Yup, we used to have some of these ...
Posted on 12/07/2005 10:56:17 AM PST by NorthOf45
Strong leader helps beef up Cdn. military
The StarPhoenix
December 07, 2005
The appointment of the blunt-talking Gen. Rick Hillier as Chief of Canada's Defence staff last year was interpreted by military analysts as a signal a new era of renewal had begun for the Canadian Armed Forces.
One clue that Hillier's determination that Canadian soldiers are no longer going to be sent into dangerous war zones without proper equipment came, strangely enough, the day Prime Minister Paul Martin went to Rideau Hall to set the election machinery in motion.
On the morning the writ dropped, the Armed Forces issued a background paper outlining some $234 million of equipment purchases directly related to Canada's impending deployment of 2,000 troops to the dangerous Kandahar region of Afghanistan. Defence officials say the release was going to go out earlier, but was delayed because of the death of a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan due to a vehicle rollover.
Not all the equipment on the army's list was tendered, partly because of the time constraints involved. That leaves open the question whether some of the contracts will reflect the inflation that comes when a single supplier is picked, merely because it can deliver the goods in a timely fashion. That then raises the question of why some of this equipment wasn't bought earlier this year once Canada's commitment to the new Kandahar mission was first known.
Some of the gear listed in the Nov. 29 "backgrounder" will actually arrive a few weeks after the main body of Canadian soldiers begins arriving in the danger zone. The urgency to catch up is clear. On Sunday, a suicide bomber exploded a device, trying to take out a Canadian armoured patrol vehicle. Our soldiers weren't seriously hurt, but the attack killed one Afghan civilian along the roadside.
The most important acquisition then -- accounting for more than half of the expenditure -- is the purchase of 50 armoured patrol vehicles which are based on a vehicle developed by the South African security forces. Despite its odious origin in the Apartheid era, the RG-31 Nyala vehicle is now the APV of choice among many UN contingents working in "failed states," because it can provide protection from land mines and improvised explosive devices.
The Nyala is small and nimble enough to be able to operate in tight urban settings. And most important, it is also small enough that it can fit into a Hercules transport.
The other key acquisition in the Nov. 29 announcement will allow the army to protect itself by being able to fire back on insurgents from a distance. Troops are already being trained on a new precision 155 mm howitzer system that can be towed by a light vehicle or lifted by helicopter. With precision munitions being purchased directly from the U.S. Army, and a computerized fire control system, artillery units will be able to fire at insurgents within a 40 kilometre radius and give units on the ground the ability to make life difficult for those attacking them without having to call in air support.
General Hillier would have liked to already have a further commitment to get heavy lift helicopters such as the giant twin-rotor Chinook to provide logistical support in moving troops and equipment such as howitzers around quickly. The election intervened, however, and Defence Minister Bill Graham was only willing to set the wheels in motion for a Hercules replacement project.
Some 20 years ago cuts to the Defence budget forced the department to sell its own fleet of Chinooks to the Dutch. The country will now have to pay through the nose to try to get this capability back. The army, however, is getting a mini-air force early next year with a $25 million expenditure for the Afghanistan theatre that will bring in two types of remotely piloted drones to give field commanders better battlefield images.
Spending a quarter of a billion dollars in one fell swoop is not chump change. However, this largely unnoticed expenditure appears absolutely necessary and should ensure Canadian troops will have far better protection than they did four years ago when they joined coalition forces to oust the Taliban regime.
It has proven timely for Canada's army on the ground that a strong-willed army commander took the helm as head of the Armed Forces just at a time when Canada was undertaking its most dangerous mission in half a century.
As for Hillier, he's the man.
Canadian Military Ping
I hope this will be the start of better funding and more skillful, mature management for the Canadian armed forces.
Canada Military Ping!
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this Canada ping list.
You know in the Second WW Canada had the 4th largest Navy in the world. More young men OFFERED to join the military then the US drafted. They carried their weight and were a great ally. You can now see what a few decades of Liberalism and unfettered immigration has done.
Having a young soldier NOW who is married to my niece, I know that they still have the same spirit as the former soldiers. Many of these young men WANT to be helping the US. What a national disgrace that they can't.
Hillier is one of the few people that should stay in a Conservative government...
Don't you worry, he will. I can ONLY imagine what he thinks of the libs and what they've done to our military.
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