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(nice of the Air Force to fire some "chaff" and distract the media from the PM's purchase of executive jets ... proving yet again there are simply too many mis-employed rocket scientists gracing the halls of the federal civil service ... oh, and P.S. some soldiers do, in fact, actually have inspirational military artwork in their homes ... unlike the spin doctor quoted below ... sorta reminds me of the old joke: "... beige ... beige ... the ceiling should be beige ...")
Art lessons for the military
The Ottawa Citizen
Thursday, April 11, 2002
The Canadian War Museum has 13,000 pieces of war art -- paintings and photography -- in its Vimy House storage facility in downtown Ottawa. These works deserve public exposure. Federal officials could provide it, by hanging some of them in military barracks. Instead, they plan to hang prints of animals and country lanes.
The government, which chokes on buying equipment for the military, wants to purchase 208 framed art prints of wildlife, landscapes and bucolic village scenes to cheer up the troops at CFB Trenton. The pastel-themed works will hang on the walls of new housing at the base which serves as the hub of the Canadian military's air transportation operations.
The idea is to raise the sense of well-being among the troops. A spokesman said, "It's basically just keeping up with the times. The new standard is not unlike a Comfort Inn or a Best Western."
Nobody objects to comfortable housing for the military. But decorating quarters like a motel? We recall when mess halls and officers' quarters were adorned with pictures of warships plunging through the Atlantic, fighters swooping from the clouds, tanks rolling across battlefields and so on.
If the brains behind this operation want to do something worthwhile, they should reproduce works from the War Museum and hang them. Rather than have our pilots, navigators and technicians ponder big-eyed kittens, let them gaze on works that instil pride in their own traditions and, most important, encourage a fighting spirit.
+++++
Motel-style art to soothe a modern warrior
CFB Trenton to lift troops' living standards by spending $10,000 on prints for barracks
By GRAEME SMITH
Thursday, April 4, 2002 â “ Globe and Mail
Cute kittens, flower bouquets and water lilies will soon grace the normally drab walls of some of Canada's military barracks.
Federal officials are picking up 208 framed art prints to cheer up the troops at Canadian Forces Base Trenton.
They plan to adorn a new housing facility at the base in Trenton, Ont., with roughly $10,000 worth of nostalgic, pastel-themed works by late 19th- and 20th-century artists.
The fuzzy animals and verdant landscapes may not inspire soldiers' fighting spirit, but CFB Trenton spokesman Captain Paul Doucette said they're part of an important effort to raise the military's standard of living.
"It's basically just keeping up with the times," Capt. Doucette said. "The new standard is not unlike a Comfort Inn or a Best Western."
Plane crews and other personnel often travel through Trenton, the hub of Canada's air transport operations, on their way to deadly missions such as Operation Apollo in Afghanistan.
The base is also used by pilots, navigators and technicians while they receive training that can last weeks or months.
These visitors used to stay in the aging, wooden Yukon Lodge, built just after the Second World War.
But the base began modernizing last summer when it opened a $3.5-million barracks with 94 rooms, including private bathrooms, microwaves, refrigerators and subdued wall art.
Construction on another such facility is expected to be completed in nine months. The tender for the new building's artwork expires tomorrow.
Tender documents show the military's artistic preferences for Impressionists such as Claude Monet and realists such as Robert Bateman. Suppliers have been told the military will accept "no substitutes."
The prints are essentially colour posters, but with matting, glass and "Michelangelo" frames with an American walnut finish, they could cost roughly $50 each.
"We wanted something with a softer appeal," Capt. Doucette said. "They [personnel] are away from home and it's a bit of respite for them."
The interior decorating choices surprised military historians who say it's a departure from the Canadian Forces' traditionally Spartan aesthetic.
"It's bizarre," said Jonathan Vance, a history professor at McMaster University. "But then, there is a long history of the military buying things it doesn't need."
While it's an extreme example, Mr. Vance said, the contract also reflects a positive trend in military circles to treat soldiers with more respect than in the past.
"There used to be the perception that you can't make barracks too comfortable or the men would go soft," he said. "But now there's a growing perception of soldiers' rights to good working conditions."
Jack Granatstein, a professor emeritus at York University, said air force personnel have always been a step ahead of their compatriots in the navy and infantry when it comes to comfort. The English pilots who flew bombing raids over Europe would usually return to clean, white sheets and an assistant who would fetch bathing water, Mr. Granatstein said.
"But if they're going to put pictures up, I would have hoped they'd have purchased some military reproductions," he said.
+++++
Thursday, April 11, 2002
Military base makes homey impression with new artwork
By Sharon Lindores
Saturday, April 06, 2002 - 7:00:00 AM
Local News - Army barracks are known for their austere and spartan surroundings, but CFB Trenton wants to change that.
