# What's next? (post-Afghanistan)



## Scarth (1 May 2011)

Hi all,

I know no one knows exactly what's going to happen when we pull all our troops out of afghanistan but I was just wondering if anyone had an idea what the forces mission will be once we're withdrawn from Afghanistan.

Cheers


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## aesop081 (1 May 2011)

Scarth said:
			
		

> Hi all,
> 
> I know no one knows exactly what's going to happen when we pull all our troops out of afghanistan but I was just wondering if anyone had an idea what the forces mission will be once we're withdrawn from Afghanistan.
> 
> Cheers



You know we have more that just Afghanistan going on, right ?

Furthermore, you crystal ball is just as good as ours.


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## AmmoTech90 (1 May 2011)

Really, you want predictions on what will be happening three years from now politically and socially?

Well, people in places will be happy with their governments, others will not, and the will disagree (sometimes violently) with the government.  People will go on dates, others will disagree (sometimes violently) with those going on dates.

The CF will continue to be dispatched to places where the above (normally the bad part of the above) is going on.

Who thought in 1998 that we would be involved in a ground war in Asia within 3 years? Find that person and ask them what will be happening in 2015.


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## ward0043 (14 Jul 2011)

*Question*: Hey, I have been attempting to do research on where the Canadian Armed Forces will be sent to next. I have found articles suggesting Congo, Sudan, Libya, and the Gaza Straight (I realize nothing is official until Parliament votes on it). I have also seen news regarding arctic training missions in the North, and natural disaster relief.  Are any of this worth doing more research into, or are there other things I should look into?


*Background*: I am preparing for a question which may be brought up during my coming interview (Direct-Entry Infantry Officer). I thank you in advance for any help you may be!


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## aesop081 (14 Jul 2011)

ward0043 said:
			
		

> Libya



The Canadian Armed Forces are already there and have been since late march of this year.




> the Gaza Straight



It is the Gaza *strip*.


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## ward0043 (14 Jul 2011)

My apologies regarding the Gaza strip, thank-you for pointing that out *CDN Aviator*.  :facepalm:

In regards to Libya, I was hesitant to focus on it, since Canada has stationed 650 people, and it appears to be Canadian pilots as opposed to the infantry who have been given the green light by Stephen Harper against Moammar Gadhafi's regime. However, considering the Conservative motion to extend the mission passed by a vote of 294-1, perhaps future commitment is a possibility.


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## lethalLemon (14 Jul 2011)

Just because CF-18A Hornets are running bombing sorties over Libya doesn't mean the Canadian Forces aren't there...


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## aesop081 (14 Jul 2011)

ward0043 said:
			
		

> and it appears to be Canadian pilots as opposed to the infantry



So ? Are pilots not part of the Canadian Armed Forces ? Does CAF = Army only ?



			
				ward0043 said:
			
		

> *Question*: Hey, I have been attempting to do research on where the *Canadian Armed Forces* will be sent to next.



And it is not only pilots over there. Aircrew members of several trades as well as sailors of many trades are involved in combat operations there and they are supported by many other trades in various locations in the area of operations.

I don't know where our next big mission(s) will be but i'm sure it won't be too long before we find out.


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## ward0043 (14 Jul 2011)

Thanks for the input lethalLemon, and CDN AVIATOR. I wasn't thinking clearly.. I'm basically running on a lot of 'hearsay', somewhere a long the line I received the impression that the Canadian Military likes to throw Second-Lieutenants into the 'heat' of it quickly after successful graduation, so for some reason I assumed that Libya wasn't my best guess, since only the pilots (i'm applying to infantry) are cleared for actual combat.

But the thing is, I don't know whether being stationed in Libya despite not being cleared for combat would be considering being in the 'heat', or  if the Canadian Military even does prefer to throw Infantry Officers into the 'heat' right away, or exactly how many infantry platoons are stationed in Libya, etc, etc.

I feel incompetent right now, I need to figure out the relevant details before I ask questions. Sorry for wasting your time.


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## aesop081 (14 Jul 2011)

ward0043 said:
			
		

> since only the pilots (i'm applying to infantry) are cleared for actual combat.



Humm....what ?



> Sorry for wasting your time.



You have done no such thing.


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## Zoomie (14 Jul 2011)

ward0043 said:
			
		

> But the thing is, I don't know whether being stationed in Libya despite not being cleared for combat would be considering being in the 'heat',



Ok - take the time and read CBC.ca

There are currently UN sanctioned forces bombing the $hit out of Libya in support of its uprising against their tyrannical leader.  The Canadian Forces are not in Libya, they are stationed on Naval vessels just off shore, flying the skies above (CF-18, CP-140, CC-150, E3 Sentry, KC-130) and based all throughout the Mediterranean supporting those very forces (Italy and Greece being the main staging grounds).

We do not have any infantry in Libya at this moment.  IMO, I don't see a ground contingent being sent to North Africa.


