Additional 200 CAF Still Waiting to Deploy to OP IMPACT

In a new report released this morning, David Pugliese, of The Ottawa Citizen, reported that despite it being almost two months since the Liberal's announced their new mission to Iraq - the extra 200 CAF personnel have yet to be deployed.

Here here is his report:

In the first week of February, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the changes in the Iraq mission. The CF-18s were to be withdrawn while the Auroras and refuelling aircraft would stay. Canada’s contribution would actually increase by more than 200 personnel, with those extra staff being assigned to the training mission, according to the government.

The CF-18s now are gone. There are still 600 Canadians overseas on the Iraq mission, according to the Department of National Defence. That figure includes the estimated 69 special forces personnel.

"But the promised extra personnel have yet to deploy. An exact timeline has yet to be determined,” Canadian military spokesman Capt. Kirk Sullivan told Defence Watch. “The Canadian Armed Forces is in the process of finalizing plans for the transitioning of the mission.
 
Deploying military capabilities over thousands of kilometers into a theatre of operations requires careful planning, which takes time."