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Monday, Oct 18, 2004 Email this to a friend
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Canadian troops left to beg for basic equipment: report
FREDERICTON (CP) - Canadian troops sent to Haiti earlier this year on a peacekeeping mission were left "prodding and begging" for basic equipment, according to an internal Defence Department report obtained by the Canadian Press.
The report examines the deployment of about 500 Canadian troops as part of Operation Halo - a U.S.-led mission to restore calm after a three-week rebellion prompted then Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide to flee the troubled Caribbean country.
The soldiers and equipment were airlifted to Haiti from Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick.
The report, obtained under the federal Access to Information Act, identifies a shortage of operational equipment including ballistic plates, fragmentary vests, tan safety boots and even protective latex gloves.
"Historically, these items have been required for previous missions, therefore, the additional strain of procurement should not be borne by the mounting base - these items should be held nationally and expedited to the unit without Area HQ prodding and begging for the equipment," the report states.
Defence analyst Martin Shadwick of York University in Toronto said he finds the report distressing.
"We're talking equipment which in most cases seems to be pretty straight forward, relatively low-technology, that should be available in adequate quantity, and with dispatch, readily accessible," he said.
"If we're having difficulty quickly equipping troops going overseas, and in relatively small numbers, that suggests that some corrective action is immediately required."
The report says the effort to source the equipment "re-directed a considerable amount of time and manpower which could have been better spent dealing with the mounting process."
Some of the items, including the tan boots, had to be sent after the troops were already in Haiti.
"As a general rule, one would want to be able to say when we're deploying people that they've been able to take at least the core, essential equipment with them, and can operate straight away when they get there . . . not have to wait for gear to arrive, or spending an inordinate amount of time trying to track down stuff."
According to the report, tracking all the equipment proved difficult as the result of a software program that was used.
At one point, a large piece of equipment needed for the deployment had arrived at Gagetown and sat for three days in a compound before being discovered, the report says.
The software program was abandoned in favour of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.
This isn't the first time a shortage of equipment has plagued Canadian troops.
They were mocked for wearing green uniforms in the desert of southern Afghanistan in 2003.
Again this summer, some of the Canadian soldiers, nearing the end of their tour in Afghanistan had to resort to the relish greens because of a shortage of the desert combat fatigues.
"Some of the equipment shortages have rational explanations, such as late deliveries from manufacturers," Shadwick said.
"But they tend to pop up with too great a regularity, and surely we can do much better on such fundamental items.
"This raises questions about our ability to deploy as quickly as possible."
The Defence Department wasn't offering any immediate comment on the report.
Department spokesman Capt. Greg Poehlmann said it would be at least mid-November before the department is able to formulate a response.
© The Canadian Press, 2004
Monday, Oct 18, 2004 Email this to a friend
print this page
Canadian troops left to beg for basic equipment: report
FREDERICTON (CP) - Canadian troops sent to Haiti earlier this year on a peacekeeping mission were left "prodding and begging" for basic equipment, according to an internal Defence Department report obtained by the Canadian Press.
The report examines the deployment of about 500 Canadian troops as part of Operation Halo - a U.S.-led mission to restore calm after a three-week rebellion prompted then Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide to flee the troubled Caribbean country.
The soldiers and equipment were airlifted to Haiti from Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick.
The report, obtained under the federal Access to Information Act, identifies a shortage of operational equipment including ballistic plates, fragmentary vests, tan safety boots and even protective latex gloves.
"Historically, these items have been required for previous missions, therefore, the additional strain of procurement should not be borne by the mounting base - these items should be held nationally and expedited to the unit without Area HQ prodding and begging for the equipment," the report states.
Defence analyst Martin Shadwick of York University in Toronto said he finds the report distressing.
"We're talking equipment which in most cases seems to be pretty straight forward, relatively low-technology, that should be available in adequate quantity, and with dispatch, readily accessible," he said.
"If we're having difficulty quickly equipping troops going overseas, and in relatively small numbers, that suggests that some corrective action is immediately required."
The report says the effort to source the equipment "re-directed a considerable amount of time and manpower which could have been better spent dealing with the mounting process."
Some of the items, including the tan boots, had to be sent after the troops were already in Haiti.
"As a general rule, one would want to be able to say when we're deploying people that they've been able to take at least the core, essential equipment with them, and can operate straight away when they get there . . . not have to wait for gear to arrive, or spending an inordinate amount of time trying to track down stuff."
According to the report, tracking all the equipment proved difficult as the result of a software program that was used.
At one point, a large piece of equipment needed for the deployment had arrived at Gagetown and sat for three days in a compound before being discovered, the report says.
The software program was abandoned in favour of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.
This isn't the first time a shortage of equipment has plagued Canadian troops.
They were mocked for wearing green uniforms in the desert of southern Afghanistan in 2003.
Again this summer, some of the Canadian soldiers, nearing the end of their tour in Afghanistan had to resort to the relish greens because of a shortage of the desert combat fatigues.
"Some of the equipment shortages have rational explanations, such as late deliveries from manufacturers," Shadwick said.
"But they tend to pop up with too great a regularity, and surely we can do much better on such fundamental items.
"This raises questions about our ability to deploy as quickly as possible."
The Defence Department wasn't offering any immediate comment on the report.
Department spokesman Capt. Greg Poehlmann said it would be at least mid-November before the department is able to formulate a response.
© The Canadian Press, 2004
And secondly I read the stpries you were refering to and it was American national guardsman not Canucks. At least as far as my reading.