So it has ordered prints of works by artistic greats like Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh and Robert Bateman to adorn the walls of a new residence.
The artists' works are among 208 prints valued at about $30,000 which will make members of the military comfortable while they stay on the base.
â Å“The type of artwork is like something you'd see in a public office or a waiting room,â ? said Capt. Paul Doucette, base spokesman.
It's part of an initiative to make temporary lodgings more pleasing for military passing through or spending a couple of months there training.
Most of the buildings on the base were built in the late 1930s or early 1940s. Typically visitors stayed in the Yukon Lodge, which is still in use, but provides minimal comfort. It is being phased out as new accommodations are built.
Last summer a $3.4 million residence with 95 rooms opened. A similar residence is now under construction and is expected to open in December or January.
That's where the pictures will be hung.
Landscapes and wildlife may not be what you'd expect to find at Canada's biggest air base. But Doucette said there are plenty of pictures of Hercules, Airbuses and military scenes at CFB Trenton.
The decor for the new rooms is meant to give troops a more relaxing home-like atmosphere. The rooms are similar to what you would find in a Comfort Inn or Best Western, Doucette said.
â Å“I love my job and I'm very committed, but when I go home I want a little bit of time to maybe look at something different,â ? Doucette said. â Å“I don't have pictures of military planes hung in my house.â ?
The new rooms are â Å“nothing extravagantâ ? but a definite improvement, Doucette said.
They have private bathrooms, televisions, a small fridge and a phone with an outside line, so a visitor can hook up a laptop. Yukon Lodge guests don't even have private phones. People who stay there have to use a pay phone downstairs.
â Å“If I'm away from my family I want to have e-mail access and I don't want to have to leave my room just to make a phone call,â ? Doucette said.
Frank Norman, a retired major-general and former commandant of Royal Military College, lauded the move to more comfortable lodgings.
â Å“Travelling anywhere in the year 2002, boomers and their children have expectations as to the level of accommodation that will be provided and the amenities that will be there. How often have you gone into a hotel room with no coffee maker?
â Å“None of these things were considerations for soldiers, sailors and air personnel years ago,â ? said Norman, who with an honourary appointment has just started serving his 51st year.
â Å“I think it's a great idea. And I like the choice of Monet and a few others.â ?
The purchase is being tendered through the federal government's Public Works and Government Services. Six companies had put in bids by yesterday's deadline. The sale is expected to be finalized within a week.
+++++
(hmmm ... the only "art" mentioned herein is the MND ... ?)
Priorities for the coming year
By Gloria Kelly
Given the new realities of the world we live in, Defence must continue to be innovative and forward looking. This means focusing on the future and investing in those capabilities most relevant to the emerging security environment, such as interoperability, deployability, intelligence and the protection of Canada's critical infrastructure and people, says Defence Minister Art Eggleton in his presentation of the 2002-2003 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP).
The RPP represents the formal request from the Minister of DND to Parliament seeking parliamentary approval for DND's budget, resources and plans. It identifies the department's priorities for the coming fiscal year.
In addition to laying out priorities, the RPP also contains budget figures that indicate the department's total planned spending will be $11.8 billion in the upcoming year.
"While the key principals of the 1994 Defence White Paper remain valid, we must focus on meeting the challenges of the future,'' said Mr. Eggleton. "In the coming months, the Government of Canada will review its defence policy in order to ensure that it provides the right framework for protecting and promoting Canadian interests.
''Mr. Eggleton said he has set five broad priorities for DND for the coming year. These priorities build on the accomplishments of the CF and DND over the past few years and take into account the impact of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The five broad based priorities for the coming year are:
Responding to the new security environment through contributions to the international coalition against terrorism, and our commitment to enhancing national security and Canada's counter-terrorism capabilities.
Put our people first by strengthening recruiting and retention, learning and professional development, military health care, human-resource management and diversity in the workforce.
Optimize Canada's defence and security capabilities by updating Canada's defence policy and by advancing key capital projects such as the Maritime Helicopter Project, the upgrade of the CF-18's and light utility vehicles, etc.
Maximize management effectiveness by implementing new information management strategy, and promoting modern comptrollership, procurement reform, enhanced risk management, improved internal communications, and integrated defence management and performance measurements.?
Enhance our relationships by strengthening defence and security arrangements in North America, promoting key international security relationships, expanding strategic partnerships with other levels of government in Canada and the private sector, and continuing to improve communications in Canada.
As DND lays out its priorities in the RPP, Mr. Eggleton says significant pressures remain and will have to be addressed, if our current defence capabilities are to be sustainable.
"The challenges facing defence are not just about money,'' he said. "The world we live in has changed significantly over the past decade. Clearly, we cannot stand still. We must continue to adapt to new military, demographic, and technological realities.''
