Future of ATHENA: Manning issues & LAV III upgrades

[MarkOttawa]

By Gen. Hillier himself.  I won't try to excerpt in order that no possible distortion occurs.

TheChronicleHerald.ca 
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA | Thursday November 2, 2006
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/538154.html

Mark
Ottawa

 

[orange.paint]

Maybe they should start clearing out the schools in the CF. I am reg force infantry posted to a school and have never been to A-Stan yet. My last tour was Haiti in 04 (for a half tour). I know task force 1-07 is undermanned but no one has canvassed the infantry at my unit to see if we would be willing to go. In my opinion all reg force staff should be replaced by those who have the best and latest experience.

I couldn't agree more.I constantly hear the CF/media talking about finding serviceable troops to go to Afghanistan.Yet I look around the armoured school and see many many people who have not deployed to theatre in years.3 years for myself actually.I have put in memorandums requesting to return,one reason being I have not yet deployed and have not got the response I was expecting.I'm still "up in the air" on going back.

As for the armoured school we NEED guys who are current on op's as possible.Our jobs as armoured recce has changed a lot.And there is a lot of difference in a member reading a report and disseminating the info to students and a member disseminating personal experience to augment the lessons learned.

If you have no Afghanistan time you should be posted in my opinion.Someone just seemed to over look the schools.
And no MOST of the schools are full of fit prepared soldiers unlike the not so distant past.

I have not deployed in three years.

 

[geo]

Here is a new wrinkle in the system

It would appear that some industrious CF individuals are taking all of the parental leave that they can so that they can avoid the deployment ..........

Sheesh!

 

[SeaKingTacco]

How would that help?  A CO has the right to deny parental leave or recall someone, with 5 days notice, from parental leave for operational reasons (just had my briefing  )

Blame the CO for approving it, not the member.

 

[geo]

Am supposed to get my briefing on the "problem" tomorrow
will post when I get the details

 

[Haggis]

It would appear that some industrious CF individuals are taking all of the parental leave that they can so that they can avoid the deployment ..........

Sheesh!

Well, then, they can watch my kids while I go!  Hooyah!!  "Pack kiddies, you're goin' to visit your new uncle for six months.  Don't forget your pet dobermans.  ;D"

 

[retiredgrunt45]

All i can say after reading this subject in it's entirety, is i'm glad that i'm retired and to damn old to be re-enrolled.

If the arm chair generals in "Toon town" go through with this rebadging fiasco and think it's going to succeed, their in for a shock.

What a mess.

 

[tasop_999]

I read the article by the CDS today and it made sense for the most part.  I hope things stay in the common sense vein, because I know that things can get really silly really quick in this outfit.  Now maybe this is me being a little jaded, but I'll give everyone a little example of some fantastic foolishness I experienced a few years ago. 

No doubt there are some people here who went on Op Peregrine out in BC.  Our particular wave, deployed from Esquimalt, was kitted with everything you could want for living in a camp...even one of those nice cots (I actually slept really well on that thing!).  What we didn't get sent with was cold weather kit for the high mountains in which we were working in the beginning of September.  We were also working the fire line with NCDs on as our primary uniform.  While both stylish and fire-resistent, this kit is not really meant for dirty work in the field...not to mention the Strathconas we were working near were laughing at us the whole time because we looked like fools.  Everyone there wished that we could have got our hands on a set of green combats.  The only army green clothing we received was raingear, which did come in handy.

I guess my point is that I hope whatever happens with the Afghanistan mission, re-roleing, and any other creative manning solutions coming out of the smoke cloud around NDHQ, I hope the brass makes sure that everyone going overseas is properly kitted, trained, and totally ready (including some army work-ups) for the mission.  If people from my branch of the service are heading over I want them to be fully prepared for whatever comes from Uncle Mohammed Omar.  I have faith at this moment that things will not get too silly, especially when there are so many Canadian lives at stake.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

I guess my point is that I hope whatever happens with the Afghanistan mission, re-roleing, and any other creative manning solutions coming out of the smoke cloud around NDHQ, I hope the brass makes sure that everyone going overseas is properly kitted, trained, and totally ready (including some army work-ups) for the mission.  If people from my branch of the service are heading over I want them to be fully prepared for whatever comes from Uncle Mohammed Omar.  I have faith at this moment that things will not get too silly, especially when there are so many Canadian lives at stake.

