“CAF – Canadian Armed Forces”

One of the military’s simplest procurement projects is being tied down by red tape

The light utility vehicle program, first pitched in 2017, could end up taking 13 years to complete

Despite facing heavy pressure to ramp up military spending, the Department of National Defence (DND) has slow-rolled one of the least complex of its vehicle replacement programs.

The light utility vehicle program has been on the books for several years. Its purpose is to update the military’s fleet of two-decade-old Afghan war-era Mercedes G-Wagons and civilian-grade utility vehicles, such as pickups and SUVs.

Under the original plan, the terms for the purchase of more than 1,600 vehicles were supposed to be set by this year, putting the program on the road toward a signed contract.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces"

U.S. wants Canada to hit military spending target ‘as rapidly as humanly possible’: Biden’s adviser

Canada and other countries that are laggards when it comes to military spending should hit the NATO-imposed target of spending two per cent of GDP “as rapidly as humanly possible,” U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser told reporters on the sidelines of the Liberal cabinet retreat in Halifax on Sunday.

Asked by CBC News if he’s satisfied with Canada’s recently announced plan to hit that spending target in eight years’ time, Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration has pushed NATO countries to meet the spending threshold, and while some have complied, “there is still a set of countries that hasn’t — Canada is one of them.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada, NATO, USA

Trudeau gov’t blows $150M hole in army’s equipment maintenance budget

The Liberal government’s recent internal budget cutting exercise at the Department of National Defence (DND) has deprived the army’s system for maintaining equipment and vehicles of up to $150 million, CBC News has learned.

And when the preservation of older systems — the kind that might have to be pressed into service during an emergency — is factored in, the funding gap grows to $260 million, the army acknowledged in a written statement.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Canadian military drones don’t like the cold & may spontaneously go AWOL to Florida RCAF report warns

Canadian military drones will face challenges operating in Arctic, RCAF report warns

Canada plans to build a facility for its new drones in the Arctic, but will face more than its share of challenges in operating the aircraft in the far north, air force documents show.

The Liberal government announced on Dec. 19 that Canada would buy 11 of the remotely piloted aircraft from a U.S. company for $2.5 billion.

The new drones will be stationed at 14 Wing Greenwood, N.S., and 19 Wing Comox, B.C.

Did no one think to ask when they were kicking the tires?

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", "RCAF", WTF?

Federal leaders won’t trust Canadians with the hard truth about defence spending

About $15-billion, a year: that is the amount that the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates the federal government would have to invest to reach NATO’s defence spending requirement of 2 per cent of GDP.

It is a big number and a major challenge, one made harder in the context of a large federal budget deficit, an affordability crisis, and demands on Ottawa from premiers, interest groups and other Canadians to spend even larger sums in many other areas – not to mention those who want tax cuts. Compounding the problem is that Ottawa has spent 10 years trying to justify why it has not met this goal, rather than developing and executing a plan to get there.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada

Military considers reviewing minimum medical requirements in effort to attract more volunteers

The military is reviewing its minimum “medical requirements” for new recruits to attract more volunteers, records show.

Blacklock’s Reporter says Defence Minister Bill Blair previously indicated other measures would be considered, such as reducing the minimum enlistment period to as short as 18 months.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", WTF?

Tony Abbott: Canada’s military neglect has made it an Anglosphere outsider

When Australia, Britain and the United States recently came together in a trilateral defence and security agreement, there was one conspicuous absentee: Canada, the country that had had the world’s third-largest navy and fourth-largest air force at the end of the Second World War; and which, as a Five Eyes and NATO partner, could normally be expected to participate in any big security arrangement within the Anglosphere. Canada’s absence was especially striking given that the AUKUS agreement was about ending “foreign country” defence procurement distinctions as well as about providing Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. Despite being the world’s 10th largest economy, right now, with just 1.37 per cent of GDP currently spent on defence, Canada is a mere 27th in terms of “global firepower.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

National poll finds majority of Canadians are opposed to military conscription if war breaks out

“Women respondents across all categories are the most opposed to military conscription regardless of gender. Male respondents, on the other hand, are more likely to support conscription if it’s gender-neutral.”

