Quote:
Originally Posted by Agamemnon
I'm not sure we can effectively focus on both. I'm not advocating exiting NATO, I'm advocating focusing our military on one primary task, rendering others secondary. If our military's primary focus is supporting NATO, to me that is a different force than defending Canada. How often has our military been needed to defend this country? I'm not really pushing any directions, I'm just wondering whether we can or can't do everything with equal priority.
But if this military needs to be able to both defend itself and project itself overseas as equal focuses, I wish you all luck determining the right force configuration!  |
Ideally its not a concept of having to do both, it never was. Its having an armed forces with the equipment and capacity of being able to pull from existing stores and personal to provide assets to NATO for example of the UN.
We don't need a separate stock of materials and an expeditionary force on call for NATO. Or separate planes to support NATO or the UN in peace keeping. We don't need designated frigates or submarines.
In theory its a give what you can.
Right now we can do neither well or at all. We don't have the readiness or the equipment to defend Canada or our shores, we don't have the up to date equipment, personal count of experienced people for deployment without significantly straining and breaking the Armed Forces.
We literally have the capacity to do none of the pillars that the Armed Forces need to do.
Outside of special forces and some specialized training cadres, we really wouldn't be an effective fighting addition to a NATO mission in Europe if that balloon drops. Our equipment is too old, rusty and out of date to survive in a modern battlefield. and there are so many holes in our equipment and weapons strategy that Canadians couldn't protect themselves at all.
Right now if NATO called a conference and Canada showed up eager to help, they'd be pretty much laughed out of the room. Or they might ask us to supply them with some meals on wheels trucks.