Defence planners are scrambling to figure out how the Canadian navy will be able to operate on the East and West coasts next year when it is left with only one ship capable of providing fuel and supplies for the service's frigates and destroyers.
Many of the ship systems for Preserver and Protecteur are nearly obsolete, according to the navy. For instance, the vessels use boilers to generate steam for their main propulsion. Spare parts are no longer readily available, and the skills needed to operate and maintain systems that were already mature in the 1960s are becoming increasingly rare.
Ummm there is a solvable solution for that. Buy new equipment. *gasp* Now you won't have to worry about wasting billions on 'upgrading' for the next hundred years.
This is where the Government of Canada is lacking in one of its basic responsibilities. This country, every country, needs a well kept military corps with modern equipment to fulfil the basic duties of territory patrol, sovereignty assertion and of course national defence.
It is unacceptable and irresponsible to rely on a foreign country's equipment to fill the gaps in our own. There is no guarantee that this US tanker will always be around. Canada needs its own.
The worst part about this is that his Army focus is silly, as many Army items can be purchased realtively quickly, as evidenced by the recent purchases of Leo 2s, Nyalas, and heavy trucks.
Ships and planes have far longer lead times (as the Liberals have learned vis-a-vis the Maritime Helo Project). These ships will take several years to build and outfit, even if we started on them today.
Harper promised the JSS way back in 2006, and yet still nothing has been done.
"uwish" said I am still pissed about the lack of follow threw on these defence initiatives.
We need this stuff and we needed it a decade ago.
No doubt, I'm pissed that the Liberals never lit a fire under this project just as much as I'm upset that Harper hasn't.
Just look at the DDHs. In 2 years, they start turning 40 YEARS OLD! Has anyone even asked for a proposal? Nope. Odds are we'll lose that capability soon too. If Harper doesn't get his ass in gear, we'll soon be reduced to a navy capable of only patrolling our coastline (which it has no interest in doing).
"Freakinoldguy" said This isn't new or even news. It's happened numerous times since they decomissioned the Provider.
As on previous occasions, we'll use an American Tanker to fuel and supply our squadrons, on which ever coast the AOR happens to be in refit.
Just more journalistic sensationalism.
And that ties Canada to the US militarily to the point that you folks just become our unofficial 51st state.
Allowinging this situation is an insult to Canadian sovereignty. If you don't think so then just what will happen if Canada wants to do something the USA opposes? All we have to do is cut off the gas and groceries and your Navy will be screwed, blued, and tattooed.
C'mon, cough up the $$ for a decent supply ship or just bring your navy home and stop pretending to be indpendent.
"bootlegga" said I am still pissed about the lack of follow threw on these defence initiatives.
We need this stuff and we needed it a decade ago.
No doubt, I'm pissed that the Liberals never lit a fire under this project just as much as I'm upset that Harper hasn't.
Just look at the DDHs. In 2 years, they start turning 40 YEARS OLD! Has anyone even asked for a proposal? Nope. Odds are we'll lose that capability soon too. If Harper doesn't get his ass in gear, we'll soon be reduced to a navy capable of only patrolling our coastline (which it has no interest in doing).
We won't even be able to patrol all our coast! Harper has given some nice toys to the Army, how about some toys for the Navy and Air force?
We won't even be able to patrol all our coast! Harper has given some nice toys to the Army, how about some toys for the Navy and Air force?
The Air Force has a bunch of new toys. Modernized CF-18s, Chinooks, UAVs, Hercs, and C-17s. The AF has got more equipment if you go by dollar value then the Army has.
The Navy is the one that has gotten the shaft in this whole thing. Cancelled supply ships, no plans for destroyers, delayed helicopters, shabby subs and not enough people to man the ships we have.
"BartSimpson" said This isn't new or even news. It's happened numerous times since they decomissioned the Provider.
As on previous occasions, we'll use an American Tanker to fuel and supply our squadrons, on which ever coast the AOR happens to be in refit.
Just more journalistic sensationalism.
And that ties Canada to the US militarily to the point that you folks just become our unofficial 51st state.
Allowinging this situation is an insult to Canadian sovereignty. If you don't think so then just what will happen if Canada wants to do something the USA opposes? All we have to do is cut off the gas and groceries and your Navy will be screwed, blued, and tattooed.
C'mon, cough up the $$ for a decent supply ship or just bring your navy home and stop pretending to be indpendent.
I agree that Canada should have at least 3 operational AOR's but as for the use of your tanker making us your 51 first state, it's a bit of a stretch.
Point in fact is that when your west coast navy had major commitments to the Gulf and no tankers available off the west coast due to refit and unscheduled repairs the HMCS Provider was assigned the role of your replenishment tanker.
So I guess that makes your guys our 11th province.
All this not withstanding, we have agreements in place where we actually put one of our frigates under US command to be part of one of your task groups.
