The Hill Times, January 10th, 2005
CIVIL CIRCLES
By Paco Francoli
DART airlift to cost Ottawa $4.4-million: Department of National Defence
It will cost the federal government at least $4.4-million (U.S.) to charter two Russian Antonov aircrafts to deploy Canada's embattled Disaster Assistant Relief Team known simply as DART which has been under intense fire because it doesn't have access to its own long-range aircraft and has taken so long to make its way to Sri Lanka to assist in the tsunami disaster relief effort.
Five flights have been booked at a cost of $880,000 (U.S.) each, all operated by Polet Cargo Airlines from Voronezh Russia, confirmed the Department of National Defence (DND) last week.
This includes the cost of going through Canadian broker Sky Link Aviation out of Toronto which DND uses for all chartered aircraft movements.
The total cost of the mission to Ampara, a district of about 600,000 people on Sri Lanka's east coast, could reach as high as $20-million. Members of DART began deploying last Thursday and Friday to Ampara from Canadian Forces base Trenton outside Toronto. Two more flights are scheduled for Jan. 10 and 11, and more could follow which could increase the deployment costs further.
This will be only the third mission for DART which was created in 1997 amid high expectations. It was last used five years ago in Turkey which was savaged by a massive earthquake in 1999.
The team can operate field hospitals, purify water and repair basic infrastructure and communications. It has an annual budget of $250,000 and about 15 full-time staff. The government pulls in other Canadian Forces staff depending on needs.
Defence Minister Bill Graham gave DART the green light on Jan. 4 to deploy to Sri Lanka, more than a week after the disaster and after days of balking over whether to send the team of specialists drawn mostly from the Canadian Forces.
Former Canadian Forces staff have been highly critical of the federal government for taking so long to deploy DART.
Alain Pellerin, a retired colonel who is now executive director of the lobby organization Conference of Defence Associations, said the delay was caused by the fact the government has no long-range airlift capabilities.
"Without the means to transport, DART is really just a concept. And therefore it's something the government needs to address. If they're serious about using a force like DART to support their foreign policy they need to respond more rapidly with their own airlift," said Mr. Pellerin who retired from the Canadian military in 1996.
Mr. Pellerin noted that Ottawa's logistical problems are compounded by the fact there are only 16 available Antonov aircraft available for rental in the world right now.
"Obviously there is a lot of competition when something like that comes up. It's a little bit like a timeshare condo. Everyone wants it at Christmas time for skiing," he said.
Canada has nothing comparable to an Antonov. DART's needs could be accommodated in part by the Air Force's fleet of 32 C-130 Hercules, but these aging machines, most of which were purchased between 1960 and 1975, have been plagued with problems. Additionally, the Hercules are much smaller than the Antonov and would require several trips to do the job.
Canada also has five civilian A310 Airbuses which have been converted for military use, but again these aircraft are too small to carry DART's heavy equipment which includes large military vehicles.
Mr. Pellerin said that 19 of Canada's Hercules are "essentially non-operational" because they are so old. He added that the rest will reach their best-before date in about 10 years.
Mr. Pellerin said Canada should consider leasing or buying the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo airplanes used by the U.S. and British military which are smaller than the Antonov but still effective for DART's long-range strategic airlift requirements. Each C-17 costs about $200-million.
Ironically, the federal government created DART nine years ago as a response to its delayed reaction to the United Nations-led relief effort in Rwanda in 1994. When then defence minister David Collenette launched DART, he said the new unit would be available for deployment within 48 hours and remain on the ground for up to 40 days.
Last week in an interview on CBC Newsworld, retired Lieutenant-Colonel Wayne Douglas, a former commander of DART, was asked if DART should have its own aircraft.
"It would be good," he replied, but then added diplomatically: "There are a lot of priorities that have to come into play and that may not be one of them at the moment."
On the internet, a number of Canadian Forces staffers were far more blunt in their assessments of DART when chatting on a popular public forum set up specifically for them.
"I was part of [DART] when it first got dreamed up. It seems to keep getting bigger and bigger, but no clearer focus," said a corporal who identifies himself only as Kevin B.
The forum, found at www.army.ca, has been around since 1993 and provides a gateway for anyone interested in the Canadian military. It is not sponsored or connected to the federal government. Most subscribers use aliases but identify themselves as current or former members of the Canadian military.
"DART is like my grandmother's living room furniture looks great, but for goodness sakes don't use it," wrote Bograt, an officer cadet.
After the Canadian government indicated it intended to send DART to Sri Lanka to help with the tsunami disaster, many subscribers logged on to the forum to slam the government for failing to properly fund and equip DART.
"I know same people that have said the DART is a good thing? We do require it. Every country has a DART. We just need the aircraft," lamented Recce41 who identifies himself as a warrant officer.
Many subscribers praised a recent editorial by retired Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie (who one subscriber called "Uncle Lew") who pointed out that the federal government is stuck leasing Antonov aircraft for DART at a time of high demand.
"We now have a major disaster, and with everyone and his dog renting from the same source, the price has skyrocketed," wrote Mr. MacKenzie.
The two massive Antonov aircraft charted by Ottawa, which dwarf most other planes, will load up with about 225 tons of equipment. It's a major job. The last time DART deployment to Turkey, military staff worked around the clock for over a week procuring and loading the Russian Antonovs with large vehicles and specialized equipment such as water-purification machines to prevent cholera.
Before DART deployed to Sri Lanka, a 17-member reconnaissance team was sent to Ampara to determine if Canadian assistance would be helpful. DART's commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Voith, was part of that initial deployment which included 11 staff from DND, three from Foreign Affairs, two from CIDA, and one from the Canadian Public Health Agency.
The reconnaissance team will soon be joined by about 200 Canadian Forces soldiers, including about 40 medical professionals.
The DART serves four critical needs in emergencies:
* primary medical care;
* production of safe drinking water;
* a limited specialist engineer capability; and
* a command and control structure that allows for effective communications between the DART, the host nation, and the other agencies involved in the relief effort, including international organizations, non-governmental organizations and UN aid agencies.
francoli@hilltimes.com
The Hill Times
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