
Hillier arms Canada for war The Halifax Chronicle Herald \|\| December 21, 2005 Related - No more Canadian troops to Afghanistan, Layton says ACCORDING TO OTTAWA insiders, Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier has put his senior staff at National Defence Headquarters on notice that as of now, the Canadian military is on a war footing. Armed with the moral support of Defence Minister Bill Graham, Hillier is trying to implement a rapid and radical rationalization of the befuddled bureaucracy and the ponderous procurement process. Those who voice objections to Hillier’s reforms are being told to hand in their security passes and shuffle off into early retirement. Using his vast operational field experience, Hillier is applying the combat arms "mission is paramount" mantra to remove or eliminate all obstacles in his path. The primary objective the good general has lined up in his sights is the deployment of a 2,000-strong, combat-capable expeditionary force in Afghanistan next spring. These troops are to serve as the nucleus of a NATO-based allied rapid reaction corps that will conduct offensive operations against the Taliban insurgents in the volatile Kandahar region. This new NATO force will ostensibly free up about 4,000 U.S. special forces personnel who will likely be transferred directly to Iraq. To meet this challenge, the Canadian military procurement officials have gone on a spending spree. By begging, borrowing and paying a huge premium ($234 million), DND hopes to acquire 50 new armoured personnel vehicles, six new howitzers, airborne surveillance drones, John Deere utility vehicles and new communications systems — all by February. As the new role in Kandahar will focus on aggressive patrols aimed at hunting down Taliban guerrillas, it is Hillier’s intention to deploy an unprecedented number of our elite Joint Task Force 2 commandos. One source speculated that up to 200 operatives will be in Afghanistan by February — nearly two-thirds of the unit’s entire trained manpower. As an unorthodox special forces unit, the JTF2 has a separate — and highly classified — procurement budget. Despite the secrecy surrounding this commando force, it is known that they, too, have been out purchasing a multitude of new hardware and vehicles for the upcoming mission. Everything from automatic grenade launchers and new assault weapons to armoured trucks has been hastily added to the JTF2’s inventory. Article Posted at www.KnowledgeDrivenRevolution.com Unfortunately, there are some things that simply cannot be obtained or produced before Hillier’s expeditionary force heads off to battle. In the mountainous region of southern Afghanistan, the majority of the combat missions are facilitated by heavy transport helicopters escorted by heavily armed helicopter gunships. As Canada has neither of these types of aircraft, our troops will presumably be hitching a ride aboard allied helicopters. As well, to deploy and keep a 2,000-strong contingent supplied in theatre will require the use of strategic airlift, which Canada does not possess. If history repeats, we will either rely upon the help of our friends or rent some old Russian commercial airplanes. While many senior Canadian officers are quietly wondering why Hillier is insisting on putting all his combat eggs in one basket called Afghanistan, there are now even more serious rumblings coming from the other NATO participants. The Dutch were to contribute up to 1,000 troops to the allied force — including a number of Chinook heavy-lift helicopters (yes, the very same choppers that Canada gave them in 1992, when our policy-makers concluded there was no future need for such aircraft). But that decision has been delayed by the Dutch parliament, pending additional guarantees of support from the Pentagon. The British defence minister is also reportedly having second thoughts about this new mission, with some senior officers suggesting the whole operation should be abandoned. Their rationale is that there is presently no stated end game for Afghanistan and no apparent exit strategy for the international community. One would like to think that similar constructive consideration is taking place here in Canada and that someone somewhere is calculating exactly what Canada’s long-term projected involvement in Afghanistan is. (Whatever happened to Osama bin Laden anyway?) But the signs are not hopeful. With an election campaign in full swing and Canadian casualties already mounting, the only political leader to even raise this issue is Jack Layton of the NDP. In the meantime, it seems that Hillier remains a man on a mission, and come hell or high water, next spring, our military is gonna kick some "scumbag" butt in Afghanistan. About KDR \| \| Home \| \| Weekly Features Archive	Weekly Weekly Features Archive
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Hillier arms Canada for war