These are not evil or stupid people - in fact they are us, just in different jobs.  It will all work out.

 

[geo]

Tasop,
Prior to deployment overseas, there is a battery of things to take care of - Kit & training being only two of them..... If you get the nod, you'll be prepared - otherwise they won't send ya.

 

[KevinB]

small hi-jack -- at the Fires all we (PPCLI - hence Army) where allowed to wear was the nomex coveralls we where given by the BC Forestry folk
B Coy got a unit comendation since we went into Kelowna and did the job - stuck on fire trucks with only nomex coveralls for more than 21 hours the first night out.

The military will do the job -- ideally by well trained and well equipt troops -- if not, then by who ever is there.

Suck it up you take the Queen's Shilling at your peril.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Ruxted has weighed in here: http://ruxted.ca/index.php?/archives/29-Ordering-Priorities-Retention,-Recruiting,-Reassignment.html stating that reassignment (re-roleing (if that’s a word)) is just a band-aid on a symptom.  The real problem, Ruxted says, is: too few people – navy, army and air force, combat and support.

Ruxted agrees that we need to recruit many thousand new soldiers but it suggests that retention is the key – on the basis that if we retain more then we can recruit and train fewer.

Ruxted is also worried that a failure to retain our good people means that we deprive ourselves of a corps of leaders which we need for our longer term future.

Ruxted:

• Offers a few concrete suggestions for both retention and recruiting; and

• Suggest that the solutions are well within the purview of Defence Minister O’Connor and Gen. Rick Hillier.

 

[Victor17]

It would appear that some industrious CF individuals are taking all of the parental leave that they can so that they can avoid the deployment ..........

Would be an interesting time to do a quick stat check and see if there's a sudden increase in members having kids...

 

[kierankyllo]

I just hope we don't end up outsourcing support roles to KBR and Halliburton in a futile attempt to get more boots on the ground.  Discuss.

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

I just hope we don't end up outsourcing support roles to KBR and Halliburton in a futile attempt to get more boots on the ground.  Discuss.

And why not?  What makes you say "futile"?

 

[COBRA-6]

I just hope we don't end up outsourcing support roles to KBR and Halliburton in a futile attempt to get more boots on the ground.  Discuss.

Are you referring to security contractors or technical support, if it's the latter then we have done this with CANCAP previously. Some trades are critically short, and utilizing tech contractors for inside-the-wire tasks would help take the load off. I think we are doing this with CFS Alert already.

 

[kierankyllo]

I suppose futile is not the best choice of word, outsourcing does allow for more soldiers being soldiers.  Corporations have their own profitability in mind when conducting business and these goals may not be in line with the goals of a particular military operation. 

 

[bilton090]

01-07 roto has been changed from 6 month's to 7, some of the purple trades or support trades do 9 month's no problem, but don't go past
the wire at the Kaf. The Inf. & Eng's do 3 weeks + at the FOB's, 2-3 days in KAF (R&R), then back to the FOB's, they are getting burned out. One Hvy. Eqpt. Op. there now has had 3 piece's of kit blow-en out from under him in a month, talk about shell shock !
  2,500 per's there now but only 800 fighting troops ? 

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

bilton090 that rest and reschedule program hasn't been in effect in many places for a long time.  Guys have done anywhere between a month to 2 months without a chance to get into KAF.  Now I should also mention many of these FOB's are getting the niceties now BUT the equipment needs to be fixed, laundry needs to be done, and those that never had shower kit before the showers arrived and warm get need to get that as well.