He might listen to this commitee.-Article on Underfunding

[John Nayduk]

Here's a chance for us to lose the last shred of credability we might still have with our allies.

By ALLISON DUNFIELD
Globe and Mail Update


A Senate committee on national security and defence released a bleak report Tuesday on the financial crisis facing Canada's military, saying that Canada's troops need an immediate funding injection of $4-billion to survive.

Titled "From the Bottom Up", the report also recommends withdrawal of troops from all overseas missions following the completion of their deployment and further says a moratorium of 30 months should be placed on further overseas missions.

"Money alone will not solve the problem," Senator Colin Kenny, who heads the Senate committee, said Tuesday at an Ottawa press conference.

In a speech last week, Defence Minister John McCallum said he will cut administrative fat and outdated weapon systems out of the Canadian Forces, and acknowledged that he is looking for money for more troops and modern equipment.

Mr. McCalllum is currently in Europe attending NATO meetings.

Tuesday's report was based in part on interviews with officers and enlisted personnel at 15 military bases across Canada.

It is the first in a series of interim reports to be issued under its current mandate to "review matters relating to national defence and security generally, including veterans affairs."

 

[toms3]

I am getting so tired of this. I don’t know whether to be happy, mad or sad. 30 months of no operations. Gee...great... Can we please have some real, tangible good news? Yes...we are getting fancy trucks, but that is small potato‘s compared to the larger issues. Every day I read an article saying that the military needs financial help, then the next day you read another one that says fat chance of that ever happening. What’s going to happen in the New Year if the budget has nothing or very little for the forces. I expect people will retire on mass. It almost feels like a plot...a long-term plot...to what end I have no idea. However, to continually pay token or little attention for so long that we are in the position we are in now is ridiculous.

 

[Harry]

Administrative fat and outdated weapons systems.

HMMM, haven‘t we been down that road before. Especially when the real fat admin, I.E. NDHQ is tasked to execute the trim.

Never fails to amaze me at how over burgeoned those hallowed cubicled floors there seem to always download the cuts to the bottom end and they continue on in a nepotistic glee of self absorbed ritualistic self importance to substantiate the necessity for STAFF O‘s, and lots of them.

I was always intrigued when they substantiated en masse reductions in ncm jobs, roles and tasks and miraculously discovered that they had to create a Staff O position to oversea a new project, cell or responsibility that bore a similarity.

There will be an interesting couple of months leading into the summer months. Maybe that‘s why Papa Doc Crouton wants to zap Kyoto on the oil patch in Alberta. Reduce the available good paying jobs to dissuade a mass exodus, :blotto: (how‘s that for a conspiracy theory, LOL)

As for antiquated equipment, oh god, in a weird way, this might turn into something funny… All the branch heads fighting for survival and empirical superiority. Who needs a war to thin the ranks when this will turn into an exercise akin to the ‘Night of the Long Knives‘.

Stay tuned for a moral busting O Group near you.

 

[toms3]

"Papa Doc Crouton" that kills me everytime I read it...

 

[the patriot]

Just be happy that this is a Senate Committee, not a Royal Commission that would take ten years to tell us the bloody obvious. But that‘s okay.... really it is!!!! :blotto:

-the patriot-

 

[Harry]

Patriot, you are a real optimist.

Do you recall the Somalia Inquiry, it would be the same.

Just as all the Dirty Laundry is about to be exposed, the whole thing would be **** canned. If Papa Doc Crouton had not killed the Somalia thing, I bet a lot of the probs today would have been addressed in one form or another already.

But I digress