of Omar Khadr, insiders familiar with the tribunal say. While the Canadian-born terror suspect is serving an eight-year term resulting from a plea deal, a symbolic 40-year sentence imposed by the military jury shows that the military commissions can effectively prosecute terrorism cases, according to supporters of the tribunal. This contrasts with the recent civilian-court prosecution of Ahmed Ghailani, who beat all but one of the 285 charges he faced for his role in the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He received a life sentence after the jury found him guilty of a single count of conspiracy, but the “near miss” raised questions about whether civilian courts are the right forum for prosecuting terrorists ….”
• “The Canadian Forces Liaison Council (CFLC) recognized eight organizations, including local businesses and an educational institution, with awards for their support to Canada’s Reserve Force, in a ceremony at the Armour Heights Officers Mess, on February 11, 2011 …. Organized by CFLC, the ceremony was attended by 75 military and civilian guests, as well as numerous VIPs, including Brigadier-General Fred Lewis, Commander, Joint Task Force Central – Land Force Central Area …. Employers & educators receiving awards included Air Canada, The Credit Valley Hospital, H&R Developments, Ledroit Beckett Litigation Lawyers, The Ottawa Police Service, Toronto EMS, Windsor Mold Group, Precision Plastics, and The University of Western Ontario ….”
• Cozying Up to the United States (1):  We should because it’s good for both sides of the border.
• Cozying Up to the United States (2):  Joint perimeter security talks “building up the repressive apparatus of the state on both sides of the border and furthering collaboration between the two states’ large and growing military and intelligence apparatuses.”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 18 Feb 11

• For the latest on China’s alleged cyber attack on Canadian government systems (including Defence Research and Development Canada), check news streams on the story here (Google News), here (NewsNow) or here (Yahoo News).
• Canada’s Defence Minister’s set to announce “support (for) the ill and injured Canadian Forces (CF) personnel, former CF personnel, their families and the families of the deceased” at CFB Trenton today. QMI/Sun Media’s estimation of what’s coming?  “The Conservative government is set to announce millions in new funding to ensure returning soldiers who need medical or employment help have a less frustrating experience, QMI Agency has learned. Defence Minister Peter MacKay will announce Friday in Trenton, Ont., $6.9 million in infrastructure costs over three years and $4 million a year to operate five new one-stop shops for soldiers, veterans and their families. “When you are ill or injured, you just have to go to one roof and everything is there for you,” a senior government source said. “It’s to improve the quality of care for those people who serve our country and defend our interests.” The new centres will be in Canadian Forces Bases in Comox, B.C., Cold Lake, Alta., Borden, Ont., Trenton, Ont., and Bagotville, Que ….”
• Snagging drugs all part of a day’s work for Canadians working next to Afghan security forces. “A frail Afghan man is brought before Capt. Patrick Chartrand, begging for the return of five bags full of drugs that weigh about twice as much as him.  “All the people are growing opium,” the man, who appears to be in his 60s, says in Pashto.  “I am a poor man. What can I do?”  A group of Afghan National Army officers mentored by Canadians seized 108 kilograms of what’s believed to be opium earlier this week. Military officials will test it later for verification.  It is the largest drug haul in an eastern swath of Panjwaii district since the Royal 22e Regiment’s Bravo Company arrived in the area in early December.  “I was pretty surprised about this,” said Chartrand, 32. “I was not expecting that in my day when I woke up.” ….”
• Next chopper pilots & crews headed downrange prepare in the U.S. “Exercise Desert Gander launched off station Feb. 1, 2011, marking the final step of predeployment training for approximately 220 members of Canadian military forces. During the exercise, 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron based with the Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton, Alberta, practiced air-to-ground firing exercises, dust ball training and convoy operations at the ranges surrounding Yuma. “Dust ball training helps door gunners and pilots learn to deal with dust clouds that form when landing,” said Cpl. Ted McGirr, 408 Squadron flight engineer and right door gunner. “Another aspect to consider is the heat. When it is very hot the air is thin and it makes it difficult to lift off. By conducting these exercises we gain much needed experience.” The squadron has held their winter training here for the last three years, due to its ideal training environment and optimum facilities. “The terrain here is very similar to Afghanistan,” said Capt. Bob Hackett, executive officer and adjutant. “The heat and dust, something you don’t find in Canada, help our guys prepare for what we are going to see in our deployment.” ….”
