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From Globe and Mail - 12 Mar 04
Canada‘s reserves to act as a homeland defence force: senior official
Winnipeg â †Canada‘s army reserves will be trained and equipped as a homeland defence force that could respond to terrorist threats, including chemical, biological and nuclear attacks, says a senior defence official in Ottawa.
It‘s just one part of an expanded role for the reserves that will see the part-time soldiers forge deeper links with civil authorities such as police and firefighting forces, said Maj.-Gen. Ed Fitch, commander of the Land Force Reserve Restructure project.
That new role will lead to a better response to domestic emergencies, Maj.-Gen. Fitch said in an interview this week from Ottawa.
Other plans call for the creation of armed security platoons that could be deployed within hours to support civil authorities, Maj.-Gen. Fitch said.
"It‘s all about getting the army ready for this century of surprises, and the reserves have an important part in that.
"The reserves have been left out of anything transformational for the last 30 or 40 years, but we‘ve woken up and we‘re moving quickly to make sure they‘re relevant, sustainable and viable."
There are about 15,000 reserve soldiers in Canada. Plans are to raise that number to 18,500 by 2006. Critics say the number should be at least 25,000.
While the risk of a terrorist attack, either domestic or foreign in origin, may be low, Maj.-Gen. Fitch said it‘s the job of the military "to imagine the unimaginable and put preparations in place."
"Look at Madrid," he said, referring to terrorist attacks Thursday that killed at least 190 people and wounded almost 1,500.
Two 30-member, reserve-force platoons being trained in Canada‘s capital region will demonstrate their skills in front of key national policy-makers during a cross-training exercise with civil agencies this fall, the general said.
The plan is to provide similar skills and the necessary equipment to reserve units located in 115 communities across the country, a process that could take several years, Maj.-Gen. Fitch explained.
There is a question about how many new skills can be "stuffed into a part-time soldier," he acknowledged, but added skills will be tailored to the needs of local communities.
The regular army recently established a 150-soldier-strong company in Trenton, Ont., to deal exclusively with biological, chemical and nuclear threats.
The unit would respond to an attack anywhere in Canada, but it could take a few days before it was deployed as the army would wait to see if it was an isolated attack, Maj.-Gen. Fitch explained. Local emergency crews would be the first responders.
"I think there‘s going to be a great demand for security, and that demand will quickly go beyond what your local police force can manage," he said.
However, the reserves, who are spread out thinly across the country, are not the total answer, Maj.-Gen. Fitch added.
"But we can have a good effect in some places."
National Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan has announced a series of initiatives to boost security. They mainly involve a reconfiguration of several security agencies and a promise to increase the number of reserve troops available to handle disasters and other emergencies.
From Globe and Mail - 12 Mar 04
Canada‘s reserves to act as a homeland defence force: senior official
Winnipeg â †Canada‘s army reserves will be trained and equipped as a homeland defence force that could respond to terrorist threats, including chemical, biological and nuclear attacks, says a senior defence official in Ottawa.
It‘s just one part of an expanded role for the reserves that will see the part-time soldiers forge deeper links with civil authorities such as police and firefighting forces, said Maj.-Gen. Ed Fitch, commander of the Land Force Reserve Restructure project.
That new role will lead to a better response to domestic emergencies, Maj.-Gen. Fitch said in an interview this week from Ottawa.
Other plans call for the creation of armed security platoons that could be deployed within hours to support civil authorities, Maj.-Gen. Fitch said.
"It‘s all about getting the army ready for this century of surprises, and the reserves have an important part in that.
"The reserves have been left out of anything transformational for the last 30 or 40 years, but we‘ve woken up and we‘re moving quickly to make sure they‘re relevant, sustainable and viable."
There are about 15,000 reserve soldiers in Canada. Plans are to raise that number to 18,500 by 2006. Critics say the number should be at least 25,000.
While the risk of a terrorist attack, either domestic or foreign in origin, may be low, Maj.-Gen. Fitch said it‘s the job of the military "to imagine the unimaginable and put preparations in place."
"Look at Madrid," he said, referring to terrorist attacks Thursday that killed at least 190 people and wounded almost 1,500.
Two 30-member, reserve-force platoons being trained in Canada‘s capital region will demonstrate their skills in front of key national policy-makers during a cross-training exercise with civil agencies this fall, the general said.
The plan is to provide similar skills and the necessary equipment to reserve units located in 115 communities across the country, a process that could take several years, Maj.-Gen. Fitch explained.
There is a question about how many new skills can be "stuffed into a part-time soldier," he acknowledged, but added skills will be tailored to the needs of local communities.
The regular army recently established a 150-soldier-strong company in Trenton, Ont., to deal exclusively with biological, chemical and nuclear threats.
The unit would respond to an attack anywhere in Canada, but it could take a few days before it was deployed as the army would wait to see if it was an isolated attack, Maj.-Gen. Fitch explained. Local emergency crews would be the first responders.
"I think there‘s going to be a great demand for security, and that demand will quickly go beyond what your local police force can manage," he said.
However, the reserves, who are spread out thinly across the country, are not the total answer, Maj.-Gen. Fitch added.
"But we can have a good effect in some places."
National Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan has announced a series of initiatives to boost security. They mainly involve a reconfiguration of several security agencies and a promise to increase the number of reserve troops available to handle disasters and other emergencies.
