What military capabilities should Canada add first?

[Figleaf]

Whadaya think?

[watching&waiting]

You did not have a place for being able to protect our soveignty in the artic as well as right across our land. Canada should have the best force in the world for cold climate operations, and this then will also re-instate our claim to our own artic lands, which just ahppen to be a major part of our country. All levels of the forces need to be brought up to date with that in mind.

[Figleaf]

You did not have a place for being able to protect our soveignty in the artic as well as right across our land. Canada should have the best force in the world for cold climate operations, and this then will also re-instate our claim to our own artic lands, which just ahppen to be a major part of our country. All levels of the forces need to be brought up to date with that in mind.

Good point ... I wish I'd thought of it before making the poll.

[Argus]

Whadaya think?

It seems to me that we need helicopters - NOW. We need transport helicopters so they don't have to run dangerous resupply convoys, and armed helicopters - hell, even the Dutch have Apaches.

We need more LAVs, and more Nyalas. And we need more infantry. The three existing regiments should have a third batallion added (the third now, I believe is a reserve batallion, that would become the fourth).

Alternatively, we could reactivate one of the reserve or retired regiments like the Black Watch. Actually, in my opinion, we should do both.

We're not talking about the world here. Adding an extra batallion to RCR, R22nd and PPCLI would involve maybe 3500-4000 thousand men. Adding another regiment would add 3500-4000 thousand more.

I'd also like to see more coastal patrol ships and aircraft

[crazymf]

All immigrants should have to serve a couple of years at least as a pre-requisite for citizenship. That may instill a sense of Canadian pride in them.

[jbg]

Manufacture and sell Sea King helicopters, for export, to the Palestinian Authority, Hezbollah and Hamas.

[geoffrey]

All immigrants should have to serve a couple of years at least as a pre-requisite for citizenship. That may instill a sense of Canadian pride in them.

Great idea, French Foreign Legion style?

[Borg]

All immigrants should have to serve a couple of years at least as a pre-requisite for citizenship. That may instill a sense of Canadian pride in them.

Great idea, French Foreign Legion style?

Great - train the various muslims - now includes Somalians apparently and then they can go back to use this training against us? At least now they have to leave the country to do this.

On the other hand, why not have mandatory military service - much like the Swiss?

Borg

[Borg]

I am a proponent of an arctic capable and well armed navy. Throw in some long range, arctic based, well armed patrol helicopters with anti sub capability.

Then add mobile troops with artic capability.

Long range transport heloes are a good idea but they had better be all weather capable. Open up a couple of fuly kitted northern military bases and provide them with all the kit required to do the job.

Borg

[na85]

The forces need heavy-lift capability, especially teams like DART.

[Borg]

Heavy lift is on its way. Rather strat lift. I assumed the question to be "in addition to".

Unfortunately going to Trenton. Lots of additional expense to be able to handle them.

DART used so seldom it would pay to rent Antonov a/c.

Too big for the present hangars.

The fire fighters need to upgrade their equipment big time.

Ground handling equipment needs to see serious upgrade.

The fuel bowsers need to be upgraded - C-17 burns about 20,000 pounds per hour.

Excellent aircraft though.

Perhaps about 50 or more modern C-130s? The military is well adapted to handling them. Some with ski capability? Some armed for ground attack? Excellent short field and rough strip ability. Decent SAR ability.

Borg

[Argus]

All immigrants should have to serve a couple of years at least as a pre-requisite for citizenship. That may instill a sense of Canadian pride in them.

Given many thousands of those immigrants are Muslims, just which side do you think they'll be shooting at?

[Argus]

All immigrants should have to serve a couple of years at least as a pre-requisite for citizenship. That may instill a sense of Canadian pride in them.

Great idea, French Foreign Legion style?

In point of fact, the West, and the Americans in particular, should have brought in a new Foreign Legion years ago. There'd be far less sensitivity to casualties, and they'd be fairly cheap compared to Western troops.

I'd start up a Foreign Legion and base it in some cooperative African country. Hire ex-Eastern Bloc troops and use cheap eastern-bloc equipment. What's the pay of a Russian soldier these days - when they get paid - ten dollars a month? Hell, we could hire on several regiments worth cheap, and send them to trouble spots around the world. Then we offer up citizenship after X- years of service, and citizenship for their family if they die while in service. How valuable would three regiments like this be in southern Afghanistan right now?

Okay, well, maybe they wouldn't be welcomed in Afghanistan, but you get the idea. Send em to Iraq instead, trade em off for some American or British troops which could then go to Afghanistan.

[crazymf]

Yeah, you got it. The Canadian Foreign Legion.

Funny how Muslims pop up in conversation when I mention this. At least we'd have a chance to get a handle on them and impose training and discipline on them rather than merely opening our borders to them and letting them in anyway.

Think of military service as a major screening program. I think they'd weed out the chaff from the wheat pretty quickly and thoroughly.

[M.Dancer]

I tink we need a military doctrine that is in step with the realities of today.

Then we can decide what equipment in necessary.

That being said I have been a booster of the light armoured vehicle ever since the grizzly....but when we trained with them, I was perplexed at their use (armoured buses). We didn't carry a medium machine gun becasue the Grizzley had one....but the grizzley was kept away from fighting because it was a high value object.....(catch 22?)...and then it occured to me that maybe why we didn't use the grizzly the same way as others was because our doctrine was different. We had no close air support......

