408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron celebrating 75th anniversary

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

FA2006-0249 16 May 2006 4 Wing, Cold Lake, Alberta 2 CH 146 Griffons from 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron take off on a mission. Elements of 408 Squadron deployed to 4 Wing Cold Lake along with 17 Wing Winnipeg's Mission Support Unit for Exercise Maple Flag XXXIX and form the Air Expeditionary Unit. Maple Flag is an annual international air combat exercise that attracts more than 5,000 participants from all over the globe, which engage in a simulated, 10-day air campaign. The exercise provides aircrews with realistic training in a modern simulated air combat environment. Maple Flag provides critically important training for Canadian and allied aircrews. Photo by WO Serge Peters, Air Public Affairs

A ceremonial parade and fly-past celebrating the 75th anniversary of 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron will be held Sunday afternoon in Edmonton on the base there.

Here is the background provided by the RCAF on the history of “408 ‘Goose’ Squadron:”

On June 24, 1941, 408 Squadron (Sqn) was established as a bomber squadron with No. 5 Group Royal Air Force and was equipped with the Handley Page Hampden. After flying several other bomber aircraft in addition to the Hampden, 408 Sqn converted to the Handley Page Halifax – a four engine heavy bomber that could travel faster, further and carry more than three times the payload of the original Hampden. During the final years of the Second World War, 408 Sqn would again change aircraft, this time to the Lancaster Mk II heavy bomber. With Victory in Europe, 408 Sqn was disbanded on September 5, 1945.

Re-established in 1949 at Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Station Rockliffe, Ont., 408 Sqn took on many varying roles. Starting in 1949 the squadron used the Avro Lancaster Mk X to begin photographing and mapping in Canada’s North. In 1962 the Canadair T-33 Silver Star was added to 408 Sqn’s inventory. With the T-33 408 Sqn began to support the Army through aerial reconnaissance while continuing the mapping and photography task with the Lancaster. In 1964 the Lancaster was replaced the Douglas Dakota and the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar. With these new airframes 408 Sqn was retasked as a transport support and reconnaissance squadron and was moved to RCAF Station Rivers, Manitoba. After just one year, in 1965, the C-119s were replaced by the larger and more versatile Lockheed C-130 Hercules.

In 1970, 408 Sqn was again disbanded. Just nine months later, however, it was re-established in its current role as a tactical helicopter squadron at its current home, Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Namao (now CFB Edmonton), Alta. Initially 408 Sqn flew two airframes: the CH-135 Twin Huey and the CH-136 Kiowa, before reequipping with its current helicopter the CH-146 Griffon in 1996.

As a tactical helicopter squadron, 408 Sqn deployed to the Sinai Peninsula, Honduras, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and most recently the Philippines. The unit has also been heavily involved in domestic operations such as the floods in Manitoba and Calgary, forest fires throughout Western Canada, G8 summits, and the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

Personnel from 408 Sqn were deployed to Afghanistan almost continually in some capacity from 2006 – 2011. Initially operating the CU-161 Sperwer unmanned aerial vehicle for six-month rotations, in 2008 the unit started deploying personnel to operate

CH-146 Griffon and CH-147 Chinook helicopters in support of the Canadian Helicopter Force (Afghanistan). As part of Canada’s Air Wing in Kandahar, 408 Sqn contributed regular rotations to support the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) with personnel and equipment transport; reconnaissance; armed escort; and fire support. Given the high level of improvised explosive devices that posed a threat to ground-based transportation, 408 Sqn proved to be invaluable in helping keep Canadian and other International Security Assistance Force troops off dangerous roadways in Afghanistan.

The most recent foreign deployment of 408 Sqn was to the Philippines in 2013 after typhoon Haiyan devastated the nation. Food, assistance personnel, medical relief and infrastructure material were all made accessible to isolated population centers when roads and bridges had been destroyed.

Here at home, 408 Sqn’s continued support to Canadians has most recently included support to the flooding in Manitoba in spring 2014, the Saskatchewan wildfire in summer 2015 and the Fort McMurray forest fire in May 2016.

RCAF Releases New Photos from CC-150 Polaris & OP IMPACT

On it's Twitter feed today, the Canadian Armed Forces released new images from OP Impact today.

