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Op PRESENCE/Mali (Cdn mission/s, sitreps, etc. - merged)

Dimsum:

Embarrassed by unwillingness to take more active direct troop support role for CH-146s. As for CC-177, CAF has been happy to publicize their support (in Op FREQUENCE) of #France's Op Barkhane combat counterterrorism mission in Sahel/Mali:
http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/operations-abroad-current/op-frequence.page

Photo in Central African Republic:

frequence.jpg


Mark
Ottawa
 
If the Griffon's are already up flying doing 'something other than escort for the Chinook', who is going to do the escort piece for the Chinook?  Griffon's were used for escort in Afghanistan, and the 2 TacHel assets from Canada would be better working together than splitting them up (IMO...I'm obviously not a TacHel type).  Mali isn't the only theatre we have TacHel operating in.  We don't have the biggest fleets on the globe...

Joint Task Force-Iraq includes a CAF air component.  Air Task Force-Iraq supports Coalition air operations with air assets and crews. This includes:

•one CC-150 Polaris aerial refueller
•two CC-130J Hercules tactical airlift aircraft. They support the movement of Coalition personnel and cargo in the region
•a tactical aviation detachment. It includes up to four CH-146 Griffon helicopters. They carry Canadian troops, equipment, and supplies in theatre near Baghdad. The Griffons can do casualty evacuations if required.  A variety of self-defence weapons are fitted to the aircraft
•associated aircrew and support crews

As for the GlobeMaster...we can't be everyone's taxi.  Our transport fleet(s) are running non-stop now.  Moving some allies kit/personnel around in theatre (or at least, the same continent) is much easier than bringing other assets from farther away.  Also note, 2 of our J Models are part of ATF-1.  That means 2 airframes, air and ground crews deployed 24/7/365.  From experience, that sounds easier and less of a resource demand than it is in reality. 

:2c:
 
In addition, the C-17/Herc fleet is used in support of our other fleets too.  For example, if the Auroras are planning to go somewhere for exercise/ops, then there's a need for transport aircraft to carry spare parts and mission-related kit that they can't bring themselves.  I imagine most other fleets have similar requirements.

For the OP BARKHANE bit, I imagine that our bird was already in the area (probably bringing Canadian stuff for our mission) and could help out before returning to Canada or whatever tasking was next.  It gives us goodwill and coalition points, as well as PR points.  Unless that was actively hurting a national tasking, I don't see the problem.
 
Eye In The Sky said:
If the Griffon's are already up flying doing 'something other than escort for the Chinook', who is going to do the escort piece for the Chinook?  Griffon's were used for escort in Afghanistan, and the 2 TacHel assets from Canada would be better working together than splitting them up (IMO...I'm obviously not a TacHel type).  Mali isn't the only theatre we have TacHel operating in.  We don't have the biggest fleets on the globe...

Joint Task Force-Iraq includes a CAF air component.  Air Task Force-Iraq supports Coalition air operations with air assets and crews. This includes:

•one CC-150 Polaris aerial refueller
•two CC-130J Hercules tactical airlift aircraft. They support the movement of Coalition personnel and cargo in the region
•a tactical aviation detachment. It includes up to four CH-146 Griffon helicopters. They carry Canadian troops, equipment, and supplies in theatre near Baghdad. The Griffons can do casualty evacuations if required.  A variety of self-defence weapons are fitted to the aircraft
•associated aircrew and support crews

As for the GlobeMaster...we can't be everyone's taxi.  Our transport fleet(s) are running non-stop now.  Moving some allies kit/personnel around in theatre (or at least, the same continent) is much easier than bringing other assets from farther away.  Also note, 2 of our J Models are part of ATF-1.  That means 2 airframes, air and ground crews deployed 24/7/365.  From experience, that sounds easier and less of a resource demand than it is in reality. 

:2c:

Tac Hel, with a space between "Tac" and "Hel"...

Griffons performed other roles in Afghanistan besides Chinook escort, depending upon priorities, availability, and serviceability.

