| A RCAF CF-18 flies over Iraq on a mission on November 7, 2015. Photo; CAF Combat Camera |
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Canada in Iraq: RCAF Makes First Airstrike in December
In a press release on its OP IMPACT page, DND announced, that on 1 December 2015, while taking part in coalition airstrikes in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position southwest of Sinjar using precision guided munitions.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Defence Minister Visits CAF in Kuwait
Press Release: Government of Canada
OTTAWA – Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan today wrapped up a successful visit to Kuwait where he met with Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel currently deployed in the region as part of Canada’s contribution to the multinational Coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Minister Sajjan used the occasion to pay tribute to the troops, thanking them for their dedication and service.
While in Kuwait, Minister Sajjan also met with his counterpart, His Excellency, Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, and other senior officials. During their discussions, the Minister underscored Canada’s ongoing commitment to working with allies and partners to counter global terrorism, and expressed his appreciation to Kuwait for hosting Canadian Armed Forces personnel engaged in the campaign. This support is vital to the mission.
OTTAWA – Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan today wrapped up a successful visit to Kuwait where he met with Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel currently deployed in the region as part of Canada’s contribution to the multinational Coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Minister Sajjan used the occasion to pay tribute to the troops, thanking them for their dedication and service.
While in Kuwait, Minister Sajjan also met with his counterpart, His Excellency, Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, and other senior officials. During their discussions, the Minister underscored Canada’s ongoing commitment to working with allies and partners to counter global terrorism, and expressed his appreciation to Kuwait for hosting Canadian Armed Forces personnel engaged in the campaign. This support is vital to the mission.
| CAF Members pause to remember WO. Patrice Vincent - in Kuwait, October 20, 2015. The CAF Camp is named in his honor. Photo: CAF Combat Camera |
Canada to lead Multinational Force and Observers until 2017
DND Press Release
November 2015
OTTAWA — Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan announced that Canadian Major-General Denis Thompson will continue to serve as Force Commander for the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) for an additional year, until March 2017. He assumed command of the MFO in March 2014.
The MFO is an independent international organization whose mandate is to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli Treaty for Peace. The deployment of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel to strategic positions within the MFO is part of Canada’s broader engagement in support of peace efforts in the Middle East.
Quick Facts
The MFO was established in 1981 and is comprised of over 1600 personnel, consisting of army, air and naval components from 13 countries; including CAF personnel currently deployed on Operation CALUMET, Canada’s contribution to the MFO. Canada has maintained a contingent in the MFO since September 1985.
Since March 2015, the Canadian contingent has included Military Police officers who conduct police and security duties in the North and South camps of the multinational peacekeeping force. These duties include traffic control, patrols, investigations, inspections, and searches. They are also responsible for crime prevention programs.
Major-General Thompson is a graduate of the Royal Military College and has served in all three Battalions of the Royal Canadian Regiment as well as Joint Task Force 2. His operational deployments include command appointments in Cyprus, Germany and Bosnia (twice). He was NATO's Commander of Task Force Kandahar in 2008.
“The extension of Major-General Thompson’s mandate as Force Commander of the Multinational Force and Observers is a reflection of his professionalism and dedication to carrying out the MFO’s important mandate of promoting peace and security in the Sinai and the region. I am confident that the MFO will continue to be well served under his leadership."
--- The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of National Defence
CAF Donates Mine Clearing Equipment to Ukraine
As part of the training mission in Ukraine, OP UNIFIER; Canada has provided Ukraine with demining equipment worth $2.5 million, Ukraine’s defence ministry announced.
On November 28, the Canadian military attache’s representative delivered $2.5-million worth of mine clearance equipment to the Ukrainian military, the statement from the ministry noted.
Canada in Iraq: Stephane Dion: Canada Can Do More in ISIS Fight, than 2% of Airstrikes
Written by the Canadian Press
Other countries, including North Atlantic allies, understand the warplanes have played only a small part in the effort, and that Canada will be more effective in a training role, Dion said on his way into a meeting of foreign ministers.
