YEAR OF VALOUR AND SACRIFICE

*** One Star and Three Medals of Military Valour ***

Read then pass on to others

Expand your perspectives and then help others to do the same.

Eight excellent articles on Afghanistan (5 English, 3 French) in the most recent issue of Policy Options. I'm still struggling through the three French articles via Google translate. (I know it's not perfect, but it gives me the general idea and motivation to sign up for those French courses I've been putting off).

Here's one sample.

Afghanistan Comes Home (.pdf)

The global stakes are high, and it is important they be more clearly communicated in Canada, because Canadians know how to aid, build and develop, which we must do, but we cannot do without also providing essential security via our armed forces until Afghans can take over. The immediate requirement is to increase force presence, not decrease it.

Locally, as winter sets in, the fighting will for a time wane. By the time spring arrives, both Afghans and Canadians need to see a brighter picture.

There is no magic bullet to make the Taliban simply disappear. But they can be discouraged by evidence of greater confidence on the part of the Afghan public in their security and hope for a different future. Afghanistan has been an extremely challenging country to govern at any time. It needs our help. All countries, including Afghanistan’s regional neighbours, need to row together, for global reasons as well as for those closer to home.

Jeremy Kinsman was a Canadian foreign service officer from 1966 until August 2006. He has served as minister to the UN and in Washington, and from 1992 until 2006 he was Canada’s ambassador to Moscow and Rome, high commissioner to London, and ambassador to the EU in Brussels. He is now principally a consultant and commentator with CBC News and lives on Vancouver Island.

A tale of two Ricks

Mercer, talking about Hillier:

A few months ago, General Rick Hillier promised me a Christmas I would never forget; turns out he is a man of his word.

This year, on Christmas morning, I was in Sperwan Ghar in the Panjwai district of Afghanistan sitting around a single-burner Coleman stove with a dozen Canadian soldiers. Rush was on the stereo and we were watching a pot of Tetley tea bags threaten to boil. Outside it was wet and muddy, but inside the sandbag bunker where these Royal Canadian Dragoons ate and slept it was warm and as comfortable as one could expect under the circumstances. Corporal Frank Farrell was in charge of the pot and there was no top on it this morning -- this was not to be rushed.

Gen. Hillier is a very persuasive man. He is also a Newfoundlander. And while he is the chief of the Canadian Forces it has been suggested that he might think he is the chief of all Newfoundlanders. He'll call you up and suggest to you that on Dec. 25 there is only one place you should be and it's so special that by agreeing to go there you render your life insurance null and void. You aren't asked so much as you are told.

This was my third trip to Afghanistan but my first at Christmas. Gen. Hillier was on a personal mission to shake hands with every man and woman wearing a Canadian uniform in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf and I was along for the ride. The way he described it was simple: "It's Christmas" he said, "and all we are going to do is pop in and say hello to a few folks." In Canada "popping in to say hello" at Christmas is just a matter of arranging for a designated driver or making sure you have cab fare in your pocket. This was a little more complicated.

Needless to say, you need to read the whole thing. The more I hear from both these fine Newfoundlanders, the more I like them both.

Our soldiers deserve more on which to hang their hats

Please excuse my year-end rant, but the Monarchist needs to weigh in here with an old fashioned opinion on our overly nationalized military honours.

Thousands of Canadians flew with the RAF and RCAF in the First and Second World Wars, and thousands of them won the Distinguished Flying Cross, many of them still living, yet you can't help feel that news of a young Tommy Canuck winning the DFC (see post below) for heroic services in the RAF, is diminished today as nothing more than foreign honours by a foreign country for military work in a foreign field.

Yes, even though over 4,000 Canadians have been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross since the Great War (Ace Billy Bishop being the most famous), the DFC regrettably now only forms part of the British honours system; Canada, Australia and New Zealand dispensed with it with the modern adoption of their own national honours systems starting in the 1970s. I say regrettably because, apart from the Victoria Cross, our modern military decorations for bravery and valour have no history, and therefore no intrinsic merit. A rather unfortunate situation given the dangerous circumstances in which Canadian Forces and others find themselves operating in today.

When the first Canadian, Sergeant Patrick Tower, was awarded the new Star of Military Valour in the Fall, the second highest military commendation for bravery in the presence of the enemy, it was received by blank stares all around including from yours truly, who should have known better as a graduate of the Royal Military College, but didn't. In my defence, the new decorations for valour didn't come out until 1993, a few years after my formative training. Besides, until Sgt. Tower won the SMV, nobody even heard of it, nobody, including veterans, knew what it was. They still don't. That's because unlike the VC and DFC, there is no instinctive knowledge, no transcendent significance to the order, no inherent value that comes from a long and shared experience. Sgt. Tower is literally in a class all of his own, which is of course to his immense credit, but with nobody to share it with, the brave sergeant will spend a good deal of his time in the Remembrance Days to come explaining to people the significance of the SMV.

Had he won the Distinguished Conduct Medal, he would have joined the legions of veterans in Canada and across the Commonwealth who had also won the DCM; he would have been welcomed into their branch societies; he would have mingled and swapped war stories. In this way, the new rejuvenate the old. The heart of the old veteran warms when he discovers that his caste are not a dying breed after all, that the coming new DCM or DFC holders will eventually take their place. The young soldier in turn glows with pride, having been welcomed into their esteemed ranks. Young and old the generations are linked because they share a heritage, are connected by a common history and a common faith for the future.

The actions of Sgt. Tower is proof that this faith has not been broken, but having left the valour part to our soldiers, it is up to the nation to honour them with more than worthless trinkets. The Star of Military Valour will no doubt hold great personal value for Sgt. Tower, as it should, but there in the SMV hall of honour, he sits alone. Empty. Disconnected from history. A gallantry medal devoid of any past heroic narrative, needlessly separated from the like sacrifices of previous generations. Forgive me if some of us feel just a little underwhelmed.

