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TORONTO -- In a White House meeting today with Canada's first Conservative prime minister in 12 years, President Bush will find an ideological soul mate who has moved quickly to rebuild his country's long-neglected military and committed to keeping 2,300 troops in Afghanistan through 2009. Long known for its blue-helmeted peacekeepers, Canada has been eager to alert Americans to a more militaristic image. A smartly designed Web site (www.canadianally.com) -- promoted with ads in the D.C. Metro system and elsewhere -- bristles with photos of Canadian troops in action abroad. More significantly, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government last month announced...

Forces rejuvenatedToronto Sun By Peter Worthington June 30, 2006 While it's hardly a spending spree, this week's federal announcements of purchases of planes, trucks and helicopters for the armed forces underline a radically changed attitude towards our military. In fairness, it began, sort of, under the last, unlamented Liberal government of Paul Martin. But the Conservative regime of Stephen Harper seems to actually believe in this new military direction. By dedicating the week to an announcement per day, each in a different city, of new military purchases, Harper is showing his commitment to changing how the military is perceived. The...

Drones on military wish list Armed forces seek to add to Ottawa's $17B spending spree unveiled last week Unmanned `eyes in the sky' would monitor oceans here, hot spots abroad New chief of army calls for better fighting gear, protection for troops The Toronto Star By Bruce Campion-Smith Ottawa Bureau July 4, 2006 Canada's air force hopes to buy a fleet of sophisticated aerial drones — unmanned "eyes in the sky" — to patrol Canadian territory and waters as well as spy on enemy troops in hot spots like Afghanistan, a top general says. Lt.-Gen. Steve Lucas, the head of...

Harper set to announce $15 billion in military spendingCBC News June 21, 2006 Ottawa will announce $15 billion in new spending on the Canadian military next week, CBC News has learned. The country's aging Hercules fleet will be replaced. (Canadian Press) A report by SRC, the CBC's French language service, says the spending spree will be "Christmas in June for the Canadian Forces." On Monday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is set to announce in Halifax that the Conservative government will fund the building of three new supply ships. That is expected to cost about $2.1 billion. On Tuesday, the announcement...

5 Canadians wounded as they 'ambush ambushers' in volatile Afghan districtCanadian Press Bobeber May 29, 2006 KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Five more Canadians were wounded and narrowly escaped more serious injury when a Taliban rocket hit their armoured vehicle near two open ports during an ambush early Monday in ongoing fighting in Afghanistan's Panjwai area. The firefight erupted about 1:30 a.m. as the patrol, comprised primarily of the Edmonton-based First Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery from Shilo, Man., was returning from a village in the Zhari area and surprised a group of...

O'Connor has $8B military 'wish list' New cargo jets a top priority for Defence Minister, sources say Chris Wattie National Post May 29, 2006 The federal government will be asked this week to approve a multi-billion-dollar "wish list" of equipment purchases for the Canadian Forces, including new transport aircraft, helicopters, long-overdue trucks for the army and multi-purpose troop transport and supply ships for the navy. Defence sources say Gordon O'Connor, the Defence Minister, will make a pitch to a Cabinet committee tomorrow for six major projects worth more than $8-billion. The Minister will ask the priorities and planning committee to...

Five Canadian soldiers wounded in AfghanistanCTV.ca News May 25, 2006 Five Canadian soldiers are in stable condition after being wounded in a roadside bombing. An Afghan translator was also injured in the attack. "All five are in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries," said Lieut. Mark McIntyre, a spokesman for the Canadian Forces at the main coalition base at Kandahar Airfield on the outskirts of the city. "I can tell you that of the five soldiers that were wounded, four were able to call home immediately after the attack to let their next of kin know they were OK," he said....

Meet the military's quiet professionals Elite new regiment ready to fly into hot spots on short notice, but Rambos need not apply Chris Wattie National Post April 29, 2006 CFB PETAWAWA, Ont. - Canada's newest special forces unit began training its first soldiers this week, gearing up at a breakneck pace to prepare for a first mission that could come as early as August and send the Canadian Special Operations Regiment to a hot spot anywhere in the world with only a few hours' notice. The National Post was given an exclusive look at the first soldiers of this elite...

Defence minister says massive spending in the worksMike Blanchfield CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen May 4, 2006 OTTAWA -- Despite a vague federal budget that guarantees only one-fifth of the Conservatives' promise to boost military spending, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor said Wednesday he has an "internal" plan to buy billions of dollars of new transport planes and other heavy equipment for the Canadian Forces. A visibly agitated O'Connor also sought to dispel speculation that he isn't getting along with Gen. Rick Hillier, his chief of the defence staff, and that such disagreements are causing a slowdown in the procurement of...

Canadians brace for attack by 100 TalibanGlobe and Mail Graeme Smith April 13, 2006 Kandahar, Afghanistan — At least 100 Taliban fighters are lying in wait among the hills and poppy fields where Canadian soldiers have started patrolling night and day, says the commander of Canada's battle group in southern Afghanistan. Canadian forces are bracing for an attack in Sangin district of Helmand province, said Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Hope. An uneasy calm has settled over the district for the last two weeks, he said, after the battle at Forward Operating Base Robinson that killed a Canadian soldier. "We actually were very...

