The Defence Budget [superthread]

[jollyjacktar]

I'm sure it will be good news.  Wednesday the 3rd is McHappy day.  ;D

 

[daftandbarmy]

I'm sure it will be good news.  Wednesday the 3rd is McHappy day.  ;D

It's also my 20th wedding anniversary..... just sayin'

 

[PuckChaser]

I thought I read somewhere that he'd only be speaking for 10 minutes (that somewhere can't be linked to...)?

Won't take long to tell us the new Defense Policy will be to GBA+ everything, and that current and future funding cuts are acceptable.  >

I don't think this is the announcement on the review. They'd announce it as such with big fanfare.

 

[Eagle_Eye_View]

They'll most likely announce the Defence review just before the parliament's dismissal for summer break.

 

[Journeyman]

They'll most likely announce the Defence review just before the parliament's dismissal for summer break.

....via Twitter; 140 characters should be enough: 

Donald says slackers; we count 2% GDP… differently. CAF has LOTS of money. Peacekeeping cool; F35 bad. Canada is back.
The Architect sends.

 

[The Bread Guy]

....via Twitter; 140 characters should be enough: 

Donald says slackers; we count 2% GDP… differently. CAF has LOTS of money. Peacekeeping cool; F35 bad. Canada is back.
The Architect sends.

The bit in yellow for the WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[George Wallace]

I think we are headed in this direction; looking at the alignment of the stars:

 

[MilEME09]

Journeyman I will forever call him by the callsign "The Architect" for the rest of my life. GW: Given the failed promises, and everything else negative that has happened to the liberals in not even two full years yet, the attack ads will have a lot of ammo next election and I think the LPC will have a hard time holding onto a majority government, we may even see the next CPC leader as PM depending how bad things go over the next two years.

 

[George Wallace]

Debatable.  The memories of the Canadian Public are very short.

 

[Rifleman62]

Interesting interview this a.m. See extract highlights. I don't think Mr Trudeau and Butts are going to get away with being ultra lightweights on Defence. If the US is looking at all alliances then certainly they will want Canada to contribute more to NORAD. If we are lucky Trudeau will have the F-35 jammed down his throat.

The US has a huge stick to negotiate (demand) with Canada - dairy, softwood, F-35 production, POL, and now Boeing is after Bombardier re C series.

http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2017/04/30/lt-gen-h-r-mcmaster-on-foreign-policy-sen-schumer-on-president-trumps-first-100-days.html

Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster (President's National Security Advisor) on foreign policy. 30 Apr 17 Extract from Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace transcript.


WALLACE: President Trump, changing just a little bit, but same region, said this week that South Korea should pay for the missile defense system that we have installed there, the THAAD system, $1 billion. There is a report today that you called your South Korean counterpart and said, no, the old agreement was that we the United States pay that billion dollars and we’re going to stick by that.

Is that true?

MCMASTER: Well, the last thing I would ever do is contradict the president of the United States, you know? But -- and that's not what it was. In fact, what I told our South Korean counterpart is until any renegotiation that the deal is in place. We’ll adhere to our word.

But what the president has asked us to do is to look across all of our alliances and to have appropriate burden-sharing, responsibility-sharing. We are looking at that with a great ally, South Korea. We’re looking at that with NATO.

And what you’ve seen because of the president's leadership, more and more nations are contributing more to our collective defense.

WALLACE: So, the question of who pays the billion dollars is still up in the air?

MCMASTER: The question of what is the relationship on THAAD, on our defense relationship going forward, will be renegotiated as it’s going to be with all of our allies. Because what the president has said is, he will prioritize American citizens' security and interests. And to do that, we need strong alliances. But also to do that effectively, and a way that is sustainable economically, we need everybody to pay their fair share.

 

[YZT580]

It doesn't take much to add up to a whole lot of hurt financially for Canada, far more than 2% since much of that can be written off under other headings such as regional development, arctic development, coast guard, etc. 

 

[Loachman]

Donald Trump MCAFGA...

There should be hats.

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

Donald Trump MCAFGA...

There should be hats.

:rofl: priceless

 

[jollyjacktar]

Sajjan to reveal military spending 'hole' in set-up for new defence policy

The Canadian Press
Published May 3, 2017 - 5:02am
Last Updated May 3, 2017 - 6:12am

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is expected to set the stage Wednesday for the Liberals' much-anticipated defence policy by casting a glaring light on what senior defence sources say is a massive "hole" in military spending.

The hole has been caused by years of under-investment in the Canadian Armed Forces, the sources argue, and resulted in little-to-no money for the replacement of essential but aging equipment.

That includes new logistical vehicles and construction equipment such as bulldozers for the army, surveillance aircraft for the air force, and satellites for communications in the Arctic.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity.

