The world’s climate is changing. Without embarking on arguments about who or what is to blame, the point is that there is a problem facing Earth. In 2016 there were around 1,900 meteorological, hydrological or climatological loss events – 130 of those were classified as severe or very severe. In […]
disaster relief
16 posts
The problem with the ships Senator Kenny wants 'axed' is that they are not just ice-capable ships: they are a hybrid design for both arctic and offshore patrol work. Arctic operations require high endurance: lots of capacity for supplies plus hauling all waste by-products out again. Fuel is an especially […]
Word is reaching me that the number of designs under consideration for the AOR-JSS ship is down to only one. Apparently, the Spanish have been told that their Cantabria-class AOR [an enlarged version of the Spanish Patino-class] is no longer in the running. This leaves only the German Berlin-class design. […]
The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) has issued a new report, entitled “Paying the Price: The Economic Impacts of Climate Change for Canada.” The report estimates climate change could cost Canada $5B by 2020, and this will rise to between $21B and $43B annually by […]
On Tuesday, 19 January, Murray Brewster of the Canadian Press filed a report that described the logistical problems confronting the Canadian Forces as they ramped up for Operation Hestia. Quoting Lt.-Col. Chris LeMay of Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, Brewster reported: “In comparison to peacekeeping deployments in Bosnia and even the […]
The F-35 purchase and NSPS elicit the same question for me: "What is the government's concept for the employment of Canadian military force in a future conflict?" The F-35 contract suggests a front-line, high-risk combat role against a peer competitor. But, our history of procurement in peace and war suggests that we are […]
[*Originally appeared in Canadian Naval Review, Vol. 6, No. 4 (Winter 2011).] “Cheap for us and nasty for the Germans.” Winston Churchill, 1940. In this centenary year there is much to be proud of but more to be concerned about. The course envisaged by Leadmark, the future fleet structure as […]
Reports, all unsubstantiated so far, continue to surface about the possibility of Canada acquiring a ship or ships capable of amphibious operations. (See: “Big Honkin’ Ships” by Chris MacLean in issue 5/2010, pp. 14-15, of Frontline Defence here. See also: “A Mistral-class ship for Canada” by David Pugliese in the […]
The follow-on step in setting policy for the United States’ sea services emanating from the Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower has taken place with the release of the Naval Operating Concept 2010 (NOC10). The same collaborative approach has been taken with this document as with the strategy: it is […]
The navy is in a bind, and it is a bad one. The money needed to run the service and to reinvest in new ships is not in the budget. To make matters worse, it is approximately 20 percent short of people, mostly in the technical trades. What to do? […]