• Ronald Megeney, 1982-2007, R.I.P. “A date has been set for a new court martial for a Nova Scotia reservist who successfully appealed his conviction in the fatal shooting of a fellow soldier in Afghanistan in 2007. The Defence Department says the new trial of Matthew Wilcox will begin on April 26 in Halifax before a military judge alone. Wilcox, who was a corporal, will face the same charges of manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and negligent performance of a military duty. Wilcox, from Glace Bay, N.S., won an appeal of his earlier conviction at the Court Martial Appeal Court after his lawyers complained that the makeup of the military jury was unfair at his trial in Sydney, N.S ….” A bit more in the Canadian Forces news release here.
• Column:  What else COULD Canada really do or say about Egypt? “…. So what should the Canadian position in all this be? The Harper government had it exactly right during the demonstrations: stability was important and an orderly transition was critical. That still remains the correct position, despite what the Jeffrey Simpsons and Jim Traverses might write in their columns. The reality is that Canada has never had much influence in the Middle East, and such as it has today should be directed toward promoting stability ….”
• A bit of American gauge-fixing work for SOME Canadian company:  “$573,950 Federal Contract Awarded to Canadian Commercial WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 — Canadian Commercial Corp., Ottawa, Canada, won a $573,950.40 federal contract from the U.S. Naval Supply Systems Command, Philadelphia, for repair of digital indicators.”
• More union worries about the (alleged) Canada-U.K. joint ship talks. “Shipyard workers say they don’t trust federal government assurances that new naval warships and coast guard cutters will be built in Canada. Jamie Vaslet, of the CAW Marine Workers Federation, told a news conference on Parliament Hill that the Harper government has broken its word before, namely over the elimination of a 25 per cent tariff on ships built outside the country. “They hung us out to dry once (and) I don’t believe they’ll answer any questions because there is a hidden agenda,” Vaslet said Thursday. “If they don’t then they shouldn’t have a problem answering the questions that are asked.” He said the idea that Canada is talking to Britain about participation in the Global Combat Ship Program — the Royal Navy’s plan to replace its frigate fleet — “scares the hell” out of him and his members …”
• Military “Hesco” barriers to the rescue against flooding in Manitoba. “A portable barrier that’s been used to foil terrorist attacks has been recruited for use in Manitoba’s spring flood fight. The province and the city bought nine kilometres of the Hesco bastion from the United States to top up the province’s primary diking system. The large wire cages can be unfolded and quickly filled with dirt or mud.  Randy Hull, the City of Winnipeg’s emergency preparedness co-ordinator, says the mesh cages won’t replace sandbag dikes but there should be fewer clay dikes needed along places like North and South Drive in the Fort Garry neighbourhood. “It’s about rapid deployment, and it’s about logistics,” said Hull ….”
• Taliban Propaganda Watch:  It’s not the Taliban killing most of the kids, and it’s not the Taliban’s web page telling all the lies, honest!

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 26 Jan 11

• More on Canadian troops starting to pull back behind the wire this summer:  “Canada’s combat commander says his troops will begin to withdraw from Afghanistan by the middle or end of June and be out by the end of July. Lt. Col. Henri-Michel St-Louis told Postmedia News Sunday, Canada’s remaining combat troops in Afghanistan will pull back from “outside the wire” to Kandahar Airfield or to Canada. “I don’t have specific orders but what I have been telling my guys over the last couple of weeks is that we are now concentrating on that window,” said St-Louis ….”
• STILL no confirmation fm Taliban on now willing to educate girls.