The shortfall, which adds up to tens of billions of dollars, also includes upgrades to the military's current fleet of search-and-rescue helicopters and training for aircrews.

The result is that work that should have already been underway to acquire a long list of equipment and services that the military needs to do its job has been stalled, the sources said, if it has started at all.

Training and even support and benefits for military personnel have also failed to keep up.

The full extent of the problem hasn't been well understood outside National Defence even by experts, the sources said, and caught the Liberals by surprise when they took office in November 2015.

It has since posed a real challenge as the government has drawn up its new defence policy, which is expected to be unveiled before NATO leaders gather in Belgium later this month.

The hole will be Sajjan's main focus when the minister addresses defence industry representatives and experts at a Conference of Defence Associations Institute luncheon on Wednesday.

Sajjan is not expected to reveal how the Liberals plan to address the problem, including whether the government plans to put more money into the military or scrap some planned purchases.

Those details will have to wait for the actual defence policy, which the government says will be fully costed.

The Liberals ran in the last election on a promise to create a "leaner, more agile" military, but the sources noted the government wants more than the 65 new fighter jets previously promised by the Conservatives.

Canada is also facing pressure from the U.S. and NATO to increase its defence spending, which currently sits at around one per cent of GDP — half NATO's two-per-cent target.

The presence of a gap between what the military needs and the money available won't come as a surprise to some defence analysts who have been warning about such a problem for years.

David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute has previously estimated a gap of about $2 billion per year between current funding levels and promised new equipment in the next few years.

The Parliamentary Budget Office released its own assessment in March 2015 that said the country's military structure would become unsustainable over the next decade under existing defence spending levels.

A variety of factors have been blamed for the problem, including poor cost estimates during project planning and government's refusal to add more money when delays result in cost increases from inflation.

Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of defence staff, told The Canadian Press in an interview in March that he was eager to see the new defence policy, which has promised to put the military on a strong footing.

"The here and now is fine, we're delivering," Vance said. "But going forward, that's when the government committed to sustainable, progressive armed forces."

Sajjan has been under intense pressure over the past few days after having to apologize and retract comments he made about his role in Operation Medusa in Afghanistan.

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press


http://navy.ca/forums/index.php?action=post;topic=82898.0;last_msg=1486961

And yet, the CDS say's were so flush with money we can't even spend it...  :stars: 

I think it's more like, the procurement process is so fucked, broken and byzantine, we can't spend what little we get with all the red tape.  The red tape factories must be the ones making out like bandits with all the product they're apparently selling to the government (TB and PSPC).

 

[jmt18325]

That article seems to speak to incoming money....

 

[Journeyman]

So, the same government that stripped $8.4 billion out of the equipment budget in March now magically discovers there's a  massive "hole" in military spending.

      anic:


Mind you, news readership keeps seeing claims that North Korea's weapons are fake amidst a year's worth of reports of consistently failing ballistic missile tests, accepting that NK is an imminent existential threat....

 

[Flavus101]

That article seems to speak to incoming money....

I'll believe it when it happens.

Just because they are finally starting to realize how much we are starving for more money to actually conduct decent training and to be able to procure modern kit for said training does not mean they will do anything about it.

Call me cynical but this could just be a way for the MND to put his recent slip-up behind him and get back in the good books with members of the CAF by appearing to champion serious issues that significantly affect us.

 

[jollyjacktar]

I'll believe it when it happens.

Just because they are finally starting to realize how much we are starving for more money to actually conduct decent training and to be able to procure modern kit for said training does not mean they will do anything about it.

Call me cynical but this could just be a way for the MND to put his recent slip-up behind him and get back in the good books with members of the CAF by appearing to champion serious issues that significantly affect us.

Whatever is coming was earmarked (or not) well before his new found fame as an internet meme.  I am sure he's hoping (if it could be viewed as good news) to deflect the slings and arrows that are flying like English Arrows at Agincourt.

 

[MilEME09]

Call me cynical but this could just be a way for the MND to put his recent slip-up behind him and get back in the good books with members of the CAF by appearing to champion serious issues that significantly affect us.

I'll believe that when we see boot's, Tac vests made for fighting a war, major projects that do not take 10 years (I mean come on they've come and said the project to replace the Browning HP will take 10 years, 10 bloody years for a damn pistol!) Championing an issue in my books means he gets things done, so far I don't see him fighting for DND, if DND's budget had to be sent back for pruning, how much fight did the minister put against that? if none then he is no champion for DND.

 

[Rifleman62]

Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of defence staff, told The Canadian Press in an interview in March that he was eager to see the new defence policy....

Does this mean he has no idea what it will be? The military must have had some input. Did the military do a draft based on the parameters the government gave them or is Mr Butts just writing it in isolation?