Fixing up the army gives ottawa options
By Nigel Hannaford, Calgary HeraldAugust 4, 2009
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Just when things were starting to look tight for the Canadian Forces, the federal government has come to the rescue with several large funding announcements.
Is it recession-fighting stimulus?Maybe: It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
But, for a hard-worked military machine that was rapidly running out of everything, it was the help that was needed.
As recently as March, Chief of Land Staff Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie was warning a Senate committee that the army would have to take what he euphemistically described as a year's "operational pause" at the end of 2011.
Equipment was wearing out, in particular the versatile Light Armored Vehicle fleet that has done yeoman service in Afghanistan, but taken a pounding in the process. (Almost a third of the 650-strong fleet is said to be unserviceable. Leslie was concerned that very few would be in fighting trim by the end of the Canadian mission, set for July 2011.)
Also, while recruiting willing volunteers has turned out to be relatively easy since the army's active engagement in Afghanistan, the Canadian Forces nevertheless faces a skills bottleneck as time-served men and women retire before the next cadre is fully trained--often because of the sheer pace of army life.
Leslie is on record that, "At around the 15-to 20-year point, if there's a multiplicity of missions that they've been on, they get tired and their spousal folk at home say, 'You know what? This is your sixth mission and seventh mission in 20 years and it's time for you to think of something else.' "
No kidding.
Plus, apart from replacing retiring soldiers, the army is supposed to grow by 3,000 by the end of 2011.
That makes replacing junior leaders--subalterns (officers below the rank of captain) and non-commissioned officers (sergeants and corporals)--the huge challenge that it is, second only to the attrition of the LAV fleet as a factor limiting the army's operational effectiveness.
Now however, if things develop as promised, Leslie will still have a fighting army.
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By Nigel Hannaford, Calgary HeraldAugust 4, 2009
Article Link
Just when things were starting to look tight for the Canadian Forces, the federal government has come to the rescue with several large funding announcements.
Is it recession-fighting stimulus?Maybe: It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
But, for a hard-worked military machine that was rapidly running out of everything, it was the help that was needed.
As recently as March, Chief of Land Staff Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie was warning a Senate committee that the army would have to take what he euphemistically described as a year's "operational pause" at the end of 2011.
Equipment was wearing out, in particular the versatile Light Armored Vehicle fleet that has done yeoman service in Afghanistan, but taken a pounding in the process. (Almost a third of the 650-strong fleet is said to be unserviceable. Leslie was concerned that very few would be in fighting trim by the end of the Canadian mission, set for July 2011.)
Also, while recruiting willing volunteers has turned out to be relatively easy since the army's active engagement in Afghanistan, the Canadian Forces nevertheless faces a skills bottleneck as time-served men and women retire before the next cadre is fully trained--often because of the sheer pace of army life.
Leslie is on record that, "At around the 15-to 20-year point, if there's a multiplicity of missions that they've been on, they get tired and their spousal folk at home say, 'You know what? This is your sixth mission and seventh mission in 20 years and it's time for you to think of something else.' "
No kidding.
Plus, apart from replacing retiring soldiers, the army is supposed to grow by 3,000 by the end of 2011.
That makes replacing junior leaders--subalterns (officers below the rank of captain) and non-commissioned officers (sergeants and corporals)--the huge challenge that it is, second only to the attrition of the LAV fleet as a factor limiting the army's operational effectiveness.
Now however, if things develop as promised, Leslie will still have a fighting army.
More on link