• Can one win hearts and minds if they can’t get reliable electricity? “Kandahari cotton workers swore a few choice words of their own this month when U.S.-generated electricity blacked out and the mill’s machines shuddered to a dead stop. When the cussing and shouting subsided, several of the Al-Madina Factory’s skilled staff quit, other workers were laid off, and the owners went back to burning profits on fuel for their own, decrepit Soviet-era generators. Dozens of plants were idled, in a dust-blown industrial park on the city’s outskirts. Few were surprised by the latest episode in the recurring story of one step forward, two steps back, steadily eroding Afghans’ faith in foreign efforts to stabilize and rebuild their country after 30 years of war. Trust is hard to build when, in its 10th year here, a coalition of the world’s biggest military powers still can’t provide reliable electricity to Afghanistan’s second-largest city. Botched attempts only frustrate people more and that can be dangerous in a city where, despite improved security in recent weeks, insurgents’ assassination squads and bombers are still in Kandahar. And in this case, almost 10,000 people have lost their jobs as an ambitious American power plan founders ….”
• In Canada, one is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but if this is proven to have happened, I’m happy to see a hardcore punishment here:  “A Canadian soldier is facing charges of inappropriate behaviour after performing medical exams on female recruits. The Canadian Forces says Sgt. Christian Boudreau has been charged with five counts of breach of trust and five counts of behaving in a disgraceful manner. The military alleges the incidents took place while he was examining women at recruitment centres in Montreal and Rouyn-Noranda, Que. It says Boudreau is no longer conducting medical exams on recruits. The Canadian Forces have reassigned Boudreau to administrative duties at CFB St-Jean until the end of his case.” More from the Montreal Gazette here, and from the CF National Investigative Service here.
• “It’s time the better instincts of Canadians were pursued, and Canada sat down to negotiate Arctic disputes“
• Big $ announcements for new radar (for Cold Lake, Bagotville), new equipment for the Air Force, and a sewer upgrade for 17 Wing Winnipeg.  More from mainstream media here, here and here.
• While in Winnipeg, Canada’s Defence Minister also assured Manitobans that if the CF’s needed this coming flood season, it’ll be there to help. And if you believe the predictions, it’s likely to be needed.
• F-35 Tug of War:  “Political Squabbling in Canada Over Proposed F-35 Purchase Prompts Eurofighter To Launch PR Campaign for Typhoon“
• Commentary on how do-gooders want Canadian troops deployed all over (often in spite of opposing the mission Afghanistan):  “A “permanent (Cdn) expeditionary force always on a mission overseas”. Good grief.”
• Keeping track of the latest unpleasantness in Tunisia?  It seems some relatives of the outgoing president (some of whom are apparently permanent residents of Canada) flew to Canada on a private jet.  Canadian authorities are now looking into that.  “Canadian immigration authorities are investigating whether the relatives of Tunisia’s deposed president who arrived in Montreal last week are entitled to remain in the country, a department spokeswoman said Monday. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told CBC Sunday that some family members of former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali have permanent residency status in Canada, allowing them to enter the country freely. His department is now examining whether they have forfeited that status through a prolonged absence from Canada or for any other reason, spokeswoman Mélanie Carkner confirmed. Under Canadian law, permanent residents must live in Canada for at least two years within a five-year period. They lose their status and can be removed from the country if they fail to meet the residency requirement or if they are convicted of a serious crime ….” Also, it now seems that some of Canada’s latest arrivals from Tunisia may now be wanted by authorities back in the old country.

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 17 Dec 10

• “As Christmas gets closer, the Canadian NORAD Region has put the finishing touches on plans to track and escort Santa Claus when he visits Canada, and has selected four CF-18 fighter pilots who will act as Santa’s official escorts. 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Sylvain Ménard, and Major Eric Haas, an exchange officer from the United States Air Force, will launch from 3 Wing Bagotville, Que., to welcome Santa as the sleigh approaches Canadian airspace. 409 Squadron Commander, Lt.-Col. Eric Kenny, and Captain Chad Ireland of 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alta., will take over the escort duties as Santa makes his way into Western Canada. Special NORAD SantaCams, positioned around the world, will take photos and video of Santa and his sleigh as he journeys around the world. The SantaCams instantly download the photo and video imagery so that it may be viewed by children worldwide on the NORAD Tracks Santa website, www.noradsanta.org, on December 24. All of this information will be available in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and Chinese ….” Let’s hope these pilots are nicer than the ones we see here (YouTube video).