Our new military reality Toronto Sun By Peter Worthington April 2, 2006 This week in the Globe and Mail, “defence specialist” Walter Dorn lamented that Canada’s military is “replacing the time-honoured concepts of (UN) peacekeeping” with a more belligerent “enemy-centred mentality.” The battle-death of a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan this week seems to endorse this observation. With the withdrawal of our 190 troops on the Golan Heights (after over 30 years on the job) Canada now has only 50 or 60 soldiers on UN missions. With some 2,300 troops soon to be in Afghanistan, Prof. Dorn deplores this change of...

Troops brace for Taliban showdown Canadian soldiers assigned to 'disrupting' area at centre of Afghanistan's heroin trade: Lethal valley Richard Foot CanWest News Service April 03, 2006 KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan are poised for a showdown with the Taliban this week, in the same lethal valley where Private Robert Costall was killed in action last Wednesday. About 200 troops operating north of Kandahar since Thursday were suddenly ordered back to their base on the weekend to prepare for an emergency reinforcement mission to the remote base where Pte. Costall died. The army believes as many as 150...

Cdn troops resume major Afghanistan offensiveCanadian Press March 31, 2006 KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — After days of hunkering down in the face of rocket attacks and suicide bombers, Canadian troops aimed to regain the initiative in Afghanistan on Saturday, resuming a major operation deep into Taliban territory. During the last few days, two companies of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, backed by armoured vehicles, artillery and coalition air power, have assembled in the hills around this desert city. Over the next couple of weeks, hundreds of heavily armed soldiers will push into rugged terrain and craggy mountain passes that have...

Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan: reportLast Updated Tue, 28 Mar 2006 22:36:32 EST CBC News A Canadian soldier has been killed in a remote area outside of Kandahar, according to reports. CBC's Keith Boag reported that Ottawa would only confirm there was an incident resulting in Canadian casualties in Kandahar. He said officials will not elaborate until the next of kin have been notified. There are about 2,200 Canadian soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan. Separately, the Pentagon is reporting that one U.S soldier and one coalition soldier were killed and three coalition soldiers injured in a firefight with insurgents. A...

Afghan bomber wounds 5 Canadians; one seriouslyCTV.ca News Staff March 3, 2006 Five Canadian soldiers were injured, one seriously, in a suicide bomb attack in Kandahar Friday, the Canadian military said. One soldier is in critical but stable condition, and underwent surgery for wounds to his arm. He is expected to be airlifted to the U.S. medical facility at Landstuhl in Germany. The other four soldiers were slightly hurt in the blast, the military said. They are expected to return to duty shortly. Friday's suicide attack -- the first against a LAV III vehicle -- left a large crater in...

Corporal remembered for his courage, sense of dutyCTV.ca News Staff March 2, 2006 Cpl. Paul Davis, who was killed in an accident early Thursday near Kandahar, was offered a promotion that would have kept him at home and out of harm's way in Afghanistan.But the grieving father of the 28-year-old soldier said his son showed courage in choosing the more dangerous assignment. "He had the sense of duty of comradeship with the people he'd been training with, and felt he wanted to go with them," Jim Davis told CTV Atlantic in an interview from his home in Bridgewater, N.S. on...

Advance teams on the ground in Afghanistan planning Harper visit with troopscnews.canoe.ca By Alexander Panetta February 24, 2006 Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Thursday - Security teams are in Afghanistan and Pakistan laying the groundwork for a visit by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to one of the world's most dangerous spots. (CP/Tom Hanson) OTTAWA (CP) The prime minister is considering a visit to Canadian soldiers posted in Afghanistan's unstable Kandahar province to demonstrate his support for the military, sources said. That visit may happen within weeks and could become Harper's first international trip as prime minister.Officials from Harper's office have been...

Canadian warships leaving for trainingcanoe.ca February 19, 2006 HALIFAX (CP) - Five Canadian warships were set to leave Halifax on Monday for an intense, three-week training exercise that will see them working with the U.S. navy. The vessels were to join three U.S. destroyers, along with Canadian fighter jets and land forces. Canada's only operational submarine, HMCS Windsor, was also set to take part. HMCS Montreal, the flagship of the exercise, was to be joined by HMCS Ville de Quebec, Summerside, Moncton and Preserver. About 1,000 personnel were expected to participate in the exercise, set to take place in waters...

Canadians exchange fire with Taliban Quick response to RPGs fired at base Chris Wattie National Post February 20, 2006 KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Gunmen launched three rocket-propelled grenades at a Canadian fire base in the mountains north of Kandahar, the first time Canadian soldiers have come under direct fire since a battle group deployed to southern Afghanistan. All three of the powerful explosives missed the ''platoon house'' in the village of Gumbad, 60 kilometres northeast of the city of Kandahar, but the soldiers of A Company, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, immediately opened up on the spot where the weapons were...

Canadian jets muster to protect Super Bowl Part of norad duties Terrorist attacks simulated for training exercise National Post By Melissa Leong January 26, 2006 While Windsor, Ont., residents slept early this morning, U.S. and Canadian fighter jets were scheduled to be roaring overhead, running exercises simulating a terrorist attack on next month's Super Bowl XL. The exercise, launched by the joint U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defence Command, involved about a dozen aircraft and was held in the Windsor-Detroit area in preparation for the football game, which will be held on Feb. 5 at Detroit's Ford Field. A CH-146 Griffon...