MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 15 Nov 11

• Afghanistan  Canadian General now second-in-command of NATO’s Afghan training effort.  “Canada’s senior general in Afghanistan has been given a much bigger assignment in a reshuffle of NATO’s top command in Kabul. Maj.-Gen. Mike Day was named deputy commander of NATO Training Mission Afghanistan (NTM-A) last week. Five American generals, a British general and three police generals now report to Day, who will be responsible for the training of hundreds of thousands of Afghan troops and police officers. “Form needed to follow function,” Day said in explaining the changes to the NTM-A, which were made by U.S. army Lt.-Gen Daniel Bolger to streamline the training command in Afghanistan by eliminating a large number of senior staff positions ….”
• “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, congratulates the crews of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships St. John’s, Athabaskan, Algonquin, and the submarine HMCS Corner Brook, and those of the ship-borne CH-124 Sea King helicopters and the CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft, for their outstanding contributions to Operation Caribbe …. Op Caribbe is the standing US-led multinational counter-drug surveillance and law enforcement interdiction operation in the international waters of the Caribbean Basin and Eastern Pacific ….”  Well done, folks!
• “Canada is poised to spend nearly half a billion dollars to gain access to a constellation of U.S. air force satellites designed to foil foreign cyber attacks. Global Mercury, as Canada’s $477 million share of the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) network, is to be known, will be immediately activated when a memorandum of understanding between the Department of National Defence and the U.S. air force is signed within the next few weeks. “Our global security interests are not all protected by planes, ships and tanks. Some of the greatest threats are invisible, but real,” Defence Minister Peter MacKay said ….”
• Mark Collins picks out a tidbit from the article mentioned above on another defence project going through a looooong beginning.  Remember JUSTAS?  A few historical MERX postings here, here, here and here.
• Way Up North  “The Canadian military will have to look to commercial contractors and possibly even exchanges with the Americans in order to sustain itself when forces are built up in the country’s far North, a series of internal Defence Department documents show. All three branches – the navy, air force and army – have begun to grapple with the specifics of the enormous, logistical challenge presented by the Harper government’s Arctic policies. A series of reports, briefings and planning directives, obtained by The Canadian Press under access to information laws, show that the biggest concern isn’t getting forces into the harsh region, but the ability to keep them supplied with fuel, ammunition, food and shelter ….”  Again, no sign of sharing the documents so we can get some context.
• “Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama are poised to unveil their long-promised border security agreement in Washington in early December. The deal comes after lengthy behind-the-scenes negotiations involving a new plan that will see both governments co-operate and share more information as they adopt a “perimeter security” approach to the border ….”
• Mark’s thoughts on the guys who want to bring you the F-35 wanting to compete for a new fixed-wing search and rescue plane.
• Speaking of the F-35 ….  “U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham that defense budget cuts of as much as $1 trillion may lead to the termination of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 jet. In a letter today to the two Republican lawmakers, Panetta said reductions beyond the $450 billion, 10-year defense budget cuts already planned would reduce the “size of the military sharply.” If a special committee of lawmakers fails to reach agreement on U.S. deficit reduction, that would trigger a so- called sequestration. That would involve at least another $500 billion in defense cuts over a decade and reduce Pentagon programs in 2013 by 23 percent if the president exercises his authority to exempt military personnel, Panetta said ….”
• What’s Canada Buying? (1)  Someone to sell maritime comms equipment to Poland, borrowing proposed new load-bearing equipment, new autopilots for VICTORIA Class subs, cyanide poisoning antidote kits (more here) and someone to fix landscaping boo-boos caused by Combat Team Commander’s Course in Gagetown.
• What’s Canada Buying? (2)  “TenCate Protective Fabrics is providing flame resistant (FR) fabric for two successful tenders in the Canadian military market. The first tender concerns the Advance Combat Ensemble (ACE) used by the Canadian Air Force. This military ensemble will be made with Nomex® FR fabric in the TenCate Brigade® product portfolio. The second tender involves TenCate Campshield™ FR liner fabric for use in tents by all Canadian Defence Forces. This FR fabric is also Nomex® based ….”  More in PDF news release here.
• For some reason, it appears to be difficult (if not impossible) to get poppies on NHL jerseys as a symbol of remembrance.  A wide-ranging discussion on Army.ca here on what should be done (and through who) to get this to change.
• Taliban Propaganda Watch  Taliban:  You support full-time U.S. bases in Afghanistan, you’re a “traitor” and will be treated as such.