• In related news, Air Canada jumps aboard the “NORAD Tracking Santa” bandwagon, too.  “…. The NORAD Tracks Santa program has grown immensely since it was first brought onto the Internet in 1998 and Air Canada is NORAD Tracks Santa’s newest partner. Air Canada has been playing the NORAD Tracks Santa promotional video on all of their flights since the beginning of December, as well as displaying a NORAD racks Santa promotional page in all of their in-flight magazines ….” One hopes Santa gets better service than some we hear flying with Air Canada.
• If you believe Angus Reid’s latest poll, a lot of Canadians don’t seem happy with Canada’s new task in Afghanistan. “While just over a third of Canadians support the country’s military mission in Afghanistan, the decision to keep 950 soldiers in a strictly non-combat role after 2011 has split views across the country, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.  In the online survey of a representative national sample of 2,023 Canadian adults, more than half of respondents (56%, +1) oppose the military operation involving Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, while just over a third (36%, +1) support the mission. Strong opposition to the war remains highest in Quebec (48%) while Albertans (19%) and Atlantic Canadians (18%) are more likely to strongly support the mission …. Methodology: From December 3 to December 6, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 2,023 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.2%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.” More details here (13 pg. PDF).  Then again, depending on how you read it, a slim majority of Canadians are OK with the mission, too – more from the Globe & Mail.
• The only Wikileaks story I’m going to share is right here.  What a shock!  Canadian officials met to talk about possible harm caused by Wikileaks revelations! “Concerns over a cache of WikiLeaks documents on the war in Afghanistan prompted Canadian military and intelligence officials to hold two secret summer damage assessments. The concerted effort to sift through and analyze the 91,000 classified U.S. military logs reveals how seriously the Harper government took the unprecedented late July leak about coalition operations in the bloody, long-running war. The Privy Council Office’s Afghan Task Force met July 29 to “review and assess the impact of the leaked documents” on Canadian government programs related to Afghanistan, newly declassified memos say. Officials from the PCO, the government’s bureaucratic nerve centre, Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Public Safety and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service gathered in an Ottawa boardroom to discuss what each “has been doing, intends to do and their assessment to date” regarding the leaked documents. The Canadian Press obtained CSIS minutes of the meetings, originally classified secret, under the Access to Information Act. Portions of the memos were withheld from release ….” Dear Canadian Press:  Any chance of being able to share these memos with the public?
• So, the U.S. President has released some details of the administration’s latest assessment of the fight in Afghanistan.  Is it good news?  Mixed news?  Bad news? Hell, even the Taliban’s commented on it already (links to Scribd.com).  You be the judge – here’s the summary released yesterday.
• Taliban Propaganda Watch: Attacks alleged in Kandahar, Uruzgan & Zabul.
• What’s Canada Buying? Research into better decision making, another try at armoured vehicle pre-bids and (misspelled) swords.

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 18 Nov 10

• Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery from any injuries the pilot may have sustained:  “The Rescue Co-Ordination Centre at CFB Trenton, Ont., says a Canadian fighter jet has crashed overnight. The CF-18 went down in Cold Lake, Alta., around 1:30 this morning.  The pilot safely ejected and was located by searchers. The jet was returning from a mission when it crashed.  It was not immediately clear why it went down ….”
• “Approximately 37 members of A Squadron, Lord Stracona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) and 6 members of the 35 Armoured Engineer Troop, 1 Combat Engineer Regiment will return from Afghanistan back home to Edmonton Thursday morning at 12:30 a.m. ….” Welcome home!