So if I wanted one thing for out troops it would be close air support.

[geoffrey]

The biggest threat to our actual national security is on the seas. We have only a couple handfuls of Maritime Coastal Defense Vessels to patrol the longest coastline on Earth. The amount of drugs, weaponary, people that are smuggled into Canada via shipping is likely astonishing. Beefing up the Navy is suprisingly, in my opinion, the best way to provide an actual increase in domestic security.

[blueblood]

Geoffrey is right in that we need a boost in the navy, which is why i said to get the subs, but we also need a stronger air force with intercepter type aircraft, if you look at it this way North Korea has the 4th largest army, but that army is completely useless in a transport plane and in a transport ship, and with modern GPS tracking technology all that is sitting ducks. Also i like geoffery's comment on the drugs, nothing like a good old torpedo to send all that coke to the bottom. Work smarter not harder is what i like to say

[geoffrey]

Geoffrey is right in that we need a boost in the navy, which is why i said to get the subs, but we also need a stronger air force with intercepter type aircraft, if you look at it this way North Korea has the 4th largest army, but that army is completely useless in a transport plane and in a transport ship, and with modern GPS tracking technology all that is sitting ducks. Also i like geoffery's comment on the drugs, nothing like a good old torpedo to send all that coke to the bottom. Work smarter not harder is what i like to say

I disagree, subs aren't the way to do it. More coastal defense vessels (currently staffed by reservists by the way, so I also voted for an increase in support for the reserve), aerial recon of our coastlines and borders and more funding to Navy Intelligence to track suspected drug and people traffickers is what is needed. Subs don't have a physical presence, where as surface vessels do. They have inherent authority and boarding operations are safer for Navy crews from MCDVs then submarines. Our current 4 subs are sufficient. What we need is surface vessels to patrol our ports and harbours, and inspect suspect vessels that could be carrying serious security threats to our country.

[M.Dancer]

More coastal defense vessels (currently staffed by reservists by the way, so I also voted for an increase in support for the reserve),

Those vessels, built to civilan standards are suitable for training and deep sea fishing. I believe their top speed is slight faster than slow......15 knots faster than slow....

[geoffrey]

More coastal defense vessels (currently staffed by reservists by the way, so I also voted for an increase in support for the reserve),

Those vessels, built to civilan standards are suitable for training and deep sea fishing. I believe their top speed is slight faster than slow......15 knots faster than slow....

That's because the previous governments (of both parties) refused to spend the required money on top of line patrol vessels like the US Coast Guard and some foreign Navy's have. That's what we need to do to ensure our safety inside Canada.

[Argus]

The biggest threat to our actual national security is on the seas. We have only a couple handfuls of Maritime Coastal Defense Vessels to patrol the longest coastline on Earth. The amount of drugs, weaponary, people that are smuggled into Canada via shipping is likely astonishing. Beefing up the Navy is suprisingly, in my opinion, the best way to provide an actual increase in domestic security.

And those vessels are too slow and inadequate to the task according to DND. Coastal Patrol vessels are not that expensive unless we go crazy and want them with missile system and missile defence systems, anti-submarine gear, etc.

[Argus]

More coastal defense vessels (currently staffed by reservists by the way, so I also voted for an increase in support for the reserve),

Those vessels, built to civilan standards are suitable for training and deep sea fishing. I believe their top speed is slight faster than slow......15 knots faster than slow....

Actually, they were built (justified) mainly as mine sweepers. Their internal kit can be swapped out for use as training vessels for the reserves, but they have also been referred to as "coastal patrol vessels", in accurately in my opinion.

[daniel]

I couldn't find "Diplomatic negotiation skills" so I had to settle for "Something else".

[blueblood]

Geoffrey, I don't know about you, but I'd be intimidated messing around with a country with a state of the art fleet of attack subs that have a reputation for blowing ships out of the water at a moments notice, just knowing we have this capability is a presence in itself. I agree with boosting up naval intelligence, also subs can surface and carry out boarding operations too, subs are also fast. I don't see how subs are more dangerous than ships, both sink, and if your in the arctic in an engagement and lose, everyone dies sub or ship. One problem with this plan too much money to finance this, oh well i can dream. For straight up feasibility and with current funding your plan is the way to go, I thought he was saying the DND got a massive cash injection and if it did I'd go my way.

[geoffrey]

Geoffrey, I don't know about you, but I'd be intimidated messing around with a country with a state of the art fleet of attack subs that have a reputation for blowing ships out of the water at a moments notice, just knowing we have this capability is a presence in itself. I agree with boosting up naval intelligence, also subs can surface and carry out boarding operations too, subs are also fast. I don't see how subs are more dangerous than ships, both sink, and if your in the arctic in an engagement and lose, everyone dies sub or ship. One problem with this plan too much money to finance this, oh well i can dream. For straight up feasibility and with current funding your plan is the way to go, I thought he was saying the DND got a massive cash injection and if it did I'd go my way.

You can buy alot more top of the line coastal defense ships than submarines. Not to mention they are far more effective.