Roll Up of CAF/Veteran/Invictus News - 16 May 24
VAC
13 May 2024 – Edmonton, AB – Today, at the University of Alberta’s Canadian Military, Veteran and Family Connected Campus Consortium (CMVFC3) Symposium, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, announced new support for organizations serving Veterans and their families across the country. This year, as part of Budget 2024, the Government of Canada proposes to invest an additional six million dollars through the Veteran and Family Well-being Fund (VFWF), bringing the total investment to $15 million over three years. Since 2018, the Government of Canada has supported 123 initiatives through this program, from research to new initiatives and projects that promote the well-being of Veterans and their families. A portion of these funds will be allocated to organizations and initiatives that support Veterans’ health and employment, as well as women, Indigenous, and 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans.
CAF | DND
Canada's Department of National Defence wins 2023 Code of Silence Award - Squamish Chief
Canada’s Department of National Defence taking three years to respond to a researcher’s information access request has earned it the Canadian Association of Journalists’ 2023 federal Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy. The researcher had asked for information about the cost of a controversial program to build new Canadian warships.
The military still has yet to decide whether it will proceed with the court martial of a colonel accused of allegedly making derogatory comments about the Canadian Forces leadership. National Defence issued a news release April 29 stating that military police had charged Col. Robert Kearney, assistant chief of staff at the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in Innsworth, United Kingdom. … Kearney had previously raised concerns about Canada’s military leaders in 2022 after serving senior Canadian military officers gave a standing ovation to a speech by a retired general who criticized everything from the removal of historical statues to government climate change policies.
Canadian Defense Minister: China Spy Balloon Was 'Wake-Up Call' to Modernize (airandspaceforces.com)
Canada’s defense minister said a Chinese spy balloon‘s infamous weeklong path over North America in 2023 was a “wake-up call” for his country, as he shuttled around Washington to sell Ottawa’s bolstered defense strategy to his American allies. “The balloon incident, I think, was a good wake-up call for all of us that we needed to do more,” Bill Blair told Air & Space Forces Magazine from the rooftop of the Canadian embassy during a news conference with the Capitol dome looming in the background May 13. “It really put a lot of energy behind NORAD modernization, for example, because we saw the limitation of our existing domain awareness assets.”
VIDEO: Defence Minister Bill Blair says Canada is still short of meeting its NATO commitment to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence but is making strides towards \ that goal, and new investments in military infrastructure inevitably will push spending past that target.
ON TARGET: Canadian Armed Forces: Top Heavy with Brass — espritdecorps
For months now the senior leadership of the Canadian military have been bemoaning the crippling shortfall of personnel in the ranks. Before a parliamentary committee last year Chief of the Defence Staff, General Wayne Eyre acknowledged that there are currently 16,500 vacant positions from a Canadian Armed Forces', combined regular & reserve authorized strength of 101,000. The reason for this crisis is a combination of the CAF's failure to attract recruits while simultaneously failing to retain trained personnel. For those who follow the affairs of the CAF closely it will be understood that General Eyre's numbers are somewhat misleading.
Defence Minister Bill Blair says that he is pushing for more military spending to meet Canada’s NATO commitments, but he still needs to do more work on the “business case” to secure the extra funding. “One of the great challenges of being a defence minister is securing funding, and the second one is actually spending it,” Blair said during a discussion at Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Atlantic Council.
This is a conversation series by Donna Kennedy-Glans, a writer and former Alberta cabinet minister, featuring newsmakers and intriguing personalities.
Lt.-Gen. (ret’d) Andrew Leslie is keen to talk about the embarrassing state of Canadian military preparedness. “The current prime minister of Canada is not serious about defence. Full stop. A large number of his cabinet members are not serious about defence. Full stop,” the former Liberal MP tells me.
Northern hubs to be pillar of Canada’s new defence policy, Blair says (nunatsiaq.com) [May 6, 2024]
The introduction of northern operational support hubs for Canada’s military is a key pillar of the Liberal government’s new defence policy, federal Defence Minister Bill Blair says. The hubs will be places in the North where the Canadian Armed Forces will fly and land airplanes and helicopters, as well as store supplies, Blair told reporters in Iqaluit Monday. Having those hubs will require government investments in energy, water supply and fibre-optic communication.
Secure North depends on better infrastructure, premiers say (nunatsiaq.com)
To strengthen sovereignty and security in Canada’s North, the federal government needs to invest in infrastructure that can also benefit northern communities, Premier P.J. Akeeagok said Thursday. “For many years, as northern premiers, we’ve been voicing the importance that Arctic security and sovereignty [means] seeing our communities vibrant,” he said in Iqaluit. Akeeagok spoke during a press conference with the premiers of Yukon and Northwest Territories, following their annual Northern Premiers’ Forum where their territories’ shared interests are discussed.
VIDEO: A proposed settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against the Canadian Armed Forces. It’s to help right the wrongs committed against members who say they’ve suffered racial discrimination in the military. But as Heidi Petracek reports, some say it misses the mark.
Retired air force jets being towed to CFB Borden next week - Barrie News (barrietoday.com)
Royal Canadian Air Force CT-155 Hawk aircraft, recently retired from flying service, will be towed to their new home at 16 Wing/CFB Borden the evening/morning of May 13 and 14 and May 14 and 15 between approximately 8 p.m and 6 a.m.