Cross posted to the Monarchist

Update: Then again, Britain has also changed their honours system as of 1993. The second highest medal of valour for soldiers on the battlefield is no longer the DCM, but the CGC, the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. So much for my dime novel bunk. The DFC stuff notwithstanding, feel free to carry on without me.

Related: Walsingham, In Defence of Pomp; Pitt the Younger, From Honours to Merit Badges

Canadian RAF pilot wins DFC

I can't believe I missed this, but it was Christmas and I was busy: Britain honours Canadian pilot with Distinguished Flying Cross.

Flight Lieutenant Christopher Hasler is the first Canadian to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross since the Korean war. The cross has been handed out to Canadians 4,460 times, mostly during the Second World War. It is awarded for acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty performed while flying in active operations against the enemy. It was established on June 3, 1918, the birthday of King George V.

"Flight Lieut. Christopher Hasler and his Royal Air Force helicopter crew twice risked their lives during combat operations in Afghanistan.

In July, Hasler's Chinook helicopter came under intense fire from machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades during a mission to resupply British troops and pick up wounded in a Taliban stronghold in volatile Helmand province.

During another operation, Hasler landed his helicopter in a space among three buildings to get closer to the troops — again under heavy fire.

The slightest error would have been disastrous, but Hasler said there is at least one thing that scares him more than combat in Afghanistan."

"I don't know how I am going to feel when I meet the Queen" in May during the medal ceremony.

Scrooge visits the CF deployed in Africa

If you've ever wondered why most troops hate headquarters types, the following should give you a good idea. (H/T Celestial Junk)

Merry Christmas Troops! - Love Ottawa

"Well, guys. I just want to add another injustice to how the CF are being treated. As you know, I am at Addis Ababa with TFAA, supporting the African Union in Sudan. This month, someone in Ottawa has decided that our mission should have the Risk Level down graded from Level 2 to Level 1 and have our danger pay reduced. In addition, with Risk level reduced, the tax exemption was gone. This is retroactive to June 2006. Well, the pay system took all the taxes owed in one shot and for my Dec pay, I owed the Feds $11000.00. This is just bloody insane. I have lost 25 lbs in the last four months and got intestinal amoebic infection twice and is constanly on Anti-biotic which leaves this metallic taste in your mouth. At any given time, 60 to 70% percent of the TFAA members are down with something. In october, all members had dystentery, amoeba infection, and one repatriated member had malaria.

The powers that be want to change the Risk Level? Do so for any new deployments. But what addled-brained idiot decided not only do it at Christmas time, but make it retroactive to June of this year? How much do you want to bet that those responsible for this decision receive a nice performance bonus for 2006? (Hint: in the real world this is what's known as a sucker's bet)

Christmas at the front

While you watch your kids rip open presents in front of the tree this morning, or when you dig into a delicious turkey dinner tonight, remember those who gave up such basic pleasures.

And take a moment to remember those who still do.

If you haven't sent them a message already, now's the time. It's not too late, and they'd most certainly appreciate it.

A Merry Christmas to you and your family from all of us at The Torch.

Comet, meet Hornet

For those kids, big and small, who want to track Santa's progress across North American airspace, NORAD provides a real-time link.

For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa. The tradition began after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. store advertisement for children to call Santa on a special "hotline" included an inadvertently misprinted telephone number. Instead of Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief's operations "hotline." The Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup, received the first "Santa" call on Christmas Eve 1955. Realizing what had happened, Colonel Shoup had his staff check radar data to see if there was any indication of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Indeed there were signs of Santa and children who called were given an update on Santa's position. Thus, the tradition was born.

Four lucky Canadian fighter pilots will actually get to fly alongside the big guy in the red suit - tell me that's not the thrill of a lifetime:

Canadian fighter pilots will gather the first pictures of Santa and his sleigh as he arrives over the continent using special NORAD SantaCams mounted on their aircraft.

The Canadian Air Defence Sector Operations Centre at 22 Wing North Bay alerts NORAD when Santa is entering Canadian airspace. Two CF-18 Hornet fighter jets from 3 Wing meet Santa as he enters Canadian air space off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. As Santa flies across North America from east to west, two CF-18 Hornets from 4 Wing escort him out of Canadian airspace to continue his Yuletide trip.

Just be sure you don't get too caught up with the online fun - I've got it on good authority that St. Nick won't come down the chimney if someone's awake in the house.

Put your hands together

Leadership and character: there is no substitute.

Update: More on who's over there, letting the troops know we're thinking about them.

Don't let this get hung up

LGen Steve Lucas, the CAS, spoke with the editorial board of the National Post yesterday* and expressed some enthusiasm for expanding CF capabilities with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's):

Unfortunately, the current Canadian UAV technology is far behind the game. According to Lt.-Gen. Lucas, our drones can stay airborne for relatively brief periods of time, and the onboard camera technology beams back footage that makes operators feel as if they're looking through a soda straw. But the air force plans to upgrade its drone technology in the near future, and Lt.- Gen. Lucas says he would like to see newer drones equipped with missiles. "UAVs are a new, essential piece in modern warfare," he said. "We need to grow with it."

Not to put too fine a point on it: it's about time, General. The crew operating UAV's out of KAF form an improvised unit, made up of both air force and artillery specialists. The army has taken the lead on UAV's as end-users and drivers of change, and as I understand it, certain stubborn elements within the air force establishment have been digging their heels in most of the way.

On a positive note, if the CAS has seen the light, the resistance to exploiting UAV's to their fullest potential should diminish. Given the size of our sovereign airspace, not to mention the type of operations we undertake abroad and the budgetary constraints we operate under, we'd be foolish not to pursue this technology to the limits of its effectiveness.

* And yes, I've e-mailed the NP to advise them that the team working in Kabul is actually the SAT-A (Strategic Advisory Team - Afghanistan) deployed under Op Argus, not the "Strategic Action Force." How tough is it to verify something like that before putting it in print, folks?