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## lethalLemon (14 Jul 2011)

Zoomie said:
			
		

> Ok - take the time and read CBC.ca
> 
> There are currently UN sanctioned forces bombing the $hit out of Libya in support of its uprising against their tyrannical leader.  The Canadian Forces are not in Libya, they are stationed on Naval vessels just off shore, flying the skies above (CF-18, CP-140, CC-150, E3 Sentry, KC-130) and based all throughout the Mediterranean supporting those very forces (Italy and Greece being the main staging grounds).
> 
> We do not have any infantry in Libya at this moment.  IMO, I don't see a ground contingent being sent to North Africa.



A ground contingent... As much as there may a possibility of one being placed, it would just get nasty dirty on the ground... mixed in the middle between one non-uniformed force (_Rebels_... I don't like that term, they're not Rebels, they're fighting for their freedom) and a group of uniformed and non-uniformed Gaddahfi loyalists. I see it becoming a Somalia in that case.


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## Ayrsayle (14 Jul 2011)

Perhaps slightly off-topic, but related to why you were asking the question:

What question was it that you are anticipating for in your interview? I could see it being a question (where will we be going next) say if you were applying as an INT Officer, but even then as an applicant I don't really think you'd be expected to determine what potential policy might be. I would guess that many even high up in the military don't know what the government will involve itself in (even as they advise the government in military concerns).

You've got me curious. 

There are a few Infantry officers on this board however, and hopefully they will answer your questions about new Officers being "thrown into the fire", so to speak. Where is TV (Technoviking) when you mention him? 

(Edited to include an additional comment)


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## ward0043 (14 Jul 2011)

Zoomie said:
			
		

> Ok - take the time and read CBC.ca



Thank-you Zoomie, I'll do just that!



			
				Ayrsayle said:
			
		

> What question was it that you are anticipating for in your interview?



I am preparing for the question, "Where might you serve?", which is listed on the forces.ca website. To answer the question I was hoping to talk about the possible regiment/battalion I could be stationed to, and follow it up possible countries and reasons, now that the majority of the armed forces are out of Iraq. My friends keep telling me that I think to much, but I just want to be prepared, I figure a life in the military is a life where I have to give 120%, 100% of the time, so what better time to start then now.  Thanks for your interest


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## lethalLemon (14 Jul 2011)

ward0043 said:
			
		

> Thank-you Zoomie, I'll do just that!
> 
> I am preparing for the question, "Where might you serve?", which is listed on the forces.ca website. To answer the question I was hoping to talk about the possible regiment/battalion I could be stationed to, and follow it up possible countries and reasons, now that the majority of the armed forces are out of Iraq. My friends keep telling me that I think to much, but I just want to be prepared, I figure a life in the military is a life where I have to give 120%, 100% of the time, so what better time to start then now.  Thanks for your interest



Majority of Armed Forces are out of Iraq? Not our Armed Forces that's for sure. Never set foot in Iraq. I know of maybe a handful of PPCLI that participated in the First Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom but not enough to actually be deemed a participant of the operations there. I think you need to do A LOT more research, because the Canadian Forces spent many years in *AFGHANISTAN*, handed over command of Kandahar and other regions under Canadian Command to the US Military and are in the process of bringing everyone home. Camp Mirage in United Arab Emirates which acting as a Staging Base and _supposedly_ a centre for gathering secret battlefield intelligence (just a rumour I heard as speculation over why it's location was kept so top secret) - was shut down and a new Staging Base was erected in Kuwait.

The "Where might you serve?" interview question is more directed at locations in which your trade operates in and would be posted to. For instance as a DEO Infantry Officer (Regular Force), the places you would serve (posted to) would be:

[list type=decimal]
*CFB Edmonton*: Edmonton, Alberta - 1st and 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
*CFB Shilo*: neat Brandon, Manitoba - 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
*CFB Petawawa*: Petawawa, Ontario - 1st and 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment
*CFB Gagetown*: near Oromocto, New Brunswick - 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment
*CFB Valcartier*: Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Quebec - 1er and 3e Battalion, Royal 22e Regiment
*Quebec City*: Quebect City, Quebec - 2e Battalion, Royal 22e Regiment[/list]

Of course that's just as far as your initial posting goes, later on in your career you could be attached to a Reserve infantry regiment.

*Note:* I have no military experience myself so some of this information may be incorrect. Please pay attention to those with time served.


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## Ayrsayle (14 Jul 2011)

ward0043 said:
			
		

> Thank-you Zoomie, I'll do just that!
> 
> I am preparing for the question, "Where might you serve?", which is listed on the forces.ca website. To answer the question I was hoping to talk about the possible regiment/battalion I could be stationed to, and follow it up possible countries and reasons, now that the majority of the armed forces are out of Iraq. My friends keep telling me that I think to much, but I just want to be prepared, I figure a life in the military is a life where I have to give 120%, 100% of the time, so what better time to start then now.  Thanks for your interest



I certainly don't want to dissuade your enthusiasm - it is a good idea to stay abreast of current world issues - but just consider the other side of the desk during your interview when you try to explain your reasoning as to why you think you might be deployed overseas in X country. As informed as you might be, there will be some definite gaps and guesswork (as noted, even those in the military only have suspicions until they become decisions). It might backfire on you trying to anticipate future efforts, depending on your interviewer. 