The country has heard very little about Canada's aerial contributions to the fight against ISIS since the government withdrew the RCAF CF-18s in February of this year.

The RCAF left 2 CP-140 Aurora Intelligence aircraft's and a CC-150 aerial refueling tanker in the region to help the US-led coalition continue to fight ISIS.

The photos released today are from the CC-150 tanker refueling USAF F/A-18s and US Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers  aircraft over Iraq.

iAOR Role can be Expanded and Outfitted for Disaster-Relief

By: David Pugliese, National Post

OTTAWA — The company providing an interim supply ship for Canada’s navy is looking at expanding the vessel’s disaster-relief capabilities, a role identified by the Liberal government as a key future military mission.

The MV Asterix, a commercial vessel that is being converted into a supply ship for the Canadian Navy, is seen June 23, 2016, at Quebec's Chantier Davie shipyards. The ship's hull has been hollowed out to accommodate new fuel tanks and it will be receiving a new superstructure.

Chantier Davie shipyards of Levis, Que., and its sister company Federal Fleet Services, will be gathering Canadian firms in Ottawa on June 28 so they can outline disaster-relief equipment available for the ship, to be delivered to the navy late next year.

The ship is being created by converting a commercial vessel, the MV Asterix. The project has attracted interest from the Australian, New Zealand and South African navies.

Canadian suppliers of equipment for disaster and humanitarian missions will outline what they can supply for the vessel and that information will be passed on to the Royal Canadian Navy, said John Schmidt, a vice-president with Federal Fleet Services in Ottawa.


The ship’s main role is to refuel and resupply warships at sea. But the navy has also said it wants the vessel to have capabilities for humanitarian missions, although it has not outlined many specifics.

The Liberal government has said it wants the Canadian military to play more of a role in disaster and humanitarian missions.

“Canada has a lot of companies who are leaders in technology who can meet these demands, but they have never had the opportunity to bid to the Canadian government,” Schmidt said.

Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian PressThe MV Asterix is seen at Davie Shipbuilding in Levis, Que., on Oct. 13, 2015.

He noted the ship has a lot of flexibility since it can carry several dozen sea containers of emergency equipment. It can also provide medical assistance and has room for more than 200 passengers for a disaster-relief operation.

Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, who will take over later in the summer as vice-chief of the defence staff, told the Ottawa Citizen in a recent interview that the navy is looking at ways to outfit its ships for future humanitarian missions.

Noting other countries’ interest in the conversion project, Schmidt said navies around the world need to replace aging supply vessels. “Everyone is watching their budgets,” he explained. “If there is a way to provide a capability at a reduced cost, then navies are interested in hearing about it.”

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Schmidt said delivery of the ship to the Canadian navy is on schedule for September 2017. The company is motivated to keep its schedule because it doesn’t receive any payment until the vessel is delivered, he added.

Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian PressThe MV Asterix is seen at Davie Shipbuilding in Levis, Que., on Oct. 13, 2015.

The Canadian government decided to proceed with the conversion of the commercial container ship after the navy’s existing two supply vessels were pulled from active service because of age and structural issues.

Under a lease agreement, Federal Fleet Services would provide a civilian crew to operate the ship. Royal Canadian Navy personnel would be on board to handle communications and the actual transfer of supplies and fuel to warships.

The conversion project and lease of the vessel is estimated to cost about $700 million.

The lease would run for five years, with an option after that to extend on a yearly basis for a total of another five years.

Under the federal government’s national shipbuilding strategy, Seaspan in Vancouver is to build two supply ships for the Canadian navy. But those are not expected to be ready until around 2020.

Navy to blame for ship delay: ex-brass

By: Lee Berthiaume, Ottawa Citizen 

ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESSRoyal Canadian Navy Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, left, speaks with Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd during a change-of-command ceremony on Thursday.

OTTAWA • Vice-Admiral Mark Norman used his last speech as commander of the navy Thursday to lament a “completely avoidable” shortage of Canadian warships, while his successor said submarines are “essential” for the country’s defence.

The comments came during a ceremony that saw Norman relinquish command of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) to Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd after three years at the helm. That period coincided with the retirement of a quarter of the navy’s major ships, none of which have been replaced.