Of bylines and headlines

Imagine for a moment that you're Brian Hutchinson, a reporter and writer for national media conglomerate CanWest, ostensibly sent to Afghanistan to glean the truth and inform Canadians of it. You try your best, in difficult and unfamiliar circumstances. Some days you get it right, other days you don't.

Now watch what nameless, faceless, unaccountable editors do to a piece with your name on it, just to satisfy their own prejudices and appeal to what they believe are the leanings of their readers.

One article, five headlines:

National Post: First foray into Taliban area - Canadians welcomed, even without aid packages

Calgary Herald: Canadians told Afghan operation is to win hearts - Soldiers move in to Taliban zone

Edmonton Journal: Troops launch 'soft knock' campaign - Winning over Afghan villagers with kindness part of NATO mission to conquer Taliban

Montreal Gazette: Canadian troops enter Taliban territory - Two insurgents captured at roadblocks. Efforts to deliver aid and material assistance hampered by transportation delays, confusion

Ottawa Citizen: Logistical snags hamper mission to woo Afghans - Elders not ready for planned meeting; farm implement gifts go astray

This sort of behind-the-scenes editorializing drives me batty. How can defenders of the Canadian media establishment talk about impartial and objective news coverage when the same article is sold as "Canadians welcomed, even without aid packages" in one paper and "Logistical snags hamper mission to woo Afghans" in another?

Besides the fact that I'm probably not a talented enough writer, this is reason #643 that I couldn't be a paid journalist: I'd go off on anyone who dicked around with my work. And make no mistake, selling my reporting under a misleading headline is screwing with my stuff. That's my name, my reputation, my sweat and effort. I don't know how Hutchinson - or any other writer for that matter - can invest himself fully in his craft when he knows his words can be twisted around by some anonymous REMF in a newsroom with an axe to grind.

At least with a blogger, you know exactly who to credit and who to blame.

I recently attended a Canadian Journalism Federation forum entitled "The Media, the Military and the Pollsters: Who's got the story on Afghanistan?" With what passes for journalistic objectivity in this country, it sure as hell isn't the Canadian public.

Caveat lector, people.

A fair fight is one you didn't plan properly...

This one's for Doug, who gets all misty and sentimental about fire support.



With thanks to The Armorer for posting it first.

RUMINT as news

Contrary to previous reports (and note that my colleague made note of the lack of confirmation at the time), it seems the CF has seen no evidence of the slaughter of Afghan civilians by Taliban thugs at Bazar Talukan.

A NATO official dismissed a report last night of a civilian slaughter by the Taliban in the Panjwayi district.

"We've heard these reports, we've done overflights," said Lt. Cdr. Kris Phillips, spokesman for the Canadian task force in Afghanistan.

"And we've seen absolutely nothing to support this rumour," he added.

According to a report from a journalist embedded with Canadian troops in the Panjwayi district, up to 26 local Afghan men were butchered by Taliban insurgents Monday.

The report says the men were beheaded and their bodies were put on public display by the Taliban, as a grisly warning to any Afghan civilians considering co-operation with NATO forces.

It's possible the report out of Panjwayi originated with the Taliban themselves, meant to frighten locals into refusing to support Operation Baaz Tsuka, a NATO troop movement active in the district.

When Brian Hutchinson says he got the story from "coalition sources" in the first paragraph, does that give the impression that he's talking about an "Afghan source" as confirmed in the fourth paragraph of his story? Between that and his "shattered hopes" line (military objectives and plans are rarely so brittle as to shatter at the first setback), I get the distinct impression Mr. Hutchinson needs to take a step back and get some perspective on the context of his reporting. Jumping to unsubstantiated conclusions and inflating and sensationalizing rumours serves no one's interests. I know that restraint is difficult in a business of immediate deadlines and scoops, especially when navigating in unfamiliar cultural waters (and I speak of both military culture and Afghan culture), but his readers deserve a little less sizzle and a little more steak in the future.

The butchery in question may well have occurred: despite what LCdr Phillips believes, he can't categorically deny it happened just because he has no evidence it did. But in this case, I'd suggest it's incumbent upon Mr. Hutchinson to support his claim rather than LCdr Phillips to disprove it.

Unless additional evidence turns up on this, I'm going to chalk it up to a Taliban info-op. Hopefully Mr. Hutchinson will glean a lesson from this episode and use it to improve his reporting in the weeks to come.

Update: Looks like the "fog of war" was involved, and that Hutchinson had some basis for the story:

Talukan is the village where up to 26 residents were beheaded and hanged by Taliban fighters last week. While NATO has not confirmed the scale of the slaughter, first reported by CanWest New Service, Canadian officers have received intelligence reports that describe the carnage and count the number killed at 26.

Sounds like the PAffO was out of the loop on this one. My admonition still holds true, but for the Public Affairs Officer rather than the reporter: nobody is well served by misinformation.

Mentioning Mentions

Most Canadians not intimately involved with the CF aren't aware of a singular recognition that occupies a small niche in the Canadian Honours System: the Mention in Dispatches (MID):

Mentioned in Dispatches shall be awarded for valiant conduct, devotion to duty or other distinguished service.

The MID could reasonably be described as the foremost commendation awarded to an individual CF member (commendations being different than medals). Re-established in Canada on June 3, 1992 retroactively to November 1, 1990, the MID was originally exactly what its name implied: a mention in dispatches from a commander in the field to his higher HQ. In previous conflicts, Canadians have been Mentioned in Dispatches quite a number of times:

During the First World War, 5467 MIDs were awarded to Canadians.

During the Second World War, MID's were awarded as follows: 6432 to the Canadian Army, 2197 to the Royal Canadian Air Force and 1037 to the Royal Canadian Navy for a total of 9666 MID's awarded.

During the Korean conflict, MID's were awarded as follows: 246 to the Canadian Army and 33 to the Royal Canadian Navy for a total 279 MID's awarded.

