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From Soldier Outlook on Cyprus and to Saint Defence Afghanistan e espritdecorps CANADIAN MILITARY VOLUME 21 ISSUE 4 $3.95 CANSEC ‘14: FOCUS ON THE RCN May 2014 Issue $3.95 Cdn / $4.50 US Display until 5 June 2014 WINTER MARCH Publications Mail # 40069149 1813 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Circulation Dept. 204-1066 Somerset St. W. Ottawa ON K1Y 4T3 IN ST. LAURENT’S SHADOW may 2014 espritdecorps 1 espritdecorps.ca METTRUM NEW AD COMING 2 Volume 21 Issue 4 COMMENT Scott Taylor publisher 4ON TARGET Ukraine–Crimea crisis Volume 21 Issue 4 Publisher Manager far more complex than Scott Taylor Julie Simoneau it first appears Senior Writer Circulation David Pugliese Kim Davis IF THERE IS ONE common thread emer- portion of the republic declared their own Columnist ging from the current crisis in the Crimea, autonomous stated called Transnistria. Michael Nickerson it is the revelation of the West’s collective In all of these cases the immediate Contributing Editors ignorance of the region. This can, in part, result was bloody inter-factional violence Les Peate, Norman Shannon be explained by our education system and widespread ethnic cleansing. As Journalism Interns teaching us the British imperial version of these conflicts raged, the westernespri media tdeMegancorps Brush, Laurel Sallie history, and the fact that from 1918 until remained focussed on the similarly violent Special Events CANADIAN MILITThérèseAR Darêche,Y MAGAZINE Michèle Simoneau, 1991, our geography class maps showed breakup of the former Yugoslavia. There- Wendy van Beilen, Emily Walsh only one vast red region collectively fore, despite the fact that the civil wars labelled the Soviet Union. raging in these former Soviet republics Contributors in this issue As such, we were taught that the capital were creating an equal amount of human Michel Drapeau, Joe Fernandez, Bob Gordon, The one Donaldthat’s E. Graves, read! Jack Harris, Joshua Juneau, of this federation was Moscow and that, suffering, without the benefit of media Eric Leclerc, Joshua Libben, Jason McNaught, as communists, they were our Cold War coverage and analysis, they remained little Robert Smol enemies. Few, other than scholars of known and even less understood. Regular Contributors Russian studies, would have understood By 1994, all of these conflicts had Chuck Konkel, Rick Leswick, Steven Staples the deeply rooted historical ethnic, cultural become what is termed “frozen conflicts.” Esprit de Corps and religious divisions that existed within Ceasefires were declared, but no actual #204-1066 Somerset St. W., Ottawa, ON K1Y 4T3 the various Soviet republics. peace agreements were brokered. More Tel: 613-725-5060 • Fax: 613-725-1019 It was only following the Soviet Union’s importantly, not a single nation formally www.espritdecorps.ca economic collapse and dissolution that recognized any of the breakaway territor- long-suppressed factional animosity ies. Toll-free: 1-800-361-2791 bubbled to the surface. As the various Re- That changed dramatically in August E-mail: [email protected] publics declared themselves independent 2008, when Georgian troops attempted Follow us on Twitter @EDC_Mag in 1991, it quickly became evident that the to forcibly reclaim the region of South Subscriptions former Soviet administrative boundaries Ossetia. At the height of this crisis, Russia $34.95 for 12 issues • $95.95 for 36 issues did not exactly conform to the ethnic intervened on behalf of the Ossetians, Esprit de Corps (ISSN 1194-2266) is published composition of the region. bloodily repulsed the Georgians and then twelve times a year (HST (no. 135453157) included). This, in turn, led to a number of ter- officially recognized both Abkhazia and Please send cheque, money order, Visa or Master- Card information with your subscription request. ritories declaring themselves independent South Ossetia. If you are moving or need to correct your mailing from the new republics. Within the bound- At the time, most western media address, call us toll-free from anywhere in Canada. aries of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the outlets echoed the political leadership in largely Armenian population in Nagorno- vilifying the Russians and condemning Karabakh declared themselves as an their “invasion” of Georgia. Most casual independent state. observers had no understanding of the Following Georgia’s declaration of complexity of this conflict and had no independence, ethnic Ossetians and idea that ethnic Ossetians are completely Abkhazians each declared their own distinct in their language and culture from autonomous regions. A similar division ethnic Georgians. A member of HMCS Toronto gives instructions occurred in the newly created Moldavia, on the radio during a training exercise simulating wherein the ethnic Russians in the eastern PUBLISHER ... CONTINUED ON P. 70 a boat threat. (LS DAN