Speaking to a crowd of military officers and defence officials that included Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance, Norman said the navy had no choice but to retire its two resupply ships and two out of three destroyers before replacements were ready. (The last destroyer will retire next year.)

“The need to retire four of our ships before their replacements had arrived no doubt hurt us, both from a capacity and a capability standpoint,” he said. “This was out of necessity, and certainly not by design or intent.”

A modified civilian resupply ship is scheduled to enter service in fall 2017, which will help make the navy more self-sufficient. However, the first real replacement won’t be ready until 2019.


Meanwhile, with the destroyers all retired, the navy will have only 12 frigates capable of operating overseas until the mid-2020s.

“The fact (is) that the RCN has gotten notably smaller, both in terms of fleet and its establishment on my watch,” Norman said, which has resulted in “acute losses in warfighting capabilities.”

Rather than blame someone else for the problem, Norman said the navy’s inability and failure to make tough decisions are the reasons new resupply ships and warships won’t be ready for several more years.

“It’s important to keep in mind that the situation we had to manage was completely avoidable,” he said.

“It should act as a powerful reminder of what happens when we allow ourselves to continually manage risk by putting off tough decisions in the interests of short-term expediency.

Norman’s speech wasn’t all doom and gloom. Delays and criticisms aside, he said there are legitimate reasons to celebrate the federal shipbuilding plan, which promises to produce a state-ofthe-art navy as well as return Canada to being a worldclass shipbuilder.

He also noted the first Arctic patrol ships should be rolling off the line in the next year or so, and the navy has been using its coastal defence ships on anti-drug trafficking operations in the Caribbean and other places in the Western Hemisphere.

And he applauded the Liberal government for having stuck with the federal shipbuilding plan.

During his speech, Vance applauded Norman for having “made difficult decisions, tough decisions that will protect his sailors and the future of his fleet.”

He added he has “never been more hopeful for the future of the Royal Canadian Navy than I am today.”

Meanwhile, bubbling below the surface was the question of what to do about Canada’s four submarines. In an interview last week, Norman said the government has to decide in the next year or two whether to spend more money to keep the submarines running until the 2030s.

For his part, Vance applauded the “incredibly hard work” the navy has done in getting the subs up and running.

“And let me assure you, submarines are vital to those operational results,” he said.

Iraq needs to be broken up, say Kurdish leaders

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

It looks like Kurdish officials didn’t receive the memo from Global Affairs Canada…the one about Canada’s support for the Kurds being part of supporting a unified Iraq.  The Kurds, being armed and trained by the Canadian Forces, are instead pushing to break away from Iraq. They cite Quebec separatists as a role model. The Canadian military is well aware of the Kurdish push for separation.

But Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance suggests it’s none of Canada’s concern what will happen in Iraq once the Islamic State is defeated. Some Canadian diplomats, however, have warned that Canada’s arming and training the Kurds will lead to more problems down the road.

Tensions are increasing and Kurdish forces have clashed with forces loyal to the central government in Baghdad.

But Kurdish officials have said that Iraq is finished as a state.

Masrour Barzani, the Chancellor of Kurdistan Region Security Council, recently stated in an interview with Reuters news agency that the level of mistrust among various groups in Iraq – the Kurds, Sunnis and Shi’ites – is such that they should not remain “under one roof”.

“Federation hasn’t worked, so it has to be either confederation or full separation,” Barzani said. “If we have three confederated states, we will have three equal capitals, so one will not be above the other.”

Barzani’s father, Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani, has called for a referendum this fall aiming for complete independence.

Added Commentary:

This is not the first time the break-up of Iraq has been suggested. It has actually be studied in-depth for years. One particular study calls for 3 new states to be carved out of Iraq. Kurdistan, Sunni Iraq, and the Arab Shia State, with Baghdad becoming a City State similar to Vatican City.  It can be read here.

Even CNN as recently as 2014 ran a column supporting the idea of dividing Iraq into three states.

Only time will tell; Iraq will remain unified to defeat ISIS, but it seems more and more that as the Kurdsish Peshmerga continue to claim territory, they admit that they will not cede it to Iraqi forces.