Angry in the Great White North

From the Defense Industry Daily, here is the list of equipment:

• 50 BAE Land Systems OMC RG-31 mine-resistant armoured patrol vehicles, built in South Africa, arriving in March
• 6 BAE Systems M777 Lightweight towed howitzers arriving in February, but shells won't be available until May
• 48 John Deere M-GATOR 6×4 diesel all-terrain vehicles, arriving in February
• 5 Oerlikon-Contraves Sperwer Tactical UAVs, arriving in "early" 2006
• 100 Harris Falcon II AN/PRC-117F(C ) multi-mission radios, arriving in February
• 80 Iridium hand-held satellite telephone systems, arriving in February
• 20 Colour camera system for the LAV-based Coyote reconnaissance vehicle, integration to be complete by June

Some thoughts.

Getting new equipment is good, but there will be little time for training and no time for exercises, which makes me wonder just how effectively our soldiers will be able to use these shiny new toys.

There is a difference between merely being checked out on a new system, and actually being proficient with it. The first comes with a few hours of training, the second from an expensive and ongoing commitment to live exercises.

I guess there is always on-the-job training.

Another problem with these last minute buys is that the money will be spent in other countries for the most part. Unlike a planned purchase program, with opportunities to have equipment built under license in a Canadian facility, these have to be bought off the shelf wherever they are made.

But despite this outlay of C$234 million, there is still a fundamental problem Canadian soldiers face:

In a CP article published on 14 September 2005, Minister of National Defence, Bill Graham, admitted that, in this crucial deployment, the CF won't have all the support equipment it needs.

"Heavy helicopters, for example - we don't have any at the moment. They will be furnished either by the Dutch, the British, or the Americans, or by other allies."

According to the CP article, the last time the CF particpated in OEF, our troops "relied exclusively on US Chinook helicopters to get them in and out of battle zones, as well as to resupply them. The arrangement proved unsatisfactory, with the [CF] inevitably shuffled to the bottom of the Americans' overloaded priority lists. On one mission, [CF personnel] began running out of food and water...

Where are our helicopters? We sold them for cheap:

Why does Canada have no Chinook Helicopters?

The answer is simple. Because the Mulroney government sold ours to the Netherlands. So, the Dutch will be there on the Pak-Afghan border, fighting alongside us, killing Taleban resurgents, using our ex-Chinooks. And our CF personnel may have to beg them for a ride. Here's a 'lesson learned' for decision-makers (politicians and air staff planners): Sometimes usable, necessary assets are more valuable than the money you get from selling them.

It's almost funny. Almost.