Retired Hawks to play major role in RCAF training program at Borden - Barrie News (barrietoday.com)
… Fifteen of the [CT-155 Hawk jets] will start a new life at CFB Borden, at the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering (CFSATE), where they’ll be used as training units. The first five arrived at CFB Borden around 4 a.m., Tuesday, following an almost eight-hour journey from Collingwood, snaking through the region’s back roads. “We started planning for the move about two months ago,” said Lt. Col. Francesco Messina, commanding officer of technical services. “We will be moving a total of 13 Hawks — starting with five last night and five tonight.”
CF-188 Hornet finds a new home at Cold Lake Air Force Museum - St. Albert News (stalbertgazette.com)
The Cold Lake Air Force Museum has unveiled an addition to its collection, a CF-188 Hornet jet, tail number 188733. … "The addition of CF-188733 to our museum not only commemorates its service but also honours the dedication of those involved in its preservation," said Stacey, expressing gratitude for the collaborative effort that made the jet's relocation possible.
The navy is looking at deploying 'ghost fleets' — warships that don't need crews | CBC News
The Canadian military is weighing how many and what kind of "optionally-crewed" warships it will need in the future as drone technology and artificial intelligence change the face of naval combat, says the commander of the navy. Vice-Admiral Angus Tophee told CBC News that while navies will always need large combat surface ships and submarines, Canada's allies have started to experiment with automated vessels.
Sailor who told Commons committee about Officer X now being harassed (msn.com)
The sailor who told a parliamentary committee about a navy coverup surrounding an individual known as Officer X has received harassing emails including a veiled threat he would be visited at home because of his testimony. Navy Lt. Patrick White received the emails shortly after he provided testimony in front of the House of Commons committee on National Defence about the officer who he described as a “serial sexual misconduct offender.”
Canadian navy sailor handed $3K fine, suspended jail sentence for theft | CTV News
A former Canadian navy sailor was handed a $3,000 fine and a suspended jail sentence Tuesday after pleading guilty to stealing thousands of dollars from his shipmates aboard a Pacific fleet frigate. Petty officer first class Sheldon Riley, 45, was serving as the senior steward on HMCS Regina in 2019 when he wrote a pair of fraudulent cheques to himself from the ship's non-public funds account, a military court in Victoria heard.
Navy warns South Island residents of explosives training on Bentinck Island (cheknews.ca)
A series of land-based demolition training exercises are scheduled next week on the Southern tip of Vancouver Island. … The training events are taking place between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily from Wednesday, May 22 to Friday, May 24, and are described as critical to ensure military members gain core skills and maintain operational readiness.
INVICTUS
One evening in November 2020, a year into his military service, Peacemaker Azuegbulam’s lifelong dream of being a soldier came to an abrupt end. He was among a group of Nigerian soldiers deployed in the country's grinding counteroffensive against Islamic extremists in northeastern Borno state when an anti-aircraft weapon was fired at them. When he regained consciousness, his life was no longer the same, and his left leg later had to be amputated. He was given what he described as a chance to recover when he joined Nigeria's team in last year's Invictus Games and won Africa’s first gold medal at the biennial sporting event founded a decade ago by the U.K.’s Prince Harry to aid in the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers.
COMMEMORATION AND REMEMBRANCE
May 7, 2024 – St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador - Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation - For 100 years, the Newfoundland National War Memorial, which is one of only two national war memorials in Canada, has been a somber reminder of the valiant contributions that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians made during armed conflicts since the First World War. On July 1, 2024, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will proudly gather at the National War Memorial in St. John’s to mark the memorial’s centennial anniversary. The historic event will include the laying to rest of an unknown Newfoundland First World War soldier whose remains are being repatriated from Northern France.
More info here: Centennial of the Newfoundland National War Memorial (1924-2024) - Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation (gov.nl.ca)
St. Albert musical theatre stages girl guide war story - St. Albert News (stalbertgazette.com)
Prior to COVID, St. Albert composer-lyricist Cindy Oxley was flipping through library books when she discovered a narrative titled How the Girl Guides Won the War. “At first, I thought it was a joke. I pulled it out and checked it, and it was full of anecdotes about how girl guides helped during World War II. I was shocked that I had never seen a musical or a TV show on it. When COVID broke out, Molly Leblanc (creator) and I turned it into a project,” said Oxley, artistic director of Musical Mania Production Company. At the 2023 Edmonton Fringe Festival, The Clover Report, received its world premiere to packed houses of people eager to see an original Canadian story.
A Canadian Armed Forces Day will be celebrated for the first time in Cornwall and Akwesasne on June 2. … One of the big attractions will be a lacrosse contest in the morning, from 9 to 11 a.m. at A’nowara’ko:wa Arena, with a collection of players from Akwesasne taking on members of the Royal Canadian Air Force – the instructors at the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control Operations (CFSACO) in Cornwall.
Generally speaking: Southshore Centre christened with new name - Barrie News (barrietoday.com)
John Charles Hayter is getting his name in lights. The city announced today that the Southshore Centre, located on Barrie’s Lakeshore Drive, will be renamed the General John Hayter Southshore Community Centre. Brig.-Gen. Hayter served in the Canadian Forces from 1951 to 2009. He joined the Grey and Simcoe Foresters in 1952, then began officer training at Canadian Forces Base Borden at the age of 18, before heading overseas to the Korean War.