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(from the Sun)
Wednesday, May 9, 2001
Canuck military laughable: General
By STEPHANIE RUBEC, Parliamentary Bureau
Canada‘s military has become a haven for sensitive soldiers who don‘t have the right stuff for combat, charged a respected Canadian general.
Retired Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie told a Commons committee that the Canadian Forces has been stripped of its fighting forces by budget cuts and couldn‘t even scrape up a 5,000-strong fighting brigade.
MacKenzie complained that soldiers not pegged for ongoing peacekeeping missions are too busy taking sensitivity training instead of warfare techniques.
"I would prefer fighting against the Canadian army of today rather than the Canadian army of 10 years ago," he said, contradicting Chief of Defence Staff Maurice Baril‘s recent claims that the Canadian Forces is more combat ready now than it was a decade ago.
"I cannot concede that anyone who knows anything about the military will not believe that we‘ve gone past a critical mass, especially in the army," he added.
MacKenzie said that Defence Department cuts have eliminated fighting brigade training and trust building exercises.
"I would be delighted if we spent as much on marksmanship training as we have on sensitivity training," he said. "I think some priorities need to be looked at."
MacKenzie blamed the current practice of throwing soldiers from different backgrounds together on missions for the increase in post traumatic stress disorder.
"The absolutely worst thing you can do before you go out is re-organize," he said, pointing to the need to build trust.
MacKenzie predicted Canada will fail when the UN calls soldiers to a war zone.
"Canadian soldiers haven‘t had an opportunity to train for it and they don‘t have the equipment for it," he said.
"I‘m also overly concerned that we are becoming a laughing stock with the Americans," he said.
Wednesday, May 9, 2001
Canuck military laughable: General
By STEPHANIE RUBEC, Parliamentary Bureau
Canada‘s military has become a haven for sensitive soldiers who don‘t have the right stuff for combat, charged a respected Canadian general.
Retired Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie told a Commons committee that the Canadian Forces has been stripped of its fighting forces by budget cuts and couldn‘t even scrape up a 5,000-strong fighting brigade.
MacKenzie complained that soldiers not pegged for ongoing peacekeeping missions are too busy taking sensitivity training instead of warfare techniques.
"I would prefer fighting against the Canadian army of today rather than the Canadian army of 10 years ago," he said, contradicting Chief of Defence Staff Maurice Baril‘s recent claims that the Canadian Forces is more combat ready now than it was a decade ago.
"I cannot concede that anyone who knows anything about the military will not believe that we‘ve gone past a critical mass, especially in the army," he added.
MacKenzie said that Defence Department cuts have eliminated fighting brigade training and trust building exercises.
"I would be delighted if we spent as much on marksmanship training as we have on sensitivity training," he said. "I think some priorities need to be looked at."
MacKenzie blamed the current practice of throwing soldiers from different backgrounds together on missions for the increase in post traumatic stress disorder.
"The absolutely worst thing you can do before you go out is re-organize," he said, pointing to the need to build trust.
MacKenzie predicted Canada will fail when the UN calls soldiers to a war zone.
"Canadian soldiers haven‘t had an opportunity to train for it and they don‘t have the equipment for it," he said.
"I‘m also overly concerned that we are becoming a laughing stock with the Americans," he said.