CAN Mission in Haiti (ops, medals, etc) - merged

[armyvern]

.... unless it still is peacekeeping:

Too true; those blue beret tours (and the orange one) we are participating in didn't stop over the past 12 years --- they just haven't got the press.

 

[The Bread Guy]

More on the Brazil link, via the CF Info-machine (the word "peacekeeper" is only mentioned once, BTW, referring to the training facility in Brazil):

On 21 June, a platoon of 34 personnel from the Canadian Army left for Haiti as part of Operation HAMLET– Canada’s military contribution to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, commonly known by its French name as MINUSTAH.

But first they made a slight detour to Brazil ­– one of the largest contributors to the mission and an important ally to both Haiti and Canada. Here they were trained by the Brazilian Armed Forces and integrated into a Brazilian Battalion (BRABAT).

While Canadians have been a part of MINUSTAH since it began in May 2004, this has normally taken the form of five senior staff officers providing aid to the headquarters in regards to planning and coordinating operations. The arrival of the platoon from 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade group, originating from Valcartier, Que, means Canada is now able to make tactical contributions as well.

Within this new role CAF members deployed on the Brazilian battalion will help ensure security and stability in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the Western Hemisphere.

Their primary task is to conduct patrols of their area of responsibility. But they also undertake guard duty for their camp and other points of interest, as well as conduct Civic-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) projects, such as the provision of clean water in neighbourhoods vulnerable to cholera ....

Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 29 June 2013: Soldiers receive a gesture of appreciation from a child while on patrol. Canadian Forces members, in collaboration with Brazilian troops, are participating in stability and security efforts in Haiti.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 22 June 2013: Soldiers participate in a neighbourhood meeting in their area of operation. Canadian Forces members, in collaboration with Brazilian troops, are participating in stability and security efforts in Haiti. (Photo: Canadian Armed Forces)

 

[tomahawk6]

Some additional images from the deployment.

United Nation soldiers from 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment and Brazilian Army, cross a small bridge during a dismounted presence patrol at Camp Jean-Marie Vincent, an internally displaced persons camp in Port-au-Prince, Haiti during Operation HAMLET on September 3, 2013.

Sergeant Pierre-Alexandre Ruegsegger (left) and Private Gelin (right) from 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment speak with residents of camp Jean-Marie Vincent in Port-au-Prince, Haiti during Operation HAMLET on September 3, 2013.

Captain Nicholas Payne (left) from 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment and Captain Fábio Nunes (right) from Brazilian Army talk during a dismounted presence patrol in Port-au-Prince, Haiti during Operation HAMLET on September 3, 2013.

Captain Nicholas Payne (left) from 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment and Captain Fábio Nunes (right) from Brazilian Army enjoy a few minutes of rest during a dismounted presence patrol in Port-au-Prince, Haiti during Operation HAMLET on September 3, 2013.

United Nation soldiers from 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment prepare to walk toward Camp Jean-Marie Vincent, which is an internally displaced persons camp, during Operation HAMLET in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on September 3, 2013

 

[-rb]

http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/the-canadian-militarys-experiment-in-haiti

A couple months old but worth a read... 

Cheers.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

Various media outlets are reporting this, nothing confirmed yet.

Canada to takeover Haiti peacekeeping: media

Montreal (AFP) - Canada is planning to take over command of the UN stabilization mission in Haiti and replace the bulk of troops on the ground from Brazil with its own, according to a report Wednesday.

During a visit to Ottawa by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signaled his willingness to renew Canada's engagement on the world stage, including increasing its participation in UN peacekeeping missions.

There are currently 36 Canadian soldiers deployed on UN peacekeeping missions in Haiti, Jerusalem, South Sudan, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Korea, down from a reported 3,000 at its peak in 1993.

French speakers in the Canadian military, Trudeau said in February, are in demand in hotspots in some former French or Belgian colonies, including Haiti and the Central African Republic.

In addition to expressing a desire for a seat on the Security Council, the prime minister said he wanted Canada to play a larger role in preventing and mediating global conflicts, as well as post-war reconstruction.

According to the daily Le Devoir, Canada wants to send 1,000 to 2,000 police officers and soldiers to Haiti to shore up security in the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, and take over command of the UN mission from Brazil after its mission mandate expires in October.

Canadian officials were not immediately available to comment.

The UN mission, MINUSTAH, was launched in April 2004 following the departure into exile of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The force was bolstered after the powerful January 2010 earthquake that toppled buildings across the country and killed tens of thousands of people.

There are currently 2,370 soldiers, 2,600 police officers, and 1,500 civilian officials on the ground in Haiti, both domestic and foreign, including five Canadian soldiers and 90 police officers.

Haiti has long been a priority destination for Canadian humanitarian aid. More than half a billion dollars (Canadian) has been committed for reconstruction and development of Haiti over the past decade, according to government figures.

There is also a large Haitian diaspora living in Canada.

Article Link

 

[PuckChaser]

There are 2200 Brazilian troops there. Judging by Trudeau's comments, is he planning on just posting 5 Bde there for a few years until there's more than 2 slots a year per trade on French language training? Be very interesting to see the details on this one, but I'm sure we'll only get "details soon" from the government's PR team.