Although nearly one hundred have been awarded since its reintroduction in 1992 (at least, according to a government website - more about that later), today's award, in its Canadian form, differs somewhat from the historical one:

3. Normally, MID recommendations are restricted to war-like conditions in an active theatre of operations. Exceptions must be clearly and individually justified. Service beyond the normal call of duty that does not qualify for an MID may be considered for the Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation in accordance with 18-4, Recommendations for Canadian Orders, Decorations and Military Honours and 18-17, Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation.
...
5. No detailed citation is required if the recommendation is for valour in conditions where all serve bravely and well, but a few are singled out for special mention. The appropriate commander may simply cite "for valour" and then mention the names of those who so distinguished themselves. Short, amplifying remarks may be added if warranted.

6. An MID for devotion to duty or other distinguished service requires a brief citation to explain the honour.

7. In order to maintain the established standard and integrity of this award, recommendations shall not be submitted or accepted if they total more than one for every 100 persons under command in the theatre of operations for a six-month period.

A CF member awarded a Mention in Dispatches is entitled to wear the distinctive bronze oak leaf insignia on the specific mission medal or ribbon associated with the actions that earned him or her the honour (if the actions weren't associated with a particular mission, "the MID shall be worn directly on the tunic, after all other ribbons or below any full size medals, with the stalk of the oak leaf furthest from the left shoulder"). In other words, if you see a SWASM on a soldier's chest, and it has a MID on it, you know that soldier was Mentioned in Dispatches for actions concerning the Afghanistan mission.

How many soldiers have been granted that distinction to date? Well, an inquiry on the Canadian Honours Search Page for MID's awarded from September 11, 2001 to December 18, 2006 shows precisely thirteen recipients, all of whom earned the MID in Afghanistan. Interestingly, five of those thirteen were 3PPCLI snipers for their work in Op Anaconda (Bruce Rolston accurately called this in June of 2002) - work that eventually earned them Bronze Stars with V from the Americans with whom they operated.

Unfortunately, that list is incomplete: at least another twenty-four MID's have been awarded, as evidenced by this press release from October of this year. One wonders why the Governor General's website would host both a database of honours and a press section that contradicts that database - but such is the labyrinthine world of bureaucracy at this country's seat of power.

Still, niggling details aside, kudos to the Government of Canada and the Canadian Forces for recognizing the extraordinary efforts of deserving CF members with this distinction, and even more kudos to those whose efforts have been recognized with a Mention in Dispatches. Bravo Zulu.

A reason why we are fighting in Afstan

This sort of thing:

Taliban execute 26 male Afghans

As many as 26 local Afghan men were executed by the Taliban yesterday and their headless bodies put on public display around a local village, in a morbid attempt to dissuade other civilians here from assisting NATO and Afghan national security forces operating in the area, coalition sources have told CanWest News Service...

Their heads were removed and their bodies were hanged from trees in and around Bazar Talukan, a small agrarian village approximately 10 kilometres from Route Summit, a road building project in Panjwaii District that represents a front line in the coalition's ongoing battle with the Taliban.

"The bodies are still hanging there," the source said on Tuesday morning. "The Taliban is controlling area and they won't let the civilians bury the dead and put them to rest. They put letters on the bodies that said if anybody tries to bury the bodies, the Taliban will kill them, too."

The letters also stated that the Taliban would behead and hang any local civilian who tries to assist coalition forces in their attempt to liberate the area, and will kill those who assist with the distribution of humanitarian aid...

Though there may be some doubt about the scope of the murders:

Meanwhile, Taliban militants beheaded a man and fatally stabbed another, hanging his body from a tree in an apparent warning to villagers not to give government or NATO information about Taliban activities, a man who witnessed the incident told the Associated Press on Tuesday...

Government and NATO officials could not immediately confirm the killings...

The story also gives details of active Canadian participation in the NATO offensive.

And this Toronto Star report is, I think, the first Canadian story to mention the other countries taking part:

Troops from four NATO countries – Britain, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States – are taking part in the operation, along with forces of the Afghan National Army...

The story notes that NATO troops are trying to be very discriminating in their use of firepower.

Update: An excellent column by John Turley-ewart on the false combat/development dichotomy.

Tough Choice

Senate tour in Kandahar
BY MIKE BLANCHFIELD CANWEST NEWS SERVICE
OTTAWA
After months of delay and controversy, the Canadian Senate committee on security and defence has finally reached Kandahar.

Members of the Senate committee arrived under a shroud of secrecy and security at the main southern Afghanistan NATO air base where Canada’s 2,500 troops are stationed.

“They’re happy, they’re busy and they’re convinced — and I think they have reason to be convinced — that they are making progress in bringing improved quality of life to this very troubled part of Afghanistan,” Conservative Senator Michael Meighen, the committee’s co-chair, told CTV’s Canada AM.

The committee plans to meet groups of soldiers without their superiors to encourage them to speak candidly about their concerns.

Hmmm... What would someone rather do with their time in the week before Christmas:

A. Spend a couple hours talking to Canadian Senators about their concerns;

B. anything but A

It's times like this that you hope you're not on someone's shit list.

Hillier for C-130J

The Chief of the Defence Staff is behind the new Herc.

The country's top military commander has stepped up to defend the Defence Department's controversial purchase of the much-maligned Hercules transport plane, saying despite past problems it remains the aircraft of choice among military flyers the world over.

Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of defence staff, told a high-tech economic development agency Monday that acquiring the latest model of the C-130 Hercules is critical to the mission in southern Afghanistan [he obviously expects us to be there for quite some time].

Canada's current Hercules transport fleet is "tired,'' he said...

He compared the existing fleet of aircraft to a 1981 Ford Taurus that is constantly in the shop for repairs.

"I speak from experience,'' he said in a town hall-style speech, meant to highlight the Canadian Forces role in Afghanistan.

"You put it in the garage it's automatically going to be $500 just to drive it in the door. That doesn't mean it's not going to break down as soon as you take it out. That's exactly what happens with our C-130s.''

As the workhorse of the air force, Hillier said the Hercules transports have carried 23,000 soldiers and aircrew in to and out of Afghanistan this year. The aircraft are also a principle resupply lifeline dropping containers of ammunition, food and medical supplies to combat units scattered across the desert expanse.