• Historical Information + Google Earth = World War One Explained Graphically
• War of 1812  “A Newfoundland soldier who died almost 200 years ago and is interred on a remote Ohio island has been remembered. In late October, Lt.-Col. Alex Brennan, commander of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, laid a wreath at the monument where Lt. James Garden rests with other officers who died during the Battle of Lake Erie. “There was a great sense of pride knowing that a generation of soldiers lost 200 years ago has not been forgotten,” Brennan said of the experience. Garden was a member of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, which fought for the British during the War of 1812. The Battle of Lake Erie took place Sept. 10, 1813 as part of the conflict between the Brits and the Americans ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 13 Oct 11

• What’s Canada (Not) Buying?  An answer from DND regarding the cancellation of the process to replace the Canadian Ranger Rifle and General Service Pistol:  the process apparently needs more work.  “The DND Small Arms Modernization (SAM) Project Management Office (PMO) requested that Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) cancel both the (General Service Pistol) and the (New Canadian Ranger Rifle) Price and Availability (P&A) requests on MERX as a result of questions, and requests for clarification, from industry. The feedback from industry brought the DND SAM PMO to re-evaluate its procurement strategy. The DND SAM PMO is now focusing efforts on clarifying the procurement strategy for the GSP and NCRR with the intent to facilitate future communication with industry. The comments and observations received from industry in response to the P&A requests will be considered when the final requirements are written. The replacement of the GSP and NCRR remain a priority for DND. The next step of the project will be to obtain Preliminary Project Approval (PPA). No additional solicitations will be posted on MERX until after PPA is obtained and an approved procurement strategy is in place ….”  Full response (2 page PDF) here – you read it here first!
• Afghanistan  Medical trainers among the training teams.  “Operation ATTENTION began in April 2011 with the arrival in the Kabul area of the first of some 950 Canadian Forces members who will deploy with the Canadian Contingent Training Mission–Afghanistan, Canada’s contribution to the NATO Training Mission–Afghanistan. Their mission is to work with the training cadre of the Afghan National Army (ANA) to build a force capable of meeting Afghanistan’s security needs after 2014. In July 2011, a group of Canadian Forces health-care providers deployed on Op ATTENTION with a Training Development Officer to serve as advisor-mentors to their Afghan counterparts at the Armed Forces Academy of Medical Sciences (AFAMS) in Kabul ….”
• CBC sends reporter to see what’s happening in Jamaica with Operation Jaguar.  “For over four decades, Canada trained the helicopter pilots and mechanics of the Jamaica Defence Force. But last year, Jamaica decided to bring home the training and do all the work itself. However, its mechanics couldn’t keep up with the demand and after a while the Jamaicans found themselves in the very uncomfortable position of not having enough working helicopters, meaning no way to conduct high-stakes rescues and medical evacuations. With a very bad hurricane season predicted, officials there were worried. So they called up Canada and asked if we could send down some of our world-class search and rescue crews. Canada agreed and, in mid-August, sent along three Griffon helicopters and 65 Canadian Forces personnel — only the second time in history that Canada’s search and rescue teams have been deployed in another country ….”  CBC coverage of Canada’s training mission in Afghanistan?  Not so much lately….
• “Just because the combat mission in Afghanistan is over doesn’t mean the training stops for thousands of Canadian soldiers who are involved a record-setting exercise operation in this east-central Alberta military base. Roughly 3,000 troops from the Petawawa-based 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group are involved in a month-long training operation dubbed Exercise Maple Resolve at the base roughly 230 km east of Edmonton. Colonel Lowell Thomas, commander of Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre based in CFB Wainwright, said training is no longer focused on efforts in Afghanistan. “We’ve now moved to train troops for operations anywhere in the world, in any type of operation as well,” said Thomas. The month-long operation is the largest undertaking for the training command centre, which has been based at CFB Wainwright since 2004 ….”
• “The Royal Canadian Legion says veterans’ programs should be protected from proposed government spending cuts. Legion president Pat Varga says the government has a moral debt to veterans and should exempt their benefits from the cuts. The government has asked all departments to offer budget cuts of five per cent and 10 per cent in a major spending review. The proposals are being studied by the cabinet. But Varga says any programs, services or benefits for vets should be exempt both from the review and any eventual spending reductions ….”
• HMCS Ottawa back home on the west coast after “a four and a half month operational deployment and goodwill tour in the Asia Pacific region” – welcome home!
• What one columnist says came out of the Toronto Maple Leafs spending three days practicing at the arena at CFB Trenton this week. 
• Way Up North  Mark Collins on “One Less Threat to Our “Arctic Sovereignty” “
• Here’s something to be careful about with the impending “perimeter security” deal between Canada and the U.S.  “…. If the new $1-billion perimeter security deal, dubbed Beyond the Border, is an example of big-picture thinking, then its reception may have got fuzzy for many Canadians. Proponents have praised the deal’s measures to reduce cross-border red tape, expand border infrastructure and generally speed up bilateral trade. However, other U.S. actions, such as musings about possibly levying new tariffs on rail cargo from Canadian ports or passing legislation saddling non-U.S. banks with costs associated with new tax reporting requirements for non-resident U.S. citizens, have raised fears our largest trading partner is increasingly retreating behind protectionist and isolationist walls ….”
• Amnesty International wants Canada to arrest former U.S. President George W. Bush while he’s here for an economic summit later this month – more here, here and here.  Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight….
• A bit of government money ($39,980) for an exhibit about a Canadian General.  “The Museum Strathroy-Caradoc will be able to share the story of General Sir Arthur Currie with Canadians, thanks to an investment from the Government of Canada. This was announced today by Bev Shipley, Member of Parliament (Lambton-Kent-Middlesex), on behalf of the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages. The Museum will create, present, and circulate a travelling exhibition about the life and career of Strathroy native General Sir Arthur Currie. This project will trace Currie’s journey to become Canada’s top military leader during World War I and the first Canadian to attain the rank of full general ….”