Sun Never Sets on Canadian Military
- Yves Engler -
Most Canadians would be surprised to learn that
the sun
never sets on the military their taxes pay for.
This country is not formally at war yet more than
2,100
Canadian troops are sprinkled across the globe.
According to the
Armed Forces, these soldiers are involved in 28
international
missions.
There are 850 Canadian troops in Iraq and its
environs. Two
hundred highly skilled special forces have
provided training and
combat support to Kurdish forces often accused of
ethnic
cleansing areas of Iraq they captured. A tactical
helicopter
detachment, intelligence officers and a combat
hospital, as well
as 200 Canadians at a base in Kuwait, support the
special forces
in Iraq.
Alongside the special forces mission, Canada
commands the NATO
mission in Iraq. Canadian Brigadier General
Jennifer Carrigan
commands nearly 600 NATO troops, including 250
Canadians.
A comparable number of troops are stationed on
Russia's
borders. About 600 Canadians are part of a
Canadian-led NATO
mission in Latvia while 200 troops are part of a
training effort
in the Ukraine. Seventy-five Canadian Air Force
personnel are
currently in Romania.
Some of the smaller operations are also highly
political.
Through Operation Proteus a dozen troops
contribute to the Office
of the United States Security Coordinator, which
is supporting a
security apparatus to protect the Palestinian
Authority from
popular disgust over its compliance in the face of
ongoing
Israeli settlement building.
Through Operation Foundation 15 troops are
contributing to a U.S. counter-terrorism effort in
the Middle East, North Africa and
Southwest Asia. As part of Operation Foundation,
Brigadier-General A. R.
Day, for instance, directs the Combined Aerospace
Operations
Center at the U.S. military's Al Udeid base in
Qatar.
The 2,100 number offered up by the military
doesn't count the
hundreds, maybe a thousand, naval personnel
patrolling hot spots
across the globe. Recently one or two Canadian
naval vessels --
with about 200 personnel each -- has patrolled in
East Asia. The
ships are helping the U.S.-led campaign to isolate
north Korea and
enforce UN sanctions. These Canadian vessels have
also been
involved in belligerent "freedom of navigation"
exercises through
international waters that Beijing claims in the
South China Sea,
Strait of Taiwan and East China Sea.
A Canadian vessel
is also patrolling in the Persian
Gulf/Arabian Sea. Recently Canadian vessels have
also entered the
Black Sea, which borders Russia. And Canadian
vessels regularly
deploy to the Caribbean.
Nor does the 2,100 number count the colonels
supported by
sergeants and sometimes a second officer who are
defence attachés
based in 30 diplomatic posts around the world
(with
cross-accreditation to neighbouring countries).
Another 150
Canadian military personnel are stationed at the
North American
Aerospace Defense Command headquarters in Colorado
and a smaller
number at NORAD's hub near Tampa Bay, Florida.
These bases assist U.S. airstrikes in a number of
places.
Dozens of Canadian soldiers are also stationed at
NATO
headquarters in Brussels. They assist that
organization in its
international deployments.
There may be other deployments not listed here.
Dozens of
Canadian soldiers are on exchange programs with
the U.S. and other
militaries and some of them may be part of
deployments abroad.
Additionally, Canadian Special forces can be
deployed without
public announcement, which has taken place on
numerous
occasions.
The scope of the military's international
footprint is hard to
square with the idea of a force defending Canada.
That's why
military types promote the importance of "forward
defence". The
government's 2017 "Strong, Secure, Engaged:
Canada's Defence
Policy" claims Canada has to "actively address
threats abroad for
stability at home" and that "defending Canada and
Canadian
interests ... requires active engagement abroad."
That logic, of course, can be used to justify
participating in
endless U.S.-led military endeavors. That is the
real reason the
sun never sets on the Canadian military.
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number 32 - December 21, 2019
Article Link:
Sun Never Sets on Canadian Military - Yves Engler
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
|