The Conservative government plans to deal only with the U.S. defence giant Lockheed-Martin in its purchase of 17 new cargo planes. The plan recently prompted a storm of criticism in the Commons from all three opposition parties, one of which described the planes as "lemons'' due to some of the technical glitches they've faced.

Rival European aircraft-maker Airbus Military has complained bitterly that it's being shut out of competition for the $4.6-billion contract [see 2) at immediately preceding link for latest on A400M].

In an interview last week with The Canadian Press, Hillier staunchly defended the newest version of the Hercules, in which he has flown.

American and British crews, which are currently flying the C-130J "could not say enough good things about them,'' he said. Canadian pilots, who've been on exchange programs and flown the new Hercules, also sing its praises.

"From all those crews its the aircraft of choice,'' Hillier insisted...

Details here on other countries and the C-130J.

This paragraph from the story is a classic example of the hopelessness of Canadian journalists on defence matters (generally):

Several defence industry reports and even some internal Canadian air force assessments have been critical of the new C-130Js, saying its US $66-million pricetag is inflated, given that an earlier variant of the Hercules cost US $11 million [emphasis added].

Good grief! That $11 million is the cost in constant dollars (note story at link is May, 2005) of the 1960s C-130E. There is no realistic comparison between the cost of the E and the J versions given the huge advances (and cost increases) in electronics, avionics, engines, defensive systems etc. since the 1960s.

Anyone up to doing a constant dollar (link for Fred) comparison between a 737-200 and a 737-600 (and remember the C-130 has never really had a competitor)?

Rectified

Since the issue of pay to wounded CF members first came to light, I've understood the argument that danger pay shouldn't go to wounded members transferred out of theatre since they're no longer in danger. It's logically sound. The problem is that it's morally bankrupt.

If the Government of Canada is willing to pay a soldier extra for the chance he or she may be hurt, then why would those funds be taken away if the soldier is actually hurt? Thankfully, the government has gotten the bureaucracy lined up behind the CF's head and heart, because a new allowance has been created to cover this administrative oversight:

The Allowance for Loss of Operational Allowance (ALOA) will compensate members who are medically repatriated from operations after becoming wounded or very seriously injured or ill as a result of the conditions in theatres of operation. In such situations, the CF member will receive this new allowance until the last date of their planned deployment. For example, if a member is initially deployed for a six-month tour of duty and is wounded after one month, this member would receive the ALOA for the five remaining months.
...
“The new allowance will enable us to take better care of our soldiers who get sick or injured and must come back to Canada before the end of their tour,” explained Hillier. “These valued members of our family have put themselves at risk on behalf of Canadians, and the new allowance stands as testament that we will take care of them upon their return,” he added.

The retroactive date for this benefit will please some who were wounded subsequent to January 1st, 2006, but disappoint others who were wounded prior to that date. It is providing predictable political fodder for the Opposition:

But Liberal MP Dan McTeague, who first raised the issue on behalf of a constituent whose son was wounded in Afghanistan*, said although he welcomed the announcement, the retroactive date should be pushed back further.

McTeague said it should be extended to at least cover the start of the mission in Kandahar in the summer of 2005, if not to Canada's original involvement in Afghanistan four years ago. McTeague said another 130 soldiers are not covered by Friday's announcement.

"From that perspective, this is very much unfinished business. It's a good first step," McTeague said. "But it leaves a lot of soldiers out in the cold."

Minister O'Connor's retort may sound harsh, but he speaks the truth:

"We had to pick a date. Roughly, that's the time we started bigger efforts in Kandahar. Most of our casualties occurred this year," O'Connor said.

"If we keep going back, do we go back into Bosnia? Rwanda? We have to start somewhere."

Speaking of the truth, here's a little more from where I stand: when you're talking about pay for Canadians who have agreed to die if they are so ordered, it's never enough. It couldn't possibly be enough, if you only measure their compensation in pecuniary terms. But soldiers don't.

Oh, the money's important, have no doubt. But the idea that their sacrifice is being acknowledged and honoured is arguably as important - something the CF brass seem to understand by their stated rationale for the change:

The new allowance structure will:

• Compensate members for the loss of allowances upon repatriation from an operational theatre after becoming wounded, very seriously injured or ill;


• Mitigate the burden faced by members and their families when other operational allowances cease; and


• Ensure that the loss of operational allowance(s) is recognized in a satisfactory manner. [Babbler's emphasis]

This is an imperfect solution to a difficult problem. Of course, so is the military itself, which is why I think this proposal will be well-received by those who matter most in this discussion: the troops.

* While McTeague's extended family may be constituents as well, the fact is that the Liberal MP became involved in this issue subsequent to the wounding of his cousin in Afghanistan earlier this year.

Speaking of balls, Blatch...

I would have paid good money to be a fly on the wall for this speech by Christie Blatchford, accepting her Ross Munroe Media Award (ht:Army.ca):

The criteria for the Munro Award is that the winner make a significant contribution to the general public understanding of issues that relate to Canada’s defence and security.

Frankly, on one level this means the bar isn’t that bloody high, because too few journalists in this country write well or regularly about these issues and the general public understanding of the Canadian Forces is in my view pretty dim. We are a country where the civilian population is so separated and disengaged from its military that almost anything that I or anyone else writes helps breach that gap.

But the real reason the award means as much as it does to me is because I have come to care so damn much about our soldiers. If I wrote well about them, it’s because they were, and are, generous with their time, patient with my dopiness, protective of my ass, articulate and intelligent and unafraid to talk to me.

The soldiers won this thing for me, and that’s why I treasure it so. [Babbler's emphasis]

The sentiment I've put in bold font above is precisely why those of us who post to this site take the time and energy to do so: we need to bridge that gap between soldier and civilian in this country. And we need to do it now, before it grows any wider.