So the fact that we use one of your AOR's when ours are in refit seems only fitting, but you've still gotta love the left wing on here screaming about how it's Harpers fault, when successive Liberal Governments failed to do anything about this problem and were actually the Government of the day when they decommissioned the Provider which was supposed to be the swing tanker for situations like this.
Ummm there is a solvable solution for that. Buy new equipment. *gasp* Now you won't have to worry about wasting billions on 'upgrading' for the next hundred years.
As on previous occasions, we'll use an American Tanker to fuel and supply our squadrons, on which ever coast the AOR happens to be in refit.
Just more journalistic sensationalism.
It is unacceptable and irresponsible to rely on a foreign country's equipment to fill the gaps in our own. There is no guarantee that this US tanker will always be around. Canada needs its own.
Another Harper defence portfolio failure...
Agreed. He's too focused on the Army, he needs to keep all branches in mind.
Ships and planes have far longer lead times (as the Liberals have learned vis-a-vis the Maritime Helo Project). These ships will take several years to build and outfit, even if we started on them today.
Harper promised the JSS way back in 2006, and yet still nothing has been done.
We need this stuff and we needed it a decade ago.
I am still pissed about the lack of follow threw on these defence initiatives.
We need this stuff and we needed it a decade ago.
No doubt, I'm pissed that the Liberals never lit a fire under this project just as much as I'm upset that Harper hasn't.
Just look at the DDHs. In 2 years, they start turning 40 YEARS OLD! Has anyone even asked for a proposal? Nope. Odds are we'll lose that capability soon too. If Harper doesn't get his ass in gear, we'll soon be reduced to a navy capable of only patrolling our coastline (which it has no interest in doing).
This isn't new or even news. It's happened numerous times since they decomissioned the Provider.
As on previous occasions, we'll use an American Tanker to fuel and supply our squadrons, on which ever coast the AOR happens to be in refit.
Just more journalistic sensationalism.
And that ties Canada to the US militarily to the point that you folks just become our unofficial 51st state.
Allowinging this situation is an insult to Canadian sovereignty. If you don't think so then just what will happen if Canada wants to do something the USA opposes? All we have to do is cut off the gas and groceries and your Navy will be screwed, blued, and tattooed.
C'mon, cough up the $$ for a decent supply ship or just bring your navy home and stop pretending to be indpendent.
I am still pissed about the lack of follow threw on these defence initiatives.
We need this stuff and we needed it a decade ago.
No doubt, I'm pissed that the Liberals never lit a fire under this project just as much as I'm upset that Harper hasn't.
Just look at the DDHs. In 2 years, they start turning 40 YEARS OLD! Has anyone even asked for a proposal? Nope. Odds are we'll lose that capability soon too. If Harper doesn't get his ass in gear, we'll soon be reduced to a navy capable of only patrolling our coastline (which it has no interest in doing).
We won't even be able to patrol all our coast! Harper has given some nice toys to the Army, how about some toys for the Navy and Air force?
We won't even be able to patrol all our coast! Harper has given some nice toys to the Army, how about some toys for the Navy and Air force?
The Air Force has a bunch of new toys. Modernized CF-18s, Chinooks, UAVs, Hercs, and C-17s. The AF has got more equipment if you go by dollar value then the Army has.
The Navy is the one that has gotten the shaft in this whole thing. Cancelled supply ships, no plans for destroyers, delayed helicopters, shabby subs and not enough people to man the ships we have.
This isn't new or even news. It's happened numerous times since they decomissioned the Provider.
As on previous occasions, we'll use an American Tanker to fuel and supply our squadrons, on which ever coast the AOR happens to be in refit.
Just more journalistic sensationalism.
And that ties Canada to the US militarily to the point that you folks just become our unofficial 51st state.
Allowinging this situation is an insult to Canadian sovereignty. If you don't think so then just what will happen if Canada wants to do something the USA opposes? All we have to do is cut off the gas and groceries and your Navy will be screwed, blued, and tattooed.
C'mon, cough up the $$ for a decent supply ship or just bring your navy home and stop pretending to be indpendent.
I agree that Canada should have at least 3 operational AOR's but as for the use of your tanker making us your 51 first state, it's a bit of a stretch.
Point in fact is that when your west coast navy had major commitments to the Gulf and no tankers available off the west coast due to refit and unscheduled repairs the HMCS Provider was assigned the role of your replenishment tanker.
So I guess that makes your guys our 11th province.
All this not withstanding, we have agreements in place where we actually put one of our frigates under US command to be part of one of your task groups.
So the fact that we use one of your AOR's when ours are in refit seems only fitting, but you've still gotta love the left wing on here screaming about how it's Harpers fault, when successive Liberal Governments failed to do anything about this problem and were actually the Government of the day when they decommissioned the Provider which was supposed to be the swing tanker for situations like this.