Time to pay for our lack of leadership

Egad.

The navy is making plans to refit a 40-year-old Halifax-based supply ship that completed a $40-million refit in 2005, raising questions about a replacement program that ran aground last summer.

HMCS Preserver, the navy’s sole East Coast supply ship, is slated to be out of commission from March 2010 until January 2011 for the overhaul, according to a public notice issued this week. That’s sure to leave people wondering what’s happened to the $2.9-billion program that was put on hold last August with a late-night announcement after bids to build the new joint support ships came in over budget.

Those of a certain vintage will remember this language: CR7 (Planning and Preparation) - BELOW THE LINE!

We're paying now for decisions made ten or fifteen years ago. And paying through the nose.

Makes you wonder what we're ignoring now that we'll be paying for procrastinating on another ten or fifteen years down the line. Air defence destroyers, anyone? Maritime patrol aircraft? Submarines? Frigates? FWSAR?

Army stuff you can mostly buy off the shelf. Air force stuff can be rushed that way sometimes, but to a lesser extent - see the contrast between the C-17 and the CH-47 procurements for examples. But ships? If you don't plan properly, you're just plain screwed.