- Reaction score
- 9,243
- Points
- 1,260
I ripped this from another page. It appears as if Gen Jeffery is standing up to Liberal abuse. Is this a sign of moral courage in the higher ranks?!?
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Military 'hobbling around on crutches'
Jeff Lee
Vancouver Sun
Wednesday, February 13, 2002
The military in B.C. is facing a $1-million shortfall this year, in part because of increased security and recruitment costs after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York.
But that shortfall is just a fraction of the problem facing the Canadian Armed Forces as it strains to meet increasing demands for overseas missions without more money from Ottawa, a brigade commander from Vancouver said Tuesday.
"We are past the point of eating into the muscle of the military. I'd say we've amputated a few limbs and we're hobbling around on crutches right now," Colonel Paul Crober, leader of 39 Canadian Brigade Group, said in an interview.
Crober said that at his level, where he is responsible for a force of about 1,500 people -- mainly reservists -- he can't even muster the funds to hold a single major exercise.
Crober said his brigade has currently overspent its $13-million budget by more than $1.5 million, but expects to trim that deficit back to about $1 million by the end of March.
Increased security measures installed post-Sept. 11 were the brigade's largest new cost. It also spent more on unexpected training.
More than 200 people signed up for reserve service in the province's 14 units since September. While the brigade was instructed to accept the new recruits, it didn't have the extra $10,000-per-soldier it costs to give them basic training, he said.
The military encountered "credible threats" to its facilities and staff following the terrorist attacks in New York, resulting in heightened security and the closing off of unrestricted access to all military installations. In one case, officers discovered a bomb made out of propane tanks outside the Bessborough Armoury on West 11th Avenue in Vancouver. A police bomb squad safely disarmed the device.
Across the country, the military's financial picture is also bleak, said Crober.
"The regular army is incapable of putting up a single battle group. There is not one regular army unit in this country that is up to strength, and we have to rob other companies and reserve units in order to do our job," he said.
Crober's critical comments come as the Chief of Land Staff, Lieutenant-General Mike Jeffery, is holding a two-day army council meeting in Vancouver. They follow on an interview in which Brigadier-General Ivan Fenton, commander of Land Forces Western Area, said he doesn't have enough soldiers for second peacekeeping tour of Bosnia next year.
Adding to that chorus of voices Tuesday was another high-ranking officer, Major-General Ed Fitch, who is responsible for overseeing a renewal of Canada's reserve forces. Fitch, a former commanding officer of the now-closed army base at Chilliwack, said the military is not able to sustain its current reserve forces and will need another $142 million by the end of 2005 in order just to stabilize them.
Fitch said the nation doesn't even have a mobilization plan that can spell out how the army is supposed to meet its growing international commitments, let alone be prepared for a major conflict.
"It is a balance between tasks and resources and we are not able to balance that right now. You've got an army on starvation rations. The fat is gone," Fitch said.
The frank comments of Crober, Fitch and Fenton are a result of Jeffery's decision to remove gags on his subordinates after the federal Liberal government's decision not to put more money into stabilizing the army.
The officers said the change reflects Jeffery's view that they should candidly answer questions from the public about the state of Armed Forces. In the past, officers have shied away from the topic, not wanted to embarrass the government.
jefflee@pacpress.southam.ca
? Copyright 2002 Vancouver Sun
***
Military 'hobbling around on crutches'
Jeff Lee
Vancouver Sun
Wednesday, February 13, 2002
The military in B.C. is facing a $1-million shortfall this year, in part because of increased security and recruitment costs after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York.
But that shortfall is just a fraction of the problem facing the Canadian Armed Forces as it strains to meet increasing demands for overseas missions without more money from Ottawa, a brigade commander from Vancouver said Tuesday.
"We are past the point of eating into the muscle of the military. I'd say we've amputated a few limbs and we're hobbling around on crutches right now," Colonel Paul Crober, leader of 39 Canadian Brigade Group, said in an interview.
Crober said that at his level, where he is responsible for a force of about 1,500 people -- mainly reservists -- he can't even muster the funds to hold a single major exercise.
Crober said his brigade has currently overspent its $13-million budget by more than $1.5 million, but expects to trim that deficit back to about $1 million by the end of March.
Increased security measures installed post-Sept. 11 were the brigade's largest new cost. It also spent more on unexpected training.
More than 200 people signed up for reserve service in the province's 14 units since September. While the brigade was instructed to accept the new recruits, it didn't have the extra $10,000-per-soldier it costs to give them basic training, he said.
The military encountered "credible threats" to its facilities and staff following the terrorist attacks in New York, resulting in heightened security and the closing off of unrestricted access to all military installations. In one case, officers discovered a bomb made out of propane tanks outside the Bessborough Armoury on West 11th Avenue in Vancouver. A police bomb squad safely disarmed the device.
Across the country, the military's financial picture is also bleak, said Crober.
"The regular army is incapable of putting up a single battle group. There is not one regular army unit in this country that is up to strength, and we have to rob other companies and reserve units in order to do our job," he said.
Crober's critical comments come as the Chief of Land Staff, Lieutenant-General Mike Jeffery, is holding a two-day army council meeting in Vancouver. They follow on an interview in which Brigadier-General Ivan Fenton, commander of Land Forces Western Area, said he doesn't have enough soldiers for second peacekeeping tour of Bosnia next year.
Adding to that chorus of voices Tuesday was another high-ranking officer, Major-General Ed Fitch, who is responsible for overseeing a renewal of Canada's reserve forces. Fitch, a former commanding officer of the now-closed army base at Chilliwack, said the military is not able to sustain its current reserve forces and will need another $142 million by the end of 2005 in order just to stabilize them.
Fitch said the nation doesn't even have a mobilization plan that can spell out how the army is supposed to meet its growing international commitments, let alone be prepared for a major conflict.
"It is a balance between tasks and resources and we are not able to balance that right now. You've got an army on starvation rations. The fat is gone," Fitch said.
The frank comments of Crober, Fitch and Fenton are a result of Jeffery's decision to remove gags on his subordinates after the federal Liberal government's decision not to put more money into stabilizing the army.
The officers said the change reflects Jeffery's view that they should candidly answer questions from the public about the state of Armed Forces. In the past, officers have shied away from the topic, not wanted to embarrass the government.
jefflee@pacpress.southam.ca
? Copyright 2002 Vancouver Sun