It might be a good use of your diligence to know the ins and outs of your trade, knowing as much as you can about the history of your preferred regiment and what they have done in the past, your potential career progression, etc. These things are a little bit more concrete and can show your interest / efforts to increase your knowledge base to a recruiter. 

Not being a recruiter myself however, take this all with a grain of salt.

(I wasn't aware we had substantial efforts in Iraq - Major Canadian efforts have been in Afghanistan, haven't they? Things like this might be picked up by a recruiter, no?  Feel free to PM me if you had any questions - I also applied as a DEO Infantry Officer)

(edited for a spelling error)


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## lethalLemon (14 Jul 2011)

Ayrsayle said:
			
		

> I certainly don't want to dissuade your enthusiasm - it is a good idea to stay abreast of current world issues - but just consider the other side of the desk during your interview when you try to explain your reasoning as to why you think you might be deployed overseas in X country. As informed as you might be, there will be some definite gaps and guesswork (as noted, even those in the military only have suspicions until they become decisions). It might backfire on you trying to anticipate future efforts, depending on your interviewer.
> 
> It might be a good use of your diligence to know the ins and outs of your trade, knowing as much as you can about the history of your preferred regiment and what they have done in the past, your potential career progression, etc. These things are a little bit more concrete and can show your interest / efforts to increase your knowledge base to a recruiter.
> 
> ...



See my post above.


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## Ayrsayle (14 Jul 2011)

My apologies, I think I was typing at the same time - didn't read your post before posting mine. Mea Culpa!

Either way - good resource (I didn't want to simply tell him all said information however - research skills are one of the tools we are supposedly given in university!) either way, it's all good stuff!


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## lethalLemon (14 Jul 2011)

Ayrsayle said:
			
		

> My apologies, I think I was typing at the same time - didn't read your post before posting mine. Mea Culpa!
> 
> Either way - good resource (I didn't want to simply tell him all said information however - research skills are one of the tools we are supposedly given in university!) either way, it's all good stuff!



No problem!


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## dirtnco (14 Jul 2011)

Funny I don't recall seeing any Pats in the Gulf when I was there. Then again I was to busy drinking near beer (just puked in my body thinkin about it) and filling sandbags to really notice.


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## Zoomie (14 Jul 2011)

The combat engineers were in Iraq during GW1.  Apparently a small det had a sizeable formation of Iraqi soldiers surrender to them.


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## PPCLI Guy (14 Jul 2011)

ward0043 said:
			
		

> I'm basically running on a lot of 'hearsay', somewhere a long the line I received the impression that the Canadian Military likes to throw Second-Lieutenants into the 'heat' of it quickly after successful graduation, so for some reason I assumed that Libya wasn't my best guess, since only the pilots (i'm applying to infantry) are cleared for actual combat.



That's not the way it works.  Upon successful (and this is by no means a given) completion of your training you will be posted to a Battalion.  Which Battalion, of which Regiment, will be based on a blend of your desires and the needs of the Corps - and yes, the latter has substantially more weighted value than the former.

You will serve in the Battalion (generally for three years in your first tour of Regimental duty) in accordance with its assigned task that varies from preparing for deployment, deployment, recovery, or reconstitution.  There are no guarantees that you will deploy on operations.

As to the "heat" - trust me, commanding a Platoon in any part of the readiness cycle is a challenge, and one that not all succeed at.

Bottom line - the answer to your strawman question is that you will serve where you are told to serve.  That may be Petawawa, and it may be the Congo.


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## CobraBalls (15 Jul 2011)

Here's what is going to happen for the Canadian ARMY after Afghanistan IMO.... *NOTHING*. It is going to be a long, dark and lonely contract for any soldier who has joined the regs or reserves at that time. UN Peacekeeping missions will never happen for us again because of impossible ROEs and large distrust between officers and the UN. If you ask me, the world is going to look at the NATO mission in Afghanistan as a failure which will have negative repercussions on all NATO forces. Africa is a cluster fuck, plain and simple, so realistically, I believe you may see our Navy and Air Force deploy in greater volume, but the Army (other than SF) is going to be a real boring place to work. To be honest, I have thought long and hard about joining the French Foreign Legion. I am in the CF (Army Reserves) and I missed my chance to go to Afghanistan. Don't get me wrong, I am still trying to weasel my way there through OPs any which-way I can, but I doubt it is going to happen, seeing as they need specialized personnel, not a Infantry CPL reservist. French Foreign Legion will always have work in Congo, Ivory Coast, Chad, Niger and other trouble French colonies.


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## The Bread Guy (15 Jul 2011)

CobraBalls said:
			
		

> .... To be honest, *I have thought long and hard about joining the French Foreign Legion*. I am in the CF (Army Reserves) and I missed my chance to go to Afghanistan. Don't get me wrong, I am still trying to weasel my way there through OPs any which-way I can, but I doubt it is going to happen, seeing as they need specialized personnel, not a Infantry CPL reservist. *French Foreign Legion will always have work in Congo, Ivory Coast, Chad, Niger and other trouble French colonies.*


If that's how you really feel, have at 'er, then:
http://www.legion-recrute.com/en/ou.php?SM=0
Safe travels, and let us know how it works out for you.


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