Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Next military boss in deep; Despite recent spending, Canadian armed forces struggle to make ends meet
Immediately following Gen. Rick Hillier's unexpected April 16 announcement of his resignation the national media erupted into an orgy of praise and lionization of the outgoing chief of defence staff. Editorials from coast to coast hailed Hillier - a.k.a. The Big Cod - as the officer who had single-handedly reversed a decade of darkness and restored the Canadian military to its full former glory.
Unlike anything our nation has ever experienced previously, The Big Cod's charisma and down-home Newfoundland charm created "Hilliermania" within the uniformed ranks and even won over the cynical national press corps. With praise for Hillier's accomplishments being almost unanimously heaped upon the good general, one particular party-pooper kept trying to throw a wet blanket on the celebrations.
On April 17, David Pugliese of the Ottawa Citizen ran a front-page story proclaiming that our air force was about to run out of money. In fact, according to a leaked internal document, the air force will face a $540 million operating shortfall this year, which, if not addressed, would result in the grounding of aircraft fleets.
In addition to the immediate effect on operations, the air force document alleged that, while the Harper government has allocated significant money towards the acquisition of new aircraft, there will not be enough cash left over to properly maintain or store the new planes. In addition to the money woes, Air Force Commander Angus Watt bemoaned the fact that his workforce of highly-skilled technicians is being eroded by early retirement and the lure of a strong economy.
Based on these new reports, NDP defence critic Dawn Black asked Defence Minister Peter MacKay to explain the air force shortfall during Question Period in the House of Commons. Rather than respond to Black's query, MacKay took the opportunity to ridicule the NDP's concern for the military as equitable to that of "being a tailor in a nudist colony."
Under subsequent questioning MacKay suggested that since the NDP "in the communist corner" had not supported the Afghan mission, they have no right to criticize the mounting cost. Conversely, the Conservatives chastise the Liberals whenever they question the mission by virtue of the fact that they voted for the extension. In other words, whether you supported or opposed it, you have no right to object to the way the government conducts the operation in Kandahar. Case closed.
Although MacKay was taken to task for his non-answer on the air force question - and he resorted to blaming previous Liberal governments for decades of accumulated neglect - Pugliese dropped the navy bomb the next day.
Quoting from an internal strategic assessment prepared by Vice-Admiral Drew Robertson, the chief of maritime staff, it was revealed that within 10 years our navy's ability to conduct domestic and international operations will be severely restricted. This will come as a result of current plans to mothball aging destroyers while a major modernization program on the frigate fleet will necessitate many of those ships being in drydock for extended periods of time.
As Robertson noted that major naval vessels cannot be purchased off the shelf, the report urged that an $8.5 billion destroyer replacement plan be approved no later than this September. This would still not alleviate the expected ship shortfall between 2013 and 2018, but would possibly ease the crunch beyond that juncture.
After reporting that the air force was short of cash and the navy was bracing for an imminent crisis, the third part of Pugliese's series focused on the army. Lo and behold, the internal assessment revealed that the Afghan mission is gobbling up the army's resources. Despite massive recruitment efforts, the army actually has 30 fewer soldiers than in 2005 when their expansion program was announced. In order to meet the demand for vehicles and equipment in Kandahar, spares have had to be found within the existing stock, which in turn has drained these resources from the home-based training systems and has already negatively impacted domestic training exercises. Army Commander Andrew Leslie echoed his counterparts in his assessment that more money and more soldiers are urgently required to stave off a disaster.
There is no doubt that whoever succeeds Gen. Hillier as the next chief of defence staff will have some mighty big shoes to fill. They will also have some incredibly big challenges to overcome.
A former professional soldier, Scott Taylor has been editor and publisher of Esprit de Corps since 1988.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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