May 2012 Esprit De Corps 1 NEW AD COMING
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May 2012 Issue $3.95 Cdn / $4.50 US Display until June 4, 2012 Publications Mail # 40069149 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Circulation Dept. 204-1066 Somerset St. W. Ottawa ON K1Y 4T3 may 2012 esprit de corps 1 NEW AD COMING 2 volume 19 issue 4 e ON TARGET? Political interference in military Volume 19 Issue 4 procurement is nothing new in Publisher Manager Canada. The F-35 controversy is just the Scott Taylor Julie Simoneau Scott Taylor publisher latest in a long string of boondoggles. Sales Director Circulation Blake Hurdis Natasha Overduin Columnist Atlantic Rep As the political storm continues to swirl that it was the Liberals who had purchased Michael Nickerson Gord Crowe around the controversial purchase of the the problem-plagued second-hand British Contributing Editors F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Conservatives boats in the first place. Les Peate, Norman Shannon have resorted to the age-old tactic of wrap- When the Chrétien Liberal govern- Business Development Avi Gavai pingA themselves in the flag and declaring ment dispatched our first ground troops Journalist their love for our troops. to Afghanistan in 2002, they deployed Marlee Wasser Regardless of the costs and multi-billion- wearing dark green camouflage uniforms. Special Events dollar accounting glitches in their procure- Despite the fact that in the previous decade Thérèse Darêche, Lale Eskicioglu ment, the Harper government would have alone, Canadian soldiers had served in Michèle Simoneau us all believe that (and I paraphrase for three separate desert environment missions Contributors in this issue Alex Davis, Newell Durnbrooke, Michael Hurley, brevity) no price is too high to ensure that (Western Sahara, Somalia and Eritrea), no Matthew Kellway, David Pugliese, George Sweanor the men and women who wear the uniform one thought to keep desert camouflage Regular Contributors will have the best possible equipment to in stock. Paul Culliton, Vincent J. Curtis, Col. Michel Drapeau, defend Canada’s sovereignty, our core When Canadians deployed to Kabul in Eric Leclerc, Michael Hurley, John P. Maclean, Mark Miller, David Pugliese, Steven Staples Canadian values and all things good in 2003, their main vehicle for transportation the world. In other words, anyone who was the Iltis jeep. These worn-out, light- Esprit de Corps #204-1066 Somerset St. W., questions the decision to purchase the F-35 weight utility vehicles had been earmarked Ottawa, ON K1Y 4T3 must be either anti-Canadian or pro-evil. for urgent replacement ten years earlier, Tel: 613-725-5060 • Fax: 613-725-1019 While such political rhetoric may play but when Chrétien was elected in 1993 he www.espritdecorps.ca well as a retort during question period or scrapped the procurement project. It was Toll-free: 1-800-361-2791 in a media sound bite, the sad fact is that only after three soldiers died in two separate E-mail: [email protected] rarely — if ever — have the Canadian Forces incidents involving the Iltis did the govern- deployed on operations with the best equip- ment move hastily towards acquiring the Subscriptions $34.95 for 12 issues • $95.95 for 36 issues ment required. Given the lengthy lead time heavier, better-protected Mercedes-Benz necessary for major military acquisitions Gelandewagens. Esprit de Corps (ISSN 1194-2266) is published twelve times a year (HST (no. 135453157) included). and the comparative rapid rotations of the In 1992, as part of their post-Cold War Please send cheque, money order, Visa or MasterCard information with your subscription request. If you are governing parties, there is often a justifiable cost-cutting measures, the Mulroney Con- moving or need to correct your mailing address, call measure of mutual finger-pointing when servative government decided that, rather us toll-free from anywhere in Canada. such projects attract negative attention. than upgrade the air force’s six Chinook For instance, the Conservatives are heavy-lift helicopters, we would simply quick to remind Canadians that it was give the choppers away to the Netherlands. the Liberals who first entered Canada Fast-forward to 2006: the newly elected into the preliminary Joint Strike Fighter Harper Conservatives find they have program. Similarly, when reports surfaced inherited a worsening combat mission in recently about the woeful state of our navy’s southern Afghanistan. With road travel submarine fleet, the Conservatives voiced becoming increasingly dangerous, the their continued support for the subs, but Leading Seaman Krysta Montreuil prepares to took the opportunity to remind all involved PUBLISHER ... CONTINUED ON P. 62 go below surface. (SGT NORM MCLEAN, DND) Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069149 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: #204-1066 Somerset St. W., Ottawa, ON K1Y 4T3 www.espritdecorps.ca Tel: (613) 725-5060 may 2012 esprit de corps 3 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 4 F E A T U R E S VICE-ADMIRAL PAUL MADDISON One-on-one interview with the Commander of the RCN — by Blake Hurdis — 8 18 40 CANSEC 2012 BATTLE OF PREVIEW FORT GEORGE It’s full steam ahead for the First battle in the War of 1812 naval industry and the NSPS is a rather one-sided affair — by David Pugliese — — by Michael Hurley — D E P A R T M E N T S 6 Posted In: Letters to the editor 14 Commentary: “F-35: Separating fact from fiction” by Matthew Kellway; “When compe- tence is as stealthy as an F-35,” by Michael Nickerson; “War drums, Netanyahu, and Jenkins’s ear,” by George Sweanor 26 Incoming: Hits & Misses: News from the front lines and the backrooms 32 In the News: The 2012 budget and the Auditor General’s report on the F-35 36 Interview: Blake Goldring: An honorary citizen soldier speaks out 46 Eye on Industry: Trackfire RWS; Guardian 400; Integrated Sonar Suite; 40 Mk4 54 Perspectives: “Fighting for those who fought for us 200 years ago,” by N. Durnbrooke 57 At Ease: Test your military knowledge against quizmaster Les Peate 58 War of 1812: “Naval battles on Lake Ontario: The battle of the carpenters,” by M. Hurley 62 Second World War: “Enemies to friends,” by George Sweanor 64 The Old Guard: News and information for serving members and veterans, by Les Peate 67 On Review: What We Talk About When We Talk About War & The Patrol, by Alex Davis 4 esprit de corps may 2012 4 volume 19 issue 4 IRVING SHIPBUILDING NEW AD COMING may 2012 esprit de corps 5 e Children were chattel of their fathers if born BRITISH SUBJECTS FIGHTING FOR CANADA in wedlock, and chattel of their mothers if born out-of wedlock. That’s the core of the Vimy problem: the government still defines citizenship based on those archaic chattel laws. While some discriminatory aspects of the antiquated Citizenship Act were corrected in 2009, the bureaucrats and politicians de- cided to retroactively undo the discrimination going back only to January 1, 1947. That means that many of those defined as “chattel” — people who still live in Can- ada — are being actively denied Canadian Men of the 29th Battalion of the Canadian Corps advanced across no-man’s-land in citizenship, and all the rights that go with it. the assault on Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917, in what would become one of the greatest This is a serious violation of the Canadian battles in Canadian history. Shockingly, some of the descendents of the men who Charter of Rights and Freedoms. fought and died for Canada during The Great War are being denied their Canadian citizenship and all the rights that go along with it. (NAC/PA-1020) Prior to 1947, Canadian women who married non-British status men lost their his is a column written by Don Chap- serving in Canadian uniforms during World Canadian status upon marriage; children T man in the Vancouver Observer that I War I and World War II were Canadian at were considered “property” of their fathers if thought readers of Esprit de Corps would all — including those 3,598 Vimy Ridge born in wedlock, and property of their moth- appreciate: casualties. Prime Minister Stephen Harper ers if born out-of wedlock. While the “married Ninety-five years ago, 3,598 British issued a statement on April 9th saying that women” issue was recently resolved, the soldiers, all dressed in Canadian military the government “is proud to pay tribute to wedlock issue continues to this date. Worse, uniforms, died at the battle of Vimy Ridge. those who fought in this historical battle,” Harper’s government is actually enforcing Or at least that’s what happened, accord- seemingly in contradiction with the repeated the pre-1947 legislation. The Canadian ing to the Canadian government. denial of Canadian citizenship to children of government’s only reasons for denying cit- In January, Citizenship and Immigra- war veterans. izenship had to do with discrimination based tion (CIC) officials sent a letter denying As most Canadians know, Canada be- on age, gender, and family status — all sup- citizenship to Jackie Scott — daughter of a came a separate country under the British posedly protected by the Charter of Rights. Canadian war veteran soldier and a British North American Act in 1867. One year later, Canadians can and must do better. It’s war bride — arguing that her Toronto-born the first unique form of “Canadian” identity time to reclaim all our people — regardless father was not in fact a Canadian, despite was adopted. of the circumstances of their birth — and having fought for his country. Instead, the Word for word, it stated, “Married women, we must embrace every one of our fallen letter stated that Scott’s father was a “Brit- minors, lunatics, and idiots” is classified soldiers.