The Halifax Chronicle Herald || December 21, 2005

Related - No more Canadian troops to Afghanistan, Layton says

ACCORDING TO OTTAWA insiders, Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier has put his senior staff at National Defence Headquarters on notice that as of now, the Canadian military is on a war footing. Armed with the moral support of Defence Minister Bill Graham, Hillier is trying to implement a rapid and radical rationalization of the befuddled bureaucracy and the ponderous procurement process. Those who voice objections to Hillier’s reforms are being told to hand in their security passes and shuffle off into early retirement.

Using his vast operational field experience, Hillier is applying the combat arms "mission is paramount" mantra to remove or eliminate all obstacles in his path. The primary objective the good general has lined up in his sights is the deployment of a 2,000-strong, combat-capable expeditionary force in Afghanistan next spring. These troops are to serve as the nucleus of a NATO-based allied rapid reaction corps that will conduct offensive operations against the Taliban insurgents in the volatile Kandahar region. This new NATO force will ostensibly free up about 4,000 U.S. special forces personnel who will likely be transferred directly to Iraq.

To meet this challenge, the Canadian military procurement officials have gone on a spending spree. By begging, borrowing and paying a huge premium ($234 million), DND hopes to acquire 50 new armoured personnel vehicles, six new howitzers, airborne surveillance drones, John Deere utility vehicles and new communications systems — all by February. As the new role in Kandahar will focus on aggressive patrols aimed at hunting down Taliban guerrillas, it is Hillier’s intention to deploy an unprecedented number of our elite Joint Task Force 2 commandos. One source speculated that up to 200 operatives will be in Afghanistan by February — nearly two-thirds of the unit’s entire trained manpower. As an unorthodox special forces

unit, the JTF2 has a separate — and highly classified — procurement budget. Despite the secrecy surrounding this commando force, it is known that they, too, have been out purchasing a multitude of new hardware and vehicles for the upcoming mission. Everything from automatic grenade launchers and new assault weapons to armoured trucks has been hastily added to the JTF2’s inventory.

Article Posted at www.KnowledgeDrivenRevolution.com

Unfortunately, there are some things that simply cannot be obtained or produced before Hillier’s expeditionary force heads off to battle. In the mountainous region of southern Afghanistan, the majority of the combat missions are facilitated by heavy transport helicopters escorted by heavily armed helicopter gunships. As Canada has neither of these types of aircraft, our troops will presumably be hitching a ride aboard allied helicopters. As well, to deploy and keep a 2,000-strong contingent supplied in theatre will require the use of strategic airlift, which Canada does not possess. If history repeats, we will either rely upon the help of our friends or rent some old Russian commercial airplanes.

While many senior Canadian officers are quietly wondering why Hillier is insisting on putting all his combat eggs in one basket called Afghanistan, there are now even more serious rumblings coming from the other NATO participants. The Dutch were to contribute up to 1,000 troops to the allied force — including a number of Chinook heavy-lift helicopters (yes, the very same choppers that Canada gave them in 1992, when our policy-makers concluded there was no future need for such aircraft). But that decision has been delayed by the Dutch parliament, pending additional guarantees of support from the Pentagon.

The British defence minister is also reportedly having second thoughts about this new mission, with some senior officers suggesting the whole operation should be abandoned. Their rationale is that there is presently no stated end game for Afghanistan and no apparent exit strategy for the international community.

One would like to think that similar constructive consideration is taking place here in Canada and that someone somewhere is calculating exactly what Canada’s long-term projected involvement in Afghanistan is. (Whatever happened to Osama bin Laden anyway?) But the signs are not hopeful.

With an election campaign in full swing and Canadian casualties already mounting, the only political leader to even raise this issue is Jack Layton of the NDP.

In the meantime, it seems that Hillier remains a man on a mission, and come hell or high water, next spring, our military is gonna kick some "scumbag" butt in Afghanistan.

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