This would likely be true in Mali as well, but the priority is medevac, so sufficient crews and machines must be protected in order to guarantee that that support is available at all times. Preservation of life, ie operational emergencies, would also be a priority.

There are more than four Griffons in Iraq, split between two different locations.

Supporting three such distributed flying ops with our limited pers and hel resources is a little bit of a challenge.

I am not sure what flying time limits may apply in each location, but scheduled major inspections take a couple of months, either at a civ contractor or 400 Squadron in Borden, and require an aircraft swap to do so. Hours must, therefore, be carefully managed.
 
Wow! I smell a dead UN Security Council seat (not that it really is worth much except trouble in having to take sides sometimes on tough matters--though voting to extend peacekeeping missions we won't take part in would be easy):

Canada to deploy cargo plane part time for UN missions in new year
...
A Canadian military Hercules transport will soon begin once-a-week support missions for United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa, the country's top military commander said.

Those flights, by a C-130J, will eventually morph to a full-fledged deployment and deliver on the second in a long list of capabilities promised over a year ago by the Liberal government at a star-studded international conference in Vancouver...

The aircraft being used will split its time between supporting operations in Iraq and flying out Entebbe, Uganda, for the UN.

A letter to assist, which sets out the terms of the arrangement with the UN, has yet to be finalized and Vance defended the amount of time it has taken to fulfil what was expected to be an easy promise...

There has been frustration with Canada at UN headquarters in New York. After many lofty, high-profile words of political support, the Liberal government has over the last three years turned down a number of specific peacekeeping requests, including mission command posts.

A copy of the 2017 list of requests for multilateral peace operations — known internally within government as the evergreen list — was obtained by CBC News under access-to-information legislation.

It shows that after being spurned throughout 2016 the UN appeared to scale back what it asked of Canada to only a handful of assignments involving single soldiers or pairs of soldiers, for leadership training or advising missions...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/SOMNIA-1.4958079

Mark
Ottawa
 
Arrogant isn''t he?  We go in, show them the best way to do it right and then leave.  Pompous A£££
 
The aircraft will split time between Iraq and Uganda before it becomes full time deployed to Uganda... cynically reading between the lines for me says we're pulling the TAL Det out of IMPACT this year to fulfill a campaign promise rather than support our folks downrange.
 
PuckChaser said:
The aircraft will split time between Iraq and Uganda before it becomes full time deployed to Uganda... cynically reading between the lines for me says we're pulling the TAL Det out of IMPACT this year to fulfill a campaign promise rather than support our folks downrange.

Weeeeeeeeeeee!
 
Great picture!  I'd like it even more without the UN patch on the helo and the blue helmet covers. 
 
"Uh, yeah, about that -- will you look at the time?  We were just leaving ..."
As Canada’s military mission races to leave Mali and the United Nations pleads for it to stay, the European Union is making a fresh appeal to the Canadian Forces to partner with it in the West African country.

Gen. Esa Pulkkinen, director general of the EU’s military staff, told The Canadian Press that he has asked the Canadian government to bring its military training expertise to Mali as part of a broader effort to stamp out Islamic extremism in Africa’s Sahel region.

Pulkkinen said he’s aware of the context of his request – it comes as Canada faces pressure from the UN to extend its Mali peacekeeping mission in order to bridge a gap until Romanian replacements can arrive.

But he says Canada would make a great bilateral partner with the EU’s military training efforts in West Africa, which he says are crucial to stamping out security threats to Europe.

Those threats include the mass northward migration to Europe, an increase in the smuggling of arms, drugs and human trafficking, as well as terrorism.

Pulkkinen was in Ottawa this past week, and said he was planning to make a formal request to Canadian officials after raising the matter informally.

“I need brains. I don’t need the quantities,” he said.

“Your officer training is top level in the world. More importantly, you have French language skills as well, which we need when we provide advice for our Malian friends.”

