Cree Warrior
27 September 2001, 13:09
http://www.canada.com/ottawa/story.asp?id=52792D28-ABD9-4918-B613-702D6E9DDDC8
Forces weaker than brass admits
'Effective' personnel will number only 50,000 by the end of March 2002
David Pugliese
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, September 25, 2001
The effective strength of the Canadian military has quietly slipped to around 53,000 personnel and is expected to plunge even lower in the next six months.
The "trained effective strength" of the Canadian Forces will hit 50,684 at the end of March 2002, according to projections done earlier this year by the military's personnel branch and released to the Citizen. The number represents those sailors, aviators and soldiers who could actually be deployed, according to military officials.
In public, federal politicians and generals claim the military is around 59,000 strong but that figure includes personnel who, while still technically on the books, have retired, are away on long-term sick leave, are absent without leave, or serving time in Canadian Forces jails.
The dwindling numbers are significant as Canada prepares to join the American offensive against terrorism, according to defence analysts. If the military was needed to guard key installations at home, such as nuclear power plants, hydro generating stations and airports, large numbers of troops would be required.
"The numbers are pretty disappointing, but not surprising," said retired Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie. But he said even the 53,000 figure for the size of the regular forces is misleading.
That represents everybody the military is capable of putting in the field, including personnel of all ages and all trades. The number of actual trained combat troops is much smaller, he notes.
"Our army really only has about 14,000 people that can be deployed," he said. During the FLQ crisis in 1970, the military sent 12,500 troops to Quebec to act as peace officers, back up police and secure key locations such as government offices and the residences of politicians and other VIPs.
At the time the military's strength was around 98,000 personnel.
As backup the military can call on its reserve force made up of part-time members. The size of that force fluctuates but it is currently around 22,000, military spokesperson Sub-Lieut. Pierrette LeDrew said yesterday.
But Maj.-Gen. Mackenzie said it is unlikely that more than 60 per cent of those part-time soldiers, sailors and aviators would be available for duty.
"Their availability is directly proportional to the patriotism of their civilian employers," he noted. "Employers may be happy to let them go if they are called out for a week to remove snow in Toronto, but not if they are assigned duties for a long period."
Unlike in the U.S., there is no government legislation to guarantee job protection to those reservists who are called to duty. The U.S. air force has already called up several thousand reservists to handle guard and air patrol duties at home.
The effectiveness of the Canadian Forces has been at issue for several years now. Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Raymond Henault, insists the military is more combat-capable than at any time since the Persian Gulf War.
Defence Minister Art Eggleton has noted the military has received high-tech equipment such as the Coyote reconnaissance vehicle, and the government is in the process of restoring several billion dollars into the Canadian Forces budget. Mr. Eggleton has blamed the media and retired officers for exaggerating the problems faced by the armed forces. Defence officials insist on using the 59,000 figure to describe the size of the military.
Retired officers, however, have responded by challenging the claims by the military's leadership that the Canadian Forces is more combat-capable than at any time since the Gulf War. Not only have numbers of regular force personnel shrunk by almost 30 per cent over the decade, but the Canadian Forces has no way to quickly transport its troops overseas by either air or ship, both key elements of combat capability.
Budget cuts forced the Canadian military to chop its personnel over the last decade. The size of the armed forces dropped from 87,600 in 1990 to the current level of 58,000 to 59,000. There are no plans to increase those numbers substantially. The military is also having problems attracting new recruits and has embarked on a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign in an effort to increase enlistment.
The 1994 White Paper, the cornerstone of the government's defence policy, called for the size of the Canadian Forces to be set at 60,000 by 1999.
© Copyright 2001 The Ottawa Citizen
Sua Sponte
Forces weaker than brass admits
'Effective' personnel will number only 50,000 by the end of March 2002
David Pugliese
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, September 25, 2001
The effective strength of the Canadian military has quietly slipped to around 53,000 personnel and is expected to plunge even lower in the next six months.
The "trained effective strength" of the Canadian Forces will hit 50,684 at the end of March 2002, according to projections done earlier this year by the military's personnel branch and released to the Citizen. The number represents those sailors, aviators and soldiers who could actually be deployed, according to military officials.
In public, federal politicians and generals claim the military is around 59,000 strong but that figure includes personnel who, while still technically on the books, have retired, are away on long-term sick leave, are absent without leave, or serving time in Canadian Forces jails.
The dwindling numbers are significant as Canada prepares to join the American offensive against terrorism, according to defence analysts. If the military was needed to guard key installations at home, such as nuclear power plants, hydro generating stations and airports, large numbers of troops would be required.
"The numbers are pretty disappointing, but not surprising," said retired Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie. But he said even the 53,000 figure for the size of the regular forces is misleading.
That represents everybody the military is capable of putting in the field, including personnel of all ages and all trades. The number of actual trained combat troops is much smaller, he notes.
"Our army really only has about 14,000 people that can be deployed," he said. During the FLQ crisis in 1970, the military sent 12,500 troops to Quebec to act as peace officers, back up police and secure key locations such as government offices and the residences of politicians and other VIPs.
At the time the military's strength was around 98,000 personnel.
As backup the military can call on its reserve force made up of part-time members. The size of that force fluctuates but it is currently around 22,000, military spokesperson Sub-Lieut. Pierrette LeDrew said yesterday.
But Maj.-Gen. Mackenzie said it is unlikely that more than 60 per cent of those part-time soldiers, sailors and aviators would be available for duty.
"Their availability is directly proportional to the patriotism of their civilian employers," he noted. "Employers may be happy to let them go if they are called out for a week to remove snow in Toronto, but not if they are assigned duties for a long period."
Unlike in the U.S., there is no government legislation to guarantee job protection to those reservists who are called to duty. The U.S. air force has already called up several thousand reservists to handle guard and air patrol duties at home.
The effectiveness of the Canadian Forces has been at issue for several years now. Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Raymond Henault, insists the military is more combat-capable than at any time since the Persian Gulf War.
Defence Minister Art Eggleton has noted the military has received high-tech equipment such as the Coyote reconnaissance vehicle, and the government is in the process of restoring several billion dollars into the Canadian Forces budget. Mr. Eggleton has blamed the media and retired officers for exaggerating the problems faced by the armed forces. Defence officials insist on using the 59,000 figure to describe the size of the military.
Retired officers, however, have responded by challenging the claims by the military's leadership that the Canadian Forces is more combat-capable than at any time since the Gulf War. Not only have numbers of regular force personnel shrunk by almost 30 per cent over the decade, but the Canadian Forces has no way to quickly transport its troops overseas by either air or ship, both key elements of combat capability.
Budget cuts forced the Canadian military to chop its personnel over the last decade. The size of the armed forces dropped from 87,600 in 1990 to the current level of 58,000 to 59,000. There are no plans to increase those numbers substantially. The military is also having problems attracting new recruits and has embarked on a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign in an effort to increase enlistment.
The 1994 White Paper, the cornerstone of the government's defence policy, called for the size of the Canadian Forces to be set at 60,000 by 1999.
© Copyright 2001 The Ottawa Citizen
Sua Sponte