“There are a lot of things where Canada may be a great supporter, instead of delivering two per cent of the airstrikes,” the global affairs minister said.
Dion also indicated the signals he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have received at other international conferences is that Canada’s new policy is “well understood.”
It remains unclear when the jets will be coming home — or what a beefed-up training commitment would look like — but Dion could see a menu of opportunities before him during the two-day ministerial meeting.
The war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIL or ISIS, is not a NATO mission, but almost all members contribute in one form or another to the U.S. coalition.
The alliance announced last summer it was embarking on a “capacity-building” training program for the Iraqi military, but gave no timelines for the training at sites in Turkey and Jordan. It was looking at a wide series of measures, including countering improvised explosive devices, bomb disposal, de-mining, civil-military planning, cyberdefence, military medicine and medical assistance.
How far along the plans might be and whether the contingents are fully staffed is uncertain, but what is clear is that the Trudeau government is more prepared to embrace the alliance initiatives than the Harper government had been over the last few years.
Under the Conservatives, Canada was pulled more tightly into a U.S. orbit with a series of policy changes and agreements, and was more willing to act in ad-hoc coalitions, like the one bombing ISIL.
“Canada will be a positive partner,” Dion said. “We want to re-engage Canada in multilateralism and NATO is at the core of that.”
The alliance conducted a military training mission in Iraq, but it was shut down when the U.S. withdrew its forces in 2011.
The reconstituted undertaking bears a passing resemblance to what NATO has been doing in Afghanistan with some success — a mission that included nearly 900 Canadians for three years. Afghan forces, despite taking a pounding from a renewed insurgency, have largely held their ground, whereas Iraqi forces melted away in the face of last year’s ISIL onslaught.
NATO’s future role in Afghanistan and how to fund the country’s fledgling security forces was up for debate Tuesday among foreign ministers.
“Afghan forces have faced great challenges but they have shown tremendous courage and determination,” said NATO secretary general Jen Stoltenberg.
“This has been a year of challenges, but it also been a year of progress…. Supporting a stable Afghanistan is in the interest of our own security.”
The ministers will approve a continued deployment of roughly 12,000 trainers and advisers to mirror a recent U.S. decision to extend its presence in the war-torn country past 2016. Canada no longer has training troops in Afghanistan.
They were also asked to approve a plan to raise $4 billion per year from the international community to fund Afghan security forces up to 2020. Stoltenberg said the matter will be discussed when leaders meet in Warsaw next year, and he declined to provide a provide a specific figure after the meeting.
Donor countries began paying the bills for Afghan troops and police following the 2012 NATO summit in Chicago. The Harper government made a $330 million commitment up to 2017.
Despite a nearly decade-long NATO combat mission, which included the deaths of 158 Canadian soldiers, the Taliban and other extremist groups remain a persistent and lethal threat in Afghanistan — something that was evident a few weeks ago when the northern city of Kunduz fell to insurgents.
It was eventually recaptured by Afghan forces with the help of U.S. air support, but it raised fresh questions about the readiness of local forces to carry on the fight without western help.
The Obama administration recently reversed a plan to entirely withdraw American forces. On Monday, Doug Lute, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, underlined that Washington expects allies to match the commitment to keep 10,000 troops in the country through next year.
A senior NATO official, speaking on background Tuesday, said the alliance’s mission in Afghanistan is strictly an advisory and training commitment and that no one anticipates a return to a combat mission.
The official described the effort to secure the initial round of commitments as “a demanding ask” for western countries that were still limping out of the global financial collapse.
The upcoming request could also be challenging, said the official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
“I hesitate to say whether in 2011 the global financial situation was more or less difficult than now, but we will again have to make the case for the connection between the security of Afghanistan and our own security.
“We will be making that argument in the coming months.”