I'm with one of the other gents on the Army.ca thread when he says Blatch would have a hard time paying for a single drink at any CF mess across this, or any other country. In fact, she'll not pay for one around me either, should I ever have the privilege of making her acquaintance.

What gives with David Pugliese of the Ottawa Citizen?

First, he discovered the "Hillier Youth"; now it's the Canadian SS:

Soldiers fear JTF2 to get Nazi name
Defence minister's proposed new moniker for elite unit can be shortened to 'SS'

Army basic training today

The Toronto Star takes an in-depth look:

Silent in their misery and surviving on dangerously little sleep, the troops head out of their green canvas tent and into the blackness of the night.

They've just been screamed at by their commander, who's enraged by what he considers their lethargic response to the generators that have conked out, again, taking the front gate lights with them, leaving the camp blind and compromised.

It's 4:40 a.m. They are so tired that one private's eyes remain closed even as he begins to move. Another downs his wake-up potion: a pack of coffee crystals, a pack of whitener and a swig from his camouflage flask. The brittle cold, minus 15 degrees with the wind chill, hits them like a hard slap. The snow is cascading from the dark sky.

As they tend to the flooded generators, two obscured figures emerge from behind the curtain of snow.

"Go to hell, Canada! Get out of our country!" says the larger of the two with a Middle Eastern accent. He's still but a shadow, yet his billowing thoub and turban are visible to the now wide-eyed troops, who quickly mass at the gate and bring their fully automatic C7 rifles into both hands.

The man and his partner try to get inside the gate, but are blocked. "Stay back, sir!" yells Chase Miller, a 21-year-old private from Ottawa, brandishing his rifle, his eyes glued to the unwanted guest.

"F**k Canada! Allah Akhbar!" the man repeats, Arabic for "God is Great." "Infidels! I have bomb. I will kill you all!" he roars. As he begins to open his colourful cloak, and a bomb pack can be made out behind the fabric, Miller and the others open fire.

But it's not over. While the man lies writhing on the soft snow, the other reaches for the bomb at his friend's waist. He's riddled with bullets as well.

"Pretty intense," Miller says, shaking his head after the gun smoke clears.

If not for the fact that minutes later you see the two suicide bombers driving themselves away, you could mistake the blanks for real bullets, and think the event at the camp gate was occurring along the stark plains of Afghanistan.

But this isn't Kandahar, where Canadian soldiers are currently dying at a rate higher than any other NATO force in the war-torn country. Instead, it's a remote corner of Canadian Forces Base Borden, about 90 kilometres north of Toronto.

And this is the new Canadian boot camp...

Since Canada began its mission in Kandahar, 44 soldiers and one diplomat have been killed. Such a death toll in a single year has not occurred since the Korean War, and it's changing the way Canadians look at the military.

Ironically [?], it hasn't prevented them from joining the ranks. In fact, recruitment is up.

More than 5,800 recruits joined the regular force between April 2005 and March 2006, exceeding the target by 6 per cent [emphasis added]. Heading into 2007, the target is higher as the government tries to expand its 62,000-member regular force by 13,000, and the reserves by 10,000. Recruiting is ahead of where it was this time last year, says Capt. Holly-Anne Brown, spokesperson for the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group, headquartered at Borden.

"Don't underestimate the patriotism of young Canadians," Brown says. "Despite the images of the (dead) soldiers returning home, I think they want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They see the Canadian Forces as an organization where they can go out and make a difference in the lives of people, not only here at home but around the world."

Of the 54 recruits that began with Bravo Company, only three dozen remain, the rest having dropped out for fitness, medical or personal reasons. Just four are women...

Many of the recruits headed for the infantry are filled with a patriotism that seems undimmed by the risk of death in Kandahar. There is no one for whom this risk is as real as it is for Pte. Levi Williamson, who also goes by the name Ryan.

Williamson's older brother, Blake, was killed in Afghanistan on Oct. 14 alongside Sgt. Darcy Tedford when rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire hit their unit in an ambush west of Kandahar, on a road that Canadians are helping to build. Blake was 23.

The day his brother was killed, Williamson was on a weekend leave. Base officials tracked him down at a hotel room in Barrie and broke the news. He returned to Ottawa immediately to be with his mother, Heather Anderson, and sister Reid, 20, and then to Trenton on the Monday for the repatriation of his brother's body. He returned to Borden that night.

"It was hard coming back," he recalls. "They said I probably shouldn't, but I wanted to. My brother would have wanted me to."..

Photos here--and food.

Afstan: More on the current NATO offensive

My inference from early reporting is that Canadians will have largely a support role.

Canadian troops will play a "major role" in a massive push against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan now being assembled in the dangerous Panjwayi district, the top NATO commander in the south said yesterday.

During a surprise visit to the Canadian forward operating base here at Ma'sum Ghar, Maj.-Gen. Ton Van Loon, head of Regional Command South for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, described the broad outlines of Operation Baaz Tsuka, a plan to push the Taliban out of the region and secure it for Afghan forces.

"Canada is already playing a major role by being in this position now, and will also make some other movements into the area [emphasis added]," he said...

Although Baaz Tsuka - an Afghan phrase meaning "falcon's summit" - is a coalition operation, Van Loon stressed that unlike last fall's Operation Medusa, it will include a significant contribution from the Afghan National Army and police.

"We've got a substantial amount of Afghans here already, as you see," Van Loon said, pointing to an ANA camp at the edge of FOB Ma'sum Ghar. "It is tactically key that we get the Afghan National Army and also the police to take their role for their own country."

Baaz Tsuka is being billed by NATO as a sequel to - not a repeat of - Operation Medusa. That two-week Canadian-led operation back in September pushed the Taliban out of the mountainous Panjwayi district west of Kandahar City - traditionally the heartland of the hardline movement - and gave coalition troops some freedom of movement...

Van Loon said Baaz Tsuka will be similar in scale to Medusa, but without heavy artillery. The entire operation is expected to take several weeks.