BARD, DND) Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069149 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: #204-1066 Somerset St. W., Ottawa, ON K1Y 4T3 espritdecorps.ca Tel: (613) 725-5060 may 2014 espritdecorps 3 V O L U M E 2 1 I S S U E 4 CONTENTS FAVOURITES p6 p54 p66 p69 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR IN THE NEWS THE OLD GUARD TRIVIA F E A T U R E S IN ST. LAURENT’S SHADOW Stephen Harper and the end of an era – by Eric Leclerc – 8 40 CANSEC ‘14: 16 THE WINTER A LOOK AT WHAT’S MARCH OF 1813 ON THE HORIZON Mother Nature proved herself FOR THE NAVY to be a worthy adversary – by David Pugliese – – by Donald E. Graves – STORIES 22 PERSPECTIVES: 45 EYE ON INDUSTRY: From Soldier to Saint: ICROSS Canada’s CADSI’s Outlook on Defence — by Laurel Sallie Billy Willbond — by Megan Brush 48 PERSPECTIVES: 26 COMMENTARY: A Tale of Two Missions: Cyprus and Was it worth it? — by Joe Fernandez; Afghanistan — by Joshua Libben Canada needs a 21st century strategy 50 PERSPECTIVES: — by Jack Harris; Drawing attention in all Great War Recipes — by Robert Smol the wrong ways — by Michael Nickerson 52 LAW AND ORDER: 30 EYE ON INDUSTRY: The Naval Trinity: The creation of Maritime FREMM: A simple solution; Rockwell Command Arctic — by Michel Drapeau & Collins Canada: Reinventing radio comms; Joshua Juneau Pelican: When failure is not an option; 56 HISTORICA CANADA: 3M Defence Canada: The spearhead of WWII veteran Frank Bing Wong innovation — by Jason McNaught 58 WORLD WAR II: 38 PERSPECTIVES: The Bren Gun Scandal — by Bob Gordon John McCrae: Remembering the man 64 WORLD WAR I: whose poem symbolizes remembrance — Trench Raiding: The costs and benefits of by Laurel Sallie raiding, Part VI — by Bob Gordon 4 Volume 21 Issue 4 FAVOURITES LOCKHEED NEW AD COMING may 2014 espritdecorps 5 FEEDBACK 4POSTED IN Letters to the editor AFGHANISTAN: MISTAKES WERE the ground” please we’re peacekeepers, policy? For a nation that could hardly sustain MADE, BUT WERE LESSONS although bombing from 20,000 feet as in 1,000 in a combat role without leaving early, LEARNED? Libya or Serbia seems acceptable to Can- that is truly a stretch of the imagination. adians, collateral damage notwithstanding. Afghanistan is a “wake-up” call for the It appears Canada will participate under R2P Army. Canada needs to be equipped and as long as casualties are few. trained for combat starting with general How tiresome it was to listen to the officers down to section level. Failure of self-congratulatory murmurings regarding mission is no excuse! Canada’s performance in “combat” in Af- Major (ret’d) Arthur Cobham ghanistan. “Best little army in the world,” Kelowna, B.C. “punching above our weight,” etc. If Britain could deploy 10,000 to Afghanistan and A READER FLIPS OUT are still in theatre in the fight, why did I have been a subscriber for more than Canada skulk away leaving its allies to 10 years and I have always enjoyed your continue “combat?” How telling it is to look at magazine. I usually read every issue casualty figures for 2010 – 2011, compared cover to cover. I understand that you can’t to 2006 – 2009 when real combat took place, always have an article self-contained and though wrong-headed use of the LAV III you sometimes have to continue the article resulted in most casualties. toward the back of the magazine. Lately, Does the formation of a new regiment, however, it seems that almost every article is By the end of 2014, the Afghan National the Special Operations Regiment, compen- continued. It is very annoying for us readers Army will be left to battle the Taliban on sate for the decline in standards in regular that like to read Esprit de Corps from front to its own. (SCOTT TAYLOR, ESPRIT DE CORPS) infantry battalions? Shades of the Airborne back. I find I miss reading articles because I Regiment here, I sense, as this new regi- lose my place in the magazine flipping back THE CANADIAN CONTINGENT in Kan- ment formed without permanent culture or and forth. Please tell whoever is responsible dahar has long returned to Canada, having committed personnel, operates in secret, for layout to shape up. given up “combat.” Thanks to aggressive performing tasks that may contravene the Mark Powell offensive operations by the Americans, Kan- Geneva Conventions, as do the American Coquitlam, B.C. dahar is now somewhat clear of Taliban. The Special Forces. American mission was to defeat the Taliban; An infantry battalion group trained for all DUTCH CITIZENS TEND WAR GRAVES the Canadian mission was unfortunately phases of war will find peacekeeping easy You were kind enough to print my comments scrambled in a combination of reconstruc- ,but trained specifically for peacekeeping on the military cemetery at Oosterbeek in tion, good governance promotion and local only will find “combat” terrifying. Too sad Holland (“Letters to the Editor,” Volume security, with a view to winning hearts and because the legacy of Afghanistan will 20, Issue 7).