(the above was written by the Canadian Press)
Other countries, including North Atlantic allies, understand the warplanes have played only a small part in the effort, and that Canada will be more effective in a training role, Dion said on his way into a meeting of foreign ministers.
“There are a lot of things where Canada may be a great supporter, instead of delivering two per cent of the airstrikes,” the global affairs minister said.
Dion also indicated the signals he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have received at other international conferences is that Canada’s new policy is “well understood.”
It remains unclear when the jets will be coming home — or what a beefed-up training commitment would look like — but Dion could see a menu of opportunities before him during the two-day ministerial meeting.
The war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIL or ISIS, is not a NATO mission, but almost all members contribute in one form or another to the U.S. coalition.
The alliance announced last summer it was embarking on a “capacity-building” training program for the Iraqi military, but gave no timelines for the training at sites in Turkey and Jordan. It was looking at a wide series of measures, including countering improvised explosive devices, bomb disposal, de-mining, civil-military planning, cyberdefence, military medicine and medical assistance.
How far along the plans might be and whether the contingents are fully staffed is uncertain, but what is clear is that the Trudeau government is more prepared to embrace the alliance initiatives than the Harper government had been over the last few years.
Under the Conservatives, Canada was pulled more tightly into a U.S. orbit with a series of policy changes and agreements, and was more willing to act in ad-hoc coalitions, like the one bombing ISIL.
“Canada will be a positive partner,” Dion said. “We want to re-engage Canada in multilateralism and NATO is at the core of that.”
The alliance conducted a military training mission in Iraq, but it was shut down when the U.S. withdrew its forces in 2011.
The reconstituted undertaking bears a passing resemblance to what NATO has been doing in Afghanistan with some success — a mission that included nearly 900 Canadians for three years. Afghan forces, despite taking a pounding from a renewed insurgency, have largely held their ground, whereas Iraqi forces melted away in the face of last year’s ISIL onslaught.
NATO’s future role in Afghanistan and how to fund the country’s fledgling security forces was up for debate Tuesday among foreign ministers.
“Afghan forces have faced great challenges but they have shown tremendous courage and determination,” said NATO secretary general Jen Stoltenberg.
“This has been a year of challenges, but it also been a year of progress…. Supporting a stable Afghanistan is in the interest of our own security.”
The ministers will approve a continued deployment of roughly 12,000 trainers and advisers to mirror a recent U.S. decision to extend its presence in the war-torn country past 2016. Canada no longer has training troops in Afghanistan.
They were also asked to approve a plan to raise $4 billion per year from the international community to fund Afghan security forces up to 2020. Stoltenberg said the matter will be discussed when leaders meet in Warsaw next year, and he declined to provide a provide a specific figure after the meeting.
Donor countries began paying the bills for Afghan troops and police following the 2012 NATO summit in Chicago. The Harper government made a $330 million commitment up to 2017.
Despite a nearly decade-long NATO combat mission, which included the deaths of 158 Canadian soldiers, the Taliban and other extremist groups remain a persistent and lethal threat in Afghanistan — something that was evident a few weeks ago when the northern city of Kunduz fell to insurgents.
It was eventually recaptured by Afghan forces with the help of U.S. air support, but it raised fresh questions about the readiness of local forces to carry on the fight without western help.
The Obama administration recently reversed a plan to entirely withdraw American forces. On Monday, Doug Lute, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, underlined that Washington expects allies to match the commitment to keep 10,000 troops in the country through next year.
A senior NATO official, speaking on background Tuesday, said the alliance’s mission in Afghanistan is strictly an advisory and training commitment and that no one anticipates a return to a combat mission.
The official described the effort to secure the initial round of commitments as “a demanding ask” for western countries that were still limping out of the global financial collapse.
The upcoming request could also be challenging, said the official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
“I hesitate to say whether in 2011 the global financial situation was more or less difficult than now, but we will again have to make the case for the connection between the security of Afghanistan and our own security.
“We will be making that argument in the coming months.”
(the above was written by the Canadian Press)
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