 

[Ostrozac]

Interesting, if it is true. This neatly fulfills the election promise of participating in UN missions without going through the logistic and tactical difficulties of participating in the two largest ongoing UN missions, Darfur and Congo, which happen to also be the two largest UN missions in history.

But there has also been much reporting that the current mandate for MINUSTAH (which ends Oct 2016) may be the last mandate for the mission, and that the UN is considering completely closing down the mission this summer, once the new President is in place. It doesn't make sense to change around lead nations just for mission closeout.

It does make perfect sense if Canada is intending to stay in Haiti post-MINUSTAH in a bilateral Canada-Haiti stabilization role, separate from the UN.

 

[Jarnhamar]

But since the Liberals are chopping 400 million we're going to have to ask all the Bosnian and Cyprus vets to borrow their old blue berets and hats.

 

[PuckChaser]

But sine the Liberals are chopping 400 million we're going to have to ask all the Bosnian and Cyprus vets to borrow their old blue berets and hats.

Fortunately we're still driving some of the same vehicles, though.

 

[medicineman]

Funny, I seem to remember my pre-deployment training for Haiti in 2003 where we were told that by and large, not many Haitians speak French...they speak Creole, which though similar, isn't French.  Hence why we had a pile of Haitian-Canadian soldiers translating for us.  I did manage to get my points across in French on a few occasions, but generally had to borrow a translator.

MM

 

[Old Sweat]

I wrote a NEO contingency plan for Haiti a very long time ago.

Much later I had the pleasure of telling a friend in the ski team that I jumped up and let out a roar when Wolf Blitzer announced that Canadian Special Forces had taken control of the Port-au-Prince International Airport when Aristide was being invited to seek other career options.

 

[Leeworthy]

Hmm, very interesting. I was in Haiti for the January 2010 earthquake. The UN and other NGO's seemed to be doing just fine there. There were not to many security issues that I recall asides from looters and people trying to take food from NGO and military handout points. These weren't rebel forces or militia type people but people who were hungry and wanted food for their families. I can honestly say Haiti is a beautiful country if they would just help themselves out and make it more inviting. The majority of the island is covered in garbage and ther filth. The beaches were gorgeous (looked the same as the DR) and the country could thrive if it could clean itself up and invite people to tourism.

Im just not sure what we can do for them in long-term? Help them clean up their country, build sanitazion facilities, improve their building practices? Would that be the type of things we would do long-term for a country such as this?

 

[Journeyman]

I'm just not sure what we can do for them in long-term? Help them clean up their country, build sanitation facilities, improve their building practices? Would that be the type of things we would do long-term for a country such as this?

These are likely the type of things we would  do... especially if it allows our government to pat itself on the back as being an awesome UN citizen.

Will it make a difference?  Absolutely not.  Look at many of the other UN good-Samaritan projects that immediately fell into disrepair once completed.  Why is that?  Well, it doesn't matter in the slightest what we do if the local citizens refuse to take responsibility for their own behaviour.

Magically, will the Haitians become responsible?  I see no evidence of that happening. I think what evidence is relevant is comparing Dominican Republic and Haiti -- same island; different planets.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Our new Cyprus?

 

[Rifleman62]

Keep the military occupied/committed to a large UN msn = Canada is fully committed to peace and does not have the resources to assist in any combat role, anywhere.

 

[PuckChaser]

And you don't have to buy the Army and Air Force any shiny new equipment, can roll all that money into subs that barely sail and ships that are being built by shoddy contractors at 3x the price.

 

[medicineman]

This will be what, the fourth or fifth time back there as a full time commitment in decent size?  Apparently the writing is too incoherent for people to understand that the place needs uncompromising, unbiased, and strong government, not us doing the job well trained and led police can and should do.

I can say this - I won't volunteer to go back there again.

MM

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Keep the military occupied/committed to a large UN msn = Canada is fully committed to peace and does not have the resources to assist in any combat role, anywhere.

QFTFT!

 

[The Bread Guy]

Wonder what this'll mean for Canada's presence?

Recognizing the “major milestone” Haiti has achieved toward stabilization following recent elections, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations mission in the island nation for a final six-month period and authorized a smaller successor peacekeeping mission.

Unanimously adopting a new resolution, the Council decided that, after over 13 years operating in its current form, the UN Stabilization Mission, known by its French acronym, MINUSTAH, would gradually draw down its military component during the next six months, finally withdrawing from Haiti by 15 October 2017.

Acting on the recommendations of the Secretary-General, the Council also decided to establish a successor operation, the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), which would be mandated to assist the Haitian Government to strengthen rule of law institutions; further support and develop the National Police; and engage in human rights monitoring, reporting, and analysis.

Further to the resolution, MINUJUSTH would be composed of up to seven Formed Police Units – or 980 FPU personnel – and 295 Individual Police Officers for an initial period of six months from 16 October 2017 until 15 April 2018, and emphasized the importance of reaching those levels. The current Mission has just over 1,000 individual police and 11 police units.

The new Mission was also authorized to “protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence, within its capabilities and areas of deployment, as needed.” ...

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Hopefully we are out of there and the people can take self responsibility