• Who’s Happy About the New Afghanistan Mission (Continued)? Some retired Canadian Generals seem pleased, with one reminding Canadians in general, and a Liberal senator in particular, that training behind the wire =/= mentoring Afghan troops in battle.
• Who’s Unhappy About the New Afghanistan Mission (Continued)? The N.D.P. (troops staying + aid being cut) and some members of the Liberal caucus (according to the Canadian Press, “about a half dozen MPs spoke out (during a caucus meeting) against the decision and the top-down manner in which it was reached”).
• NATO, meanwhile, raises the spectre that it ain’t necessarily all going to be over in Afghanistan by 2014 – more from Reuters, Agence France-Press and the Associated Press.
• Tune into CPAC this weekend for a documentary on the Afghanistan media don’t see while they’re embedded with Canadian military forces – more on that here.
• The Government tabled a bill in the House of Commons yesterday to “complement the series of measures that the Government of Canada is putting in place putting in place to increase the financial support for our Veterans under the New Veterans Charter” (Hansard transcript here). Comments so far:  nice to see, but way more continues to be needed.  More from Postmedia News here, the Toronto Star here and the Globe & Mail here.
• Who’s answering questions on Afghanistan in the House of Commons these days? As of yesterday, according to Hansard, the PM and Development Minister Bev Oda for the first question, and the Defence Minister and Oda on the second.
• Talkin’ to the Taliban:  A Canadian disarmament campaigner says if you can’t beat ’em, you might as well reconile with ’em: “…. Afghanistan is now in the kind of “hurting stalemate” that should be conducive to negotiations. The Afghan government and its partners in the International Security Assistance Force can’t defeat the Taliban, and the Taliban can’t defeat the government and its security backers. It’s a stalemate that hurts both sides politically and economically, and that calls out for a political solution ….”
• How Canada’s  fallen help save lives. This, from the Kingston Whig-Standard‘s coverage of a military medical conference under way in Kingston:  “When Capt. Nichola Goddard was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade in Afghanistan in 2006, battlefield medical care couldn’t save her due to her massive injuries and blood loss.  But within minutes of the attack, the fallen soldier was saving future lives.  Goddard, a forward observation officer who graduated from Royal Military College, was standing in the turret of her LAV when the rockets hit and a huge piece of shrapnel sliced through her neck.  When she was rushed to the Role 3 hospital at Kandahar Air Field, military investigators grabbed her body armour, protective glasses, helmet and other equipment and charted her injuries, a drill at which they have become well versed with the sheer number of wounded that are medevaced there from the battlefields.  Goddard was pronounced dead and flown home with honours. An autopsy in Toronto confirmed the cause of death as massive injuries due to the slicing shrapnel.  Within weeks, troops were being issued body armour with high protective collars to prevent such future deaths, collars they still wear today in the never-ending adaptation armies go through in war ….” More on this, and what researchers can learned from wrecked vehicles, here.
• Remember this little road trip Nicaraguan troops took into Costa Rica earlier this month because Google Maps placed the border in the wrong spot?  A Costa Rican media outlet says Canada denies offering to send troops to help sort things out in the Central American jungle. The original allegation came out last week in another Costa Rican newspaper (Spanish article here, Google English translation here, and both versions at Scribd.com here), where Costa Rica’s Foreign Affairs Minister René Castro Salazar was quoted saying Canada’s Minister of State of Foreign Affairs Peter Kent offered “personal y recursos” (Google translates that into “staff and resources”) ranging from “geógrafos hasta personal militar” (“geographers to military personnel”) during a meeting before an Organization of American States meeting on the issue.
• Canada’s “in the green” (or low risk) when it comes to the potential for a terrorist attack, according to a British corporate risk assessment company’s recent study – more on that here.
• So, what’s with all the video games the CF wants to buy and ship to a Montreal military warehouse? Even a CF spokesperson speaking to the Canadian Press admits “It’s a strange one”.