"We are hoping to use much less firepower (than Medusa) because we now believe we can engage the Taliban much more in their own heartland. "

By avoiding the use of heavy artillery, Van Loon said, the coalition hopes to prevent "collateral damage and (make) sure we engage only the hardline elements [I wonder if this approach will have any impact on our opposition parties - MC]."

Note:

The British-led mission [emphasis added] will see Canadian troops operating from the bases they've established in the Panjwaii district, west of Kandahar city, but "there would also be movement involved," the general said, although he would not provide details or say when the mission would begin.

Van Loon said the Canadians will continue working with the Afghan National Army [ANA] as they try to separate hardline members of the Taliban from the civilian population...

As for Canadians and the ANA, The Sunday Telegraph has a story focussing on Canadians helping the Afghan National Army fight--with a Leopard growling. More here on Canadians working with the ANA.

Update: The Dutch are also involved. Does this sound familiar?

...The Dutch troops, who are stationed in the neighbouring province of Uruzgan have been providing both air and ground support. The two left-wing parties say this points to a further change to the original mission of the Dutch contingent, which was to focus fully on reconstruction work [emphasis added]...

Afstan: Economic and other problems

A Canadian intelligence assessment from early September:

Afghanistan's financial infrastructure is "primitive" and its recent economic growth "will be difficult to sustain," says a blunt assessment of the country's future by senior Canadian government officials.

Afghanistan is "seriously hampered" by security problems, endemic corruption, skilled labour shortages, limited access to finances, land tenure problems, the strain of returning refugees and "the generally weak rule of law," says the Sept. 5 analysis prepared by the Privy Council Office.

The office, the co-ordinating body for cabinet and the prime minister's office, released the seven-page document after a request under the Access to Information Act.

Its bleak forecast, delivered almost two weeks before a visit to Canada by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, appears at odds with recent claims by other Canadian officials that progress has been significant and steady.

The heavily censored report, The Future of Afghanistan: The Next Five Years, was written by PCO's intelligence assessment co-ordinating committee and widely distributed within government.

Based on "diplomatic and intelligence sources from Canada and allied countries," the report says some progress has been achieved since the U.S.-led victory over the Taliban in November 2001, particularly in children's schooling and improved access to basic health care.

But the vast majority of the population still struggles for the "bare essentials of survival," just as they did in the days of the Taliban.

The economy has benefited from the influx of foreign aid, which is driving a reconstruction boom, but is far from being self-sustaining.

Substantial budget subsidies and continued foreign financing will be required for many more years to help with trade and current account deficits, says the report.

The country's economy is heavily dependent on the drug trade, and although most poppy production is located in the southern provinces, revenue from drug production and shipment is important outside these Taliban-controlled areas.

The authors praise Afghanistan's new constitution and the direct election of the president, and say the elected legislature "has been surprisingly active and effective" since it was formed a year ago...

The Privy Council committee produced at least one earlier report on Afghanistan last December, The Afghan Economy: Is there one?

That study slammed non-governmental agencies for their "squandering of aid money" and said "the rehabilitation efforts of disparate aid groups, agencies and nations often overlap, conflict, or are at worst, fratricidal."..

Update: More on these issues at this Army.ca thread.

Upperdate: A round-up piece in the Washington Post:

There is a note of panic in American views of Afghanistan today. "All the indicators for Afghanistan have headed south," the Los Angeles Times editorialized. Outside Kabul, "much of the rest of Afghanistan appears to be failing again," Newsweek reported. Sen. John Kerry warned: We are "losing Afghanistan."..

Yet the full picture in Afghanistan's rugged terrain is more complex...

Afghanistan's problems are real and deepening. They demand major military, reconstruction and diplomatic efforts before dashed expectations turn into active discontent. But the situation is hardly catastrophic. Enough positives remain to serve as a foundation for success. If America is to succeed in Afghanistan, however, we will have to understand it first.

Uppestdate: Gen. Hillier weighs in:

Changing Afghan mission to reconstruction, not security, would fail: Hillier

Afstan: UK (and Danish) troops in combat/news on French, Germans

Story, video by soldiers, and slideshow from The Sunday Times (via Norman's Spectator).

Meanwhile, "France to withdraw special forces from Afghanistan" (most French troops are in Kabul) whilst "German army on Afghan charm offensive".

Update: Video of Danes in action earlier this year. Hm Yeah. And, holy crap, B-1Bs in action.

CF-18 replacement possibilities

Not just the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter:

Even though Pentagon officials this week inked agreements with three of the eight Joint Strike Fighter partner nations, two of those countries will continue to examine secondary options to the F-35 [first flight photos at link] in the coming months, international defense officials tell Inside the Air Force...

U.S. and Canadian defense officials finalized terms of the MOU during a Dec. 11 signing ceremony at the Pentagon. Representatives from the U.K. and Australian defense ministries followed suit a day later, ratifying the terms of the MOU during separate ceremonies at the Pentagon and the State Department, respectively.

Noting the effort “has proved to us to be an excellent program [and] an excellent example of international cooperation and collaboration,” Canada’s Joint Strike Fighter program manager, Michael Slack, said his nation is pleased with the final version of the agreement.

“At the end of the day, we reached a consensus on what was going to be required by Canada to operate and sustain these airplanes well into the future,” he said during a Dec. 11 interview...

While echoing the sentiment that preliminary evaluations of the F-35 have shown the aircraft to be the answer to its fighter requirements, Canadian defense officials are also looking at potential alternatives to the fifth-generation aircraft.

“I think that we are going to look at the full spectrum of capabilities to meet future operational requirements,” Slack said in the interview. “If something emerges that turns out to be extremely capable, who knows? I do not have a crystal ball anymore than you do.”

Canadian defense officials are eying the 2012 time frame for a final decision on what platform, or mix of platforms, will replace the F/A -18E/F Super Hornets [well no, they're just Hornets, not "Super" (warning: Boeing site)] that make up the majority [all] of Canada’s fighter fleet.

Production aircraft seen as possible alternatives to the JSF include the JAS 39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, along with upgraded versions of the Super Hornet, Col. Dave Burt, Canada’s director for air requirements, said in a brief Dec. 11 interview with ITAF.