Pulkkinen already commands 1,000 troops in Somalia, the Central African Republic and Mali, and is partnering with the United States on various missions on the continent. He said the EU wants to ramp up its presence in Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad as well ...
More @ link
 
Oh boy. Just what Canada does not need, an extended mission inMali to needlessly expend the country’s blood and treasure.
 
NOW Team Orange gets all military - from the info-machinen ...
NDP: Trudeau Must Accept UN Request to Extend Mali Mission, Help Ensure Operation Success

OTTAWA – Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has buried a formal request from the United Nations asking Canada to extend its mission in Mali until replacements arrive. For at least a month, Prime Minister Trudeau has been misleading the public by claiming that the UN only asked Canada to stay for one year which is up on August 1.

    “Last month when we visited Mali, the Defence Committee clearly heard that Canada ending our mission in Mali before our Romanian replacements can arrive in mid-October not only risks lives but also our international reputation as peacekeepers,” said NDP Defence Critic Randall Garrison (Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke). “Now that the UN has formally requested an extension, the Liberals must give up their line that the UN only asked us to commit for one year and should extend the mission. Neither the world nor Canada can afford a failed state in Mali and the humanitarian catastrophe and safe haven for terrorism that would result.”

Canada has 250 military personnel and eight helicopters in Mali where they have been providing essential medical evacuations as well as troop and equipment transportation across a vast and unstable country. The Canadian mission in Mali has provided central support to UN peacekeepers in their work defending schools, hospitals, transportation and food dissemination. Just last week over 130 villagers were killed in an attack in Central Mali.

    “Leaving our friends and allies without essential medical evacuation and transportation for three months drastically limits the capacity of the UN mission,” said Garrison. “The international community must succeed in Mali if we are to avoid a major humanitarian disaster and the increase in drug trafficking, gun trafficking, human trafficking and enormous refugee flows that would result from a failed state in Mali.”

    “Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan will be in New York for a major UN peacekeeping summit later this week,” said Garrison. “This would be a perfect opportunity to heed the call of our friends and allies. Extending the Mali mission until Romanian troops arrive would save lives as well as our international reputation.”
 
Earlier:

Canadian peacekeepers evacuated injured French counter-terror troops in Mali

Canadian peacekeepers were called upon to evacuate several wounded French soldiers in Mali earlier this month after their patrol was ambushed while hunting for militants along the border with Niger.

The previously unreported incident marks the first time the Canadians have been asked to help non-United Nations forces in Mali, where the French have been conducting counter-insurgency operations since 2014 [emphasis added, Op Barkhane].

Canada has eight helicopters and 250 military personnel in Mali, where they have been providing emergency medical evacuations and transporting troops and equipment across a large swath of the remote African country.

The Canadians have conducted seven other medical evacuations since August, all of which involved injured UN troops and workers.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, the commander of Canada's task force in Mali said the UN and France have agreed to help each other in extreme circumstances and that his peacekeepers did their jobs by helping save lives.


"I wouldn't want people to presume or assume that we're supporting counter-terrorism efforts," said Col. Travis Morehen
[emphasis added, God forbid]. "But it's really at this point about saving allied lives."

News of the French evacuation comes as the federal government is contemplating a formal UN request to extend its peacekeeping mission in Mali, which is currently set to end at the end of July.

France has about 3,000 heavily armed soldiers in Mali and the surrounding region hunting militants linked to al-Qaida, the Islamic State and other extremist groups through what is known as Operation Barkhane...
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/canadian-peacekeepers-evacuated-injured-french-counter-terror-troops-in-mali-1.4351905

Meanwhile look who's helping Barkhane directly:

Denmark proposes deployment to France’s Operation Barkhane in the Sahel

The Danish government announced on Thursday, February 28 that it plans to send troops and equipment to support France’s Operation Barkhane in the Sahel.

The government’s plans, which must be approved by parliament, include sending two transport helicopters and around 70 soldiers to the region for a one-year period starting at the end of 2019.

