Jungle Warfare

[PPCLI MCpl]

Canadian troops may learn jungle warfare

OTTAWA - Canadian soldiers may soon be chopping their way through the jungles of South and Central America, the head of the army says.
 
Lt.-Gen. Rick Hillier told the Toronto Star that he's working on a plan to train troops in jungle warfare.

He said he has no plans to dispatch the army to a specific skirmish, but wants it ready to fight in any environment.

"We know we're going to operate around the world," the army commander said in a newspaper report published Monday. "We need to make sure we have resident in our army those skills sets."

Under the plan, Canadians would train Central and South American forces in peacekeeping in exchange for a schooling in jungle combat.

The plan moved closer to reality last week, when Hillier and Defence Minister Bill Graham discussed it with their counterparts at a defence meeting in Ecuador.

Hillier said the plan will strengthen Canada's ties with other armed forces while helping southern countries that want a stronger presence on the world stage, such as Uruguay.

Written by CBC News Online staff

 

[Gunnerlove]

Kind of like the US Canada training exchange that went on during Vietnam. We sent troops to the states they trained and deployed them. Not a bad way for eager peacetime soldiers to get some experience they otherwise would not get.

 

[HollywoodHitman]

Interesting that they're looking to begin this type of training. I think it's about time as the Jungle environment requires a completely different set of skills than what we're used to.

I wonder if it is possible that Canada may begin to look at some missions closer to home, maybe in S. America etc to take pressure of the US commitments in those areas..........

 

[pbi]

There's actually nothing new about this. For years the Inf Bns sent guys to the Australian Army Jungle Warfare Centre (at Canungra??), to the US Army jungle warfare facility in Panama, and to Jamaica. This training, like all of the other good Inf stuff we used to do alot of, seems to have become a casualty of budgets and op tempo. Good to see it coming back. IMHO the more "real" infanty training we do, the better., a opposed to rumbling around as GIBs (Guys In the Back). Cheers.

 

[HollywoodHitman]

PBI,

I seem to recall that in the past the only ones who were able to go on the courses in Aus or Panama had to be Sgt. or better and that the odds of being selected were somewhat similar to winning the POWERBALL lottery.........Has this changed?

TM

 

[pbi]

PBI,

I seem to recall that in the past the only ones who were able to go on the courses in Aus or Panama had to be Sgt. or better and that the odds of being selected were somewhat similar to winning the POWERBALL lottery.........Has this changed?

TM

No: IIRC we sent entire companies. I know for a fact that in 3PPCLI we sent Recce Pl complete to Panama. At one time we were a "patrolling Army" and we invested alot of effort into being good at those skills. I'm not sure exactly where we would stack up today: I would be very interested to hear the opinions of those in bn now.

 

[Fusaki]

Man, this sort of thing would be sweet.

I haven't been in long enough to take part in anything like this before, but I can imagine it would be a good go. A few weeks of patrolling in the jungle and the possibility of partying in South America? Definitely a get away from the everyday. This is the kind of training I joined for.

 

[JBP]

Good to hear!

I'm still hoping that I'll one day (down the road 2-3 yrs) I can get something like unarmed combat and/or basic mountain ops courses in Reserve. Any chance of those or any "Jungle" type courses comming to reserves???

I imagine I cut my chances at least 3X compare to reg force but do reserve guys get training like that too???

PS> I swear in Dec 9th so can't ask anyone in my unit yet...

 

[Matt_Fisher]

Ghostwalk,

Be careful for what you wish for.  Nothing like having a millipede crawl down your shorts to get the adrenaline going.  ;D

All in all though, I'm happy for you guys to have the opportunity once again to broaden your training experiences.  In hindsight I am kind of surprised when Canada negotiated the 'Subs for Training Areas' deal that Canadian access to the British Army Jungle Training Center in Belize wasn't in the contract.  Same thing could have been done for the VanDoos and other franco units with the French jungle training center in Guyana.

Even here in the US, access to jungle training has become more problematic with the closure of Ft. Sherman in Panama.  We Marines have a jungle training facility in Okinawa and have the opportunity to train in Thailand and Singapore as part of Western Pacific deployments.
I don't know what the US Army is doing for jungle training since Ft. Sherman was closed.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

I thought 3 PPCLI used be referred to as "the jungle battalion' because of the training the did on the west coast in the rain forest environment - about 15 years ago?

 

[armyrules]

oooh jungle warfare how interesting.
Would this type of training be longer than other types?

 

[pbi]

The terrain and climate on Vancouver Island contribute to some very "jungle-like" areas. In the vicinity of Nanaimo, back in the logging areas, is a region known as Deadwood Valley. When I was in 3PPCLI (1983-86) we used to do patrol trg there quite a bit, and one year we ran a battalion patrol competition there. It was an area of swamps, rock, and extremely thick canopy. There was also extensive deadfall, which I suppose gave rise to the name. It was so dark in the valley at night that you literally could not see your hand in front of your face-we sometimes put our compasses over our backs so the soldier behind could see the guy in front of him(glowsticks and luminous cats-eyes were not yet common). I can recall taking about three hours to go a kilometre: fall in a swamp, get up, fall over a log, get up, fall in a swamp, etc. Loads of fun for the guy carrying the GPMG. It was very challenging terrain and I imagine somewhat resembled a jungle area.  All Inf should get a chance to work on patrolling under those conditions. Cheers.

 

[armyrules]

Thanx for that insight pbi it sounds fun

 

[HollywoodHitman]

Patrolling here on the 'Wet Coast' can be a challenge and a chore. Some of the rain forests here have enough deadfall and whatnot to do a great job of simulating a 'Jungle' environment. About the only thing we're missing are the creepy crawlies and the heat.......Oh yeah, and the nice warm, water.......With any luck the 3VP will start sending troops through and some spots will open up for the rentals.

TM

 

[rw4th]

It's funny that stuff like this is even considered news.

CBC: Army to get training
Population: Ooooooo, Ahhhhhhh

I'm surprised they didn't spin it as "Jungle Peacekeeping"  :

 

[OLD F of S]

        This is not new, in the 70s the CAR trained in Jamacia for jungle warfare. I was Sigs support
2 years for the exercises and it is about time they brought the training back.

                            Regards

 

[HollywoodHitman]

Old F of S.....

The 70's........you said it. To the army today, this is going to be new. (Thats not a shot at age.......I learned to stop doing that when I started to feel it!)

TM

 

[dutchie]

Did anyone else immediately think of Sudan when reading this story? That was my first thought.

 

[enfield]

Why the need to begun relationships with potentially dodgy (ie, politically unpalatable given recent histories) S American/ SE Asia/African states? Do the Brits (Belize & Brunei), French (Guyana), Aussies, or Americans (Okinawa) suddenly not like us?

Jungle training sounds like a blast, and something we haven't had any of (except East Timor?) for too long, given the likelihood of deploying to a jungle terrain.
Any thoughts on further specialized training, like Desert?

 

[Infanteer]

Did anyone else immediately think of Sudan when reading this story? That was my first thought.

Being that Sudan is a desert, I am not sure why you would think of this....