That eventual fighter force structure is expected to be transitioned into the Canadian air force between 2017 and 2020, he added.

However, the chances of Canada fielding a mixed fighter fleet are slim, Burt said, adding that the operation and sustainment costs to field two fighter platforms would be too expensive.

“We will look at all options, but from an affordability perspective, that would create significant challenges,” Burt said. “Having a mixed fleet, in relatively small numbers, would be extremely expensive.”

The more likely option would be to select a single fighter aircraft to fill the country’s requirements, he added.

Afstan: "In depth" news sites

FYI (photos, and video too at TV sites):

ISAF page - Mission page, with news updates & features

UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan - UN mission information

CBC News In Depth: Afghanistan

CTV News: Canada in Afghanistan

Canada.com: Canadians in Afghanistan

National Post: Kandahar Blog

Sun Media: Canada at War: Afghanistan

Globe and Mail In Depth: Afghanistan

Toronto Star: Afghanistan

MediaRight.ca

milnews.ca: CAN in Kandahar

milnews.ca: Background Information

Afstan: CC-130H Hercs in action

A "tactical" op:

Many Canadian and Coalition troops on the ground in southern Afghanistan are enduring regular attacks from Taliban fighters. At the same time, the soldiers are also battling Afghanistan's ferocious climate. Some units are virtually snow-bound. Re-supply convoys risk nearly impassable roads that are ideal for ambushes.

And so, in the sky, the men and women of Canada's air force frequently wage their own battles to keep the combat troops supplied with food and ammunition. On this frosty December morning, their frontline is a massive grey Hercules C130 H aircraft commanded by Captain Blair McArthur of Alberta.

Somewhere in the mountains is an isolated unit of American soldiers. Captain McArthur is no-nonsense as he preps his seven-person crew for the upcoming flight. "These guys [the Americans] aren't quite down to their last bean and last bullet," McArthur says, "but almost."

The mission seems straightforward: Fly over the American position and air-drop vital supplies to the troops below. But the weather is bad, the area covered by dense cloud. In the surrounding hills are Taliban fighters carrying small arms and -- possibly -- portable anti-aircraft missiles.

The plane is fully loaded, the enormous pallets jammed into the hold are strapped down. To avoid enemy fire, the crew will be doing "tactical flying": as an indication of the violent maneuvers ahead, the crew chief hands one passenger a stack of air-sickness bags. Taped to the roof of the cockpit is a detailed document entitled, "crash-landing checklist."

The roaring propellers pull the Hercules into the air, one of the 200 daily flights that pass through the busy Kandahar airfield. The crew is gloomy about the chances of successfully finding the drop-zone. But failure will leave the troops on the ground in a tight spot.

The aircraft engines drone in muffled thunder as the plane crawls over southern Afghanistan's harsh, sun-bleached landscape. Not a hint of green breaks up the khaki-colored desert plains. In the distance loom snow-topped mountain ranges blanketed by billowing clouds.

And then it's "show time." The Hercules begins to turn in gentle circles over a white carpet of cloud.

Invisible somewhere below are U.S. soldiers waiting for their supplies. But only the rocky summits of mountain peaks push up through the cloud.

In the bathroom-sized cockpit, four men have their noses pressed against the windscreen. The navigator, Captain Ken Barling of Ottawa, shuttles quickly between the maps resting on his small table at the side of the cockpit and the front window next to the pilot.

"Weather's looking bad," Barling shouts to a passenger. "We may not be able to drop." He shakes his head and looks at the pilot, "We're going to take a look, but..."

Minutes slip by as the pilot makes repeated passes over the area. Eventually his fuel will run low and the drop will be called off.

Suddenly, in some near-miraculous way known only to the crew, the drop zone is located. The Hercules'engines holler as the plane plunges headlong into the cloud. It's a sickening, exhilarating sensation of being almost weightless. The altimeter measuring the plane's altitude spins crazily, dropping lower and lower. The peaks all rise above the aircraft. The crew is steering through a valley.

In the cockpit, warning beeps warn about the low altitude. "One minute!" A crew member shouts from the back of the plane. "One minute!" comes the shouted reply from others in the aircraft. The enormous rear door of the "Herc" opens to reveal the ground underneath speeding past. "Thirty seconds!"someone yells. "Thirty seconds," everyone replies.

In a blast of dust and noise, the pallets of supplies are ejected out the back ramp. Their parachutes open successfully and the crew cheers over the radio headsets. But as one mission ends, another begins: now the pilot must escape from the area without attracting Taliban gunfire.

The Hercules twists and turns through the mountain canyon. The gritty mountainsides seem to press in on either side of the wingtips. We run so close to the edges that paths across the hills are clearly visible to the naked eye. A Taliban fighter with a strong arm could probably hit the Hercules with a stone.

This is an aircraft nearly the size of a Boeing 737 thundering along a narrow pass between soaring peaks. For a passenger, it's like racing in an Air Canada flight between the skyscrapers on Bay Street in downtown Toronto.

Then it's time to retreat back up to the clouds. The captain pulls the plane into an abrupt, steep climb that buckles the knees of anyone standing upright. Arms and legs, even the head, become impossibly heavy.

Moments later, the plane levels off. The flight is once again calm and level. The crew is elated.

The first officer, Captain Victor Mota of Toronto, says this is the kind of intense, demanding flying he could never find working for a commercial airline.

The risks are high, but so are the professional and personal rewards of accomplishing tough missions against formidable odds.

"It's just awesome," he says.

Indeed. See also this.

For the declining state of the Herc fleet of CC-130Es see this comment at Army.ca.

Kandahar PRT in action

The Globe's Christie Blatchford fills in some of the gaps in our media's reporting:

Rebuilding Afghanistan, one project at a time

More from Sun Media's Doug Beazley:

Picking up the pieces
Provincial Reconstruction Team

Combat Camera photos here.

"Some PRT stats".