“It is crucial for Danish and European security that we contribute to the stability of the area. The terrorist groups in the Sahel region threaten our common security,” said Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen in a statement.

“That is why we are stepping up with France to defeat them,” Samuelsen said, adding that it was he hoped the region could be stabilized to “prevent irregular migration towards Europe.”

The security situation in Mali and the entire Sahel region is worrying, and therefore Denmark should increase its involvement,” Defence Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen said, adding that “With a helicopter contribution to Operation Barkhane, we deliver a relevant and sought-after contribution.”

Frederiksen also focused on the government’s restrictive migration policy, saying that “it is important that we contribute to the fight against terrorism and prevent the flow of refugees.”

NATO member Denmark contributed to previous operations in Mali, deploying transport aircraft to the French-led Operation Serval in 2013, and personnel and equipment to the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, Minusma.

The recent unrest in the Sahel began in Mali in 2012 with Tuareg separatist uprising against the state, which was exploited by Islamist extremists linked to al-Qaeda who took key cities in the desert north.

France began its Operation Serval military intervention in its former colony early the next year, driving the militants from the towns, but the jihadist groups morphed into more nimble formations operating in rural areas, sometimes winning over local populations by providing basic services and protection from bandits.

The insurgency has gradually spread to central and southern regions of Mali, and across the borders into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Large swathes of the country remain outside government control, despite a 2015 peace accord designed to isolate the Islamists.

The French mission evolved into the current Operation Barkhane, which has roughly 4,500 French personnel deployed with a mandate for counter-terrorism operations across the region. Three U.K. Royal Air Force Chinook heavy lift helicopters based in Gao have since August 2018 supported French troops in Mali, and 50 Estonian soldiers are deployed in Gao in a force-protection capacity [emphasis added].

Troops deployed to Barkhane work alongside the U.N. Minusma stabilization mission in Mali, which began in 2013 and has about 12,000 troops and 1,750 police deployed, as well as the G5 Sahel joint counter-terrorism force that aims to train and deploy up to 5,000 personnel.
https://thedefensepost.com/2019/02/28/denmark-sahel-deployment-operation-barkhane/

Just not Justin's cup of tea, unlike those bloodthirsty Danes and Estonians, eh?

Mark
Ottawa
 
"Sure, we'll send a Herc, buuuut ..."
The United Nations is pushing back against restrictions Canada wants to put on the use of a military transport plane it promised to deploy in Africa.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first announced in November 2017 that Canada would send a C-130 Hercules to Uganda as part of a larger package of pledges to the UN.

The idea at the time was for the plane to ferry troops, equipment and supplies from the UN's logistics hub in Entebbe to different peacekeeping missions around the region.

Multiple sources say the offer of the plane came as a surprise to the UN, and the plan has run into numerous snags as Canadian, Ugandan and UN officials wrangle over the details.

One UN official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities, says Canada recently provided a list of conditions about where and when the plane can be used.

Those included a stipulation the plane only fly in daylight and only between Entebbe and five locations that, according to the UN official, either don't have any peacekeeping units or are easily accessible by road.

As a result, the UN told Canada the arrangement did not meet its needs.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan spokesman Todd Lane would not comment specifically on the concerns raised by the UN, but both sides say they continue to talk about the aircraft.

"We continue to be in discussions with the UN on how we can deliver on this pledge in a way that best fits the UN's current requirements," Lane said in an email.

News of the back-and-forth comes just ahead of a major peacekeeping summit in New York Friday, the first since Canada hosted a similar gathering in Vancouver, where Trudeau pledged the Hercules plane ...
More @ link
 
I've never really heard a good reason for this deployment to being with. If it was counter-terrorism, I would get that, but this cream puff stunt Trudeau is pulling over there is a waste of avgas.
 
Jarnhamar said:
We should also add no weapons aboard the hercs and demand the ground crews at the airstrips we land have gender parity.

I thought they had the gender parity thing sorted before the Mission got going?
 
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