For a more detailed look at the RPP it can be found on the web at RPP http://www.vcds.forces.gc.ca/dgsp/dfppc/pubs/rpp01/intro_e.asp.
-30-
Art lessons for the military
The Ottawa Citizen
Thursday, April 11, 2002
The Canadian War Museum has 13,000 pieces of war art -- paintings and photography -- in its Vimy House storage facility in downtown Ottawa. These works deserve public exposure. Federal officials could provide it, by hanging some of them in military barracks. Instead, they plan to hang prints of animals and country lanes.
The government, which chokes on buying equipment for the military, wants to purchase 208 framed art prints of wildlife, landscapes and bucolic village scenes to cheer up the troops at CFB Trenton. The pastel-themed works will hang on the walls of new housing at the base which serves as the hub of the Canadian military's air transportation operations.
The idea is to raise the sense of well-being among the troops. A spokesman said, "It's basically just keeping up with the times. The new standard is not unlike a Comfort Inn or a Best Western."
Nobody objects to comfortable housing for the military. But decorating quarters like a motel? We recall when mess halls and officers' quarters were adorned with pictures of warships plunging through the Atlantic, fighters swooping from the clouds, tanks rolling across battlefields and so on.
If the brains behind this operation want to do something worthwhile, they should reproduce works from the War Museum and hang them. Rather than have our pilots, navigators and technicians ponder big-eyed kittens, let them gaze on works that instil pride in their own traditions and, most important, encourage a fighting spirit.
+++++
Motel-style art to soothe a modern warrior
CFB Trenton to lift troops' living standards by spending $10,000 on prints for barracks
By GRAEME SMITH
Thursday, April 4, 2002 â “ Globe and Mail
Cute kittens, flower bouquets and water lilies will soon grace the normally drab walls of some of Canada's military barracks.
Federal officials are picking up 208 framed art prints to cheer up the troops at Canadian Forces Base Trenton.
They plan to adorn a new housing facility at the base in Trenton, Ont., with roughly $10,000 worth of nostalgic, pastel-themed works by late 19th- and 20th-century artists.
The fuzzy animals and verdant landscapes may not inspire soldiers' fighting spirit, but CFB Trenton spokesman Captain Paul Doucette said they're part of an important effort to raise the military's standard of living.
"It's basically just keeping up with the times," Capt. Doucette said. "The new standard is not unlike a Comfort Inn or a Best Western."
Plane crews and other personnel often travel through Trenton, the hub of Canada's air transport operations, on their way to deadly missions such as Operation Apollo in Afghanistan.
The base is also used by pilots, navigators and technicians while they receive training that can last weeks or months.
These visitors used to stay in the aging, wooden Yukon Lodge, built just after the Second World War.
But the base began modernizing last summer when it opened a $3.5-million barracks with 94 rooms, including private bathrooms, microwaves, refrigerators and subdued wall art.
Construction on another such facility is expected to be completed in nine months. The tender for the new building's artwork expires tomorrow.
Tender documents show the military's artistic preferences for Impressionists such as Claude Monet and realists such as Robert Bateman. Suppliers have been told the military will accept "no substitutes."
The prints are essentially colour posters, but with matting, glass and "Michelangelo" frames with an American walnut finish, they could cost roughly $50 each.
"We wanted something with a softer appeal," Capt. Doucette said. "They [personnel] are away from home and it's a bit of respite for them."
The interior decorating choices surprised military historians who say it's a departure from the Canadian Forces' traditionally Spartan aesthetic.
"It's bizarre," said Jonathan Vance, a history professor at McMaster University. "But then, there is a long history of the military buying things it doesn't need."
While it's an extreme example, Mr. Vance said, the contract also reflects a positive trend in military circles to treat soldiers with more respect than in the past.
"There used to be the perception that you can't make barracks too comfortable or the men would go soft," he said. "But now there's a growing perception of soldiers' rights to good working conditions."
Jack Granatstein, a professor emeritus at York University, said air force personnel have always been a step ahead of their compatriots in the navy and infantry when it comes to comfort. The English pilots who flew bombing raids over Europe would usually return to clean, white sheets and an assistant who would fetch bathing water, Mr. Granatstein said.
"But if they're going to put pictures up, I would have hoped they'd have purchased some military reproductions," he said.
+++++
Thursday, April 11, 2002
Military base makes homey impression with new artwork
By Sharon Lindores
Saturday, April 06, 2002 - 7:00:00 AM
Local News - Army barracks are known for their austere and spartan surroundings, but CFB Trenton wants to change that.
So it has ordered prints of works by artistic greats like Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh and Robert Bateman to adorn the walls of a new residence.
The artists' works are among 208 prints valued at about $30,000 which will make members of the military comfortable while they stay on the base.
