Campaign promises and JTF 2

It looks like JTF 2's main base will move to CFB Trenton, and that a marine unit will be established at CFB Comox. During the last election campaign the Conservatives promised to base regular Army "rapid reaction" battalions at Trenton (a reborn "Airborne" battalion), Comox, Bagotville and Goose Bay. The JTF 2 moves will presumably be presented as keeping the promises for the first two places--what about the latter two?

The military will move its Ottawa-based Joint Task Force 2 counter-terrorism unit to Trenton, Ont., as it prepares to launch a further expansion of the country's special forces.

Besides moving the 600-member unit from its current location in Dwyer Hill, near Richmond, the military will position special forces equipment at sites around the country to allow for a quicker response to a terror attack.

It will also further expand the recently formed special forces regiment based at CFB Petawawa, as well as create a new Marine Commando Regiment to be based at Comox, B.C.

The plans will be announced when the Harper government releases its long-awaited "Canada First" defence strategy. No date has been set for its release.

JTF2 will complete the move to its new home at CFB Trenton by 2010. Until then, it will continue using its 80-hectare Dwyer Hill installation.

Positioning JTF2 at one of the country's main airbases allows it immediate access to aircraft for domestic and overseas missions, military officers say.

As previously reported in the Citizen, the government wants to change the name of JTF2 to the 1st Battalion, Special Service Regiment. The Canadian Special Operations Regiment, now based at CFB Petawawa, would be renamed the 2nd Battalion, Special Service Regiment. Both units will include a parachute capability, according to officers.

The Marine Commando Regiment will concentrate entirely on maritime operations.

The unit will initially consist of about 250 personnel, but that will be expanded over the years. The regiment will be able to react to seaborne terrorist incidents, at home and internationally. It will also be given the job of rescuing Canadians trapped in war-torn nations that are accessible by sea.

The government wants the country's special forces units to be able to work more closely with similar units in the United States when reacting to incidents that potentially threaten North America. Canada's special forces will also play more of a role in training foreign militaries...

Some questions:

1) Is there enough space at Trenton to house the troops and their equipment, and for training?

2) How will a unit based at Comox be able to respond rapidly to the most likely marine terrorist targets in B.C., the Port of Vancouver and ferries from the lower mainland and Washington state to Vancouver Island (and maybe Esquimault a target too)?

3) Will part of JTF 2 be kept near Ottawa to deal with a hostage incident--the reason the RCMP's Special Emergency Response Team, and then its replacement, JTF 2, were stationed at Dwyer Hill in the first place? Or is it now good enough to have members roughly half-way between the capital and Toronto (smile)?

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