As fighting in Europe and the Middle East continues, many countries are being forced to reconsider conscription of citizens.

Recent public dialogues over forced military service have erupted in Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada — countries that have largely abandoned forced military service.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces"

A federal minister wanted Canadian soldiers to serve as props at a pop concert. It’s just the latest way the Trudeau government has treated national security as a joke

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You can’t be too careful these days. With all the fake news, misinformation and AI-generated “deep fakes” out there you can’t take anything at face value. You have to be on your guard.

Which is why when I saw a headline this week saying a federal minister had lobbied for 100 Canadian soldiers to act as “backdrops” for a concert by an Indian pop star, my first thought was it must be one of those fakes. Or perhaps someone’s idea of a joke.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Concerns raised about new Canadian Army trucks

Damn Kids

The Canadian Forces says it remains confident that its newest army vehicle will meet all its needs despite concerns raised by U.S. officials that the trucks lack protection, are too cramped and have had problems with cracked engines and steering loss.

Canada is spending almost $36 million for 90 Light Tactical Vehicles for Canadian Army personnel deployed to Latvia. The vehicles, being built in the United States by General Motors Defense, are based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 pickup truck and have also been bought by the U.S. military.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces"

Sajjan defends profoundly insulting request to use Canadian soldiers as stage props as diversity outreach

Stolen Valour Sajjan

… According to a statement from Sajjan’s office, the minister then forwarded the request “along with his endorsement” to Minister of National Defence Bill Blair, who passed the request onto the CAF.

“Minister Sajjan agreed the concert would be a good opportunity for the Canadian Armed Forces to engage with and expand connect to a diverse community of young Canadians, along the lines of the CAF outreach and recruiting events at professional sporting events,” Sajjan’s press secretary Joanna Kanga told CBC News in an email.”

Sajjan and his bro in the news.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", "Diversity - Code for anti-White racism", "Diversity", WTF?

CAF is how you say in English Fecked?

Canada’s armed forces are ready for emergency pronoun deployment under battlefield conditions.

Recommendation #32: In fulfilling her responsibility in approving General Officer and Flag Officer (GOFO) promotions, the Minister should be assisted by a senior civilian advisor, not currently a member of the Defence Team. In her consultation with the CDS, the Minister should examine what efforts are being made to correct the over-representation of white men in GOFO ranks.

Recommendation #36: The CAF should establish a system of progressive targets for the promotion of women in order to increase the number of women in each rank, with a view to increasing the proportion of their representation in the GOFO ranks above their level of representation in the overall CAF workforce.

WTF? No wonder they have a recruiting crisis.

H/T Canminuteman

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", WTF?

New DND strategy warns Canadian military’s approach to artificial intelligence ‘fragmented’

Canada’s defence department and military are approaching the implementation and use of artificial intelligence in a “fragmented,” unco-ordinated manner, says a newly prepared federal strategy.

The long-awaited overview of how to deal with rapidly evolving machine-learning technology is being met with mixed reviews by some high-tech and civil society experts who had been expecting more clarity on where the country stands and how far it’s prepared to go.

The strategy is candid, saying neither the Department of National Defence (DND) nor the Canadian Armed Forces is “positioned to adopt and take advantage of AI.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada

Canada downplays cost of meeting NATO spending mark as $60-billion projection will need to rise

Although the Liberal government has placed an annual price tag of $60-billion on its commitment to spend two per cent of Canada’s GDP on defence by 2032, unless a boost is on the way, it will still likely fall short when the goalposts funds needed to reach the NATO-sanctioned metric shift.

Canada is unlikely to meet the spending standard first agreed to in 2014 based on its own projections as it is relying on international forecasts for its GDP to guide its defence-spending commitment.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, NATO