â Å“The type of artwork is like something you'd see in a public office or a waiting room,â ? said Capt. Paul Doucette, base spokesman.
It's part of an initiative to make temporary lodgings more pleasing for military passing through or spending a couple of months there training.
Most of the buildings on the base were built in the late 1930s or early 1940s. Typically visitors stayed in the Yukon Lodge, which is still in use, but provides minimal comfort. It is being phased out as new accommodations are built.
Last summer a $3.4 million residence with 95 rooms opened. A similar residence is now under construction and is expected to open in December or January.
That's where the pictures will be hung.
Landscapes and wildlife may not be what you'd expect to find at Canada's biggest air base. But Doucette said there are plenty of pictures of Hercules, Airbuses and military scenes at CFB Trenton.
The decor for the new rooms is meant to give troops a more relaxing home-like atmosphere. The rooms are similar to what you would find in a Comfort Inn or Best Western, Doucette said.
â Å“I love my job and I'm very committed, but when I go home I want a little bit of time to maybe look at something different,â ? Doucette said. â Å“I don't have pictures of military planes hung in my house.â ?
The new rooms are â Å“nothing extravagantâ ? but a definite improvement, Doucette said.
They have private bathrooms, televisions, a small fridge and a phone with an outside line, so a visitor can hook up a laptop. Yukon Lodge guests don't even have private phones. People who stay there have to use a pay phone downstairs.
â Å“If I'm away from my family I want to have e-mail access and I don't want to have to leave my room just to make a phone call,â ? Doucette said.
Frank Norman, a retired major-general and former commandant of Royal Military College, lauded the move to more comfortable lodgings.
â Å“Travelling anywhere in the year 2002, boomers and their children have expectations as to the level of accommodation that will be provided and the amenities that will be there. How often have you gone into a hotel room with no coffee maker?
â Å“None of these things were considerations for soldiers, sailors and air personnel years ago,â ? said Norman, who with an honourary appointment has just started serving his 51st year.
â Å“I think it's a great idea. And I like the choice of Monet and a few others.â ?
The purchase is being tendered through the federal government's Public Works and Government Services. Six companies had put in bids by yesterday's deadline. The sale is expected to be finalized within a week.
+++++
(hmmm ... the only "art" mentioned herein is the MND ... ?)
Priorities for the coming year
By Gloria Kelly
Given the new realities of the world we live in, Defence must continue to be innovative and forward looking. This means focusing on the future and investing in those capabilities most relevant to the emerging security environment, such as interoperability, deployability, intelligence and the protection of Canada's critical infrastructure and people, says Defence Minister Art Eggleton in his presentation of the 2002-2003 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP).
The RPP represents the formal request from the Minister of DND to Parliament seeking parliamentary approval for DND's budget, resources and plans. It identifies the department's priorities for the coming fiscal year.
In addition to laying out priorities, the RPP also contains budget figures that indicate the department's total planned spending will be $11.8 billion in the upcoming year.
"While the key principals of the 1994 Defence White Paper remain valid, we must focus on meeting the challenges of the future,'' said Mr. Eggleton. "In the coming months, the Government of Canada will review its defence policy in order to ensure that it provides the right framework for protecting and promoting Canadian interests.
''Mr. Eggleton said he has set five broad priorities for DND for the coming year. These priorities build on the accomplishments of the CF and DND over the past few years and take into account the impact of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The five broad based priorities for the coming year are:
Responding to the new security environment through contributions to the international coalition against terrorism, and our commitment to enhancing national security and Canada's counter-terrorism capabilities.
Put our people first by strengthening recruiting and retention, learning and professional development, military health care, human-resource management and diversity in the workforce.
Optimize Canada's defence and security capabilities by updating Canada's defence policy and by advancing key capital projects such as the Maritime Helicopter Project, the upgrade of the CF-18's and light utility vehicles, etc.
Maximize management effectiveness by implementing new information management strategy, and promoting modern comptrollership, procurement reform, enhanced risk management, improved internal communications, and integrated defence management and performance measurements.?
Enhance our relationships by strengthening defence and security arrangements in North America, promoting key international security relationships, expanding strategic partnerships with other levels of government in Canada and the private sector, and continuing to improve communications in Canada.
As DND lays out its priorities in the RPP, Mr. Eggleton says significant pressures remain and will have to be addressed, if our current defence capabilities are to be sustainable.
"The challenges facing defence are not just about money,'' he said. "The world we live in has changed significantly over the past decade. Clearly, we cannot stand still. We must continue to adapt to new military, demographic, and technological realities.''
For a more detailed look at the RPP it can be found on the web at RPP http://www.vcds.forces.gc.ca/dgsp/dfppc/pubs/rpp01/intro_e.asp.
-30-
