Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ship AOPS

[Maxman1]

As the first Canadian ship to visit Antarctica, would the crew of Margaret Brooke be eligible for the Polar Medal?

 

[Halifax Tar]

Its a great go, but my question is why? I listened to a clip from the CO, and she says, they have done everything but paint the ship red and white to show it is on a scientific mission, and not in the area as a warship or on a sovereignty mission.

Given the current fiscal reality, is there nothing better that the ship could be doing than being a research vessel? Unless this is a role the AOPs and the Navy had in mind for it from the beginning.

The answers below are all Navy speak for we wanted to do a cool trip with some cool ports.

Stop asking hard questions.

It's called showing the flag although I suspect there aren't too many people inside the Government who even understand the concept.
I wonder who on the political side of this signed off on it ?
It's actually quite cleaver on several levels,the diplomatic/ military implications are interesting...

A few points I would put forward:

- Training personnel and providing experience at sea, AOPS is a new class and getting serious deployments with substantial length is very valuable. Personnel generation for the class is important as it had been previously sidelined due to a lack of qualified Martechs as far as I am aware.

- Prestige/morale, this is the first time the RCN has ever deployed to the Antarctic and a trip throughout South America is excellent for boosting morale. This is the kind of deployment that makes peoples careers and they never forget, especially when they are getting paid for a deployment unlike Arctic work.

- Building international connections, going to ports and meeting with our allies/international partners is a good use of our time given the value it can provide.

- Antarctic research, this information is very important and it allows Canada to get involved somewhere it usually is not. It can help give us perspective on our own Arctic and global warming, as it affects all of us.

- Lack of other work, Harry DeWolf is deployed to the Caribbean on drug interdiction roles and the Arctic is not navigable this time of year. No other notable deployments that would be better for an AOPS at this time.

- Selling AOPS abroad, New Zealand had been previously interested in the design for Antarctic use but they canceled their program due to cost issues.

 

[Grimey]

Is rounding Cape Horn considered Antarctic adjacent? I was in HMCS Kootenay when we did that in 95.

That's news to me. A real rarity. Must have been a cool trip.

 

[FSTO]

Was it ever!!!!

That's news to me. A real rarity. Must have been a cool trip.

Strait of Magellan, Chilean inside passage, Valparaiso. Lasting memories for ever!

 

[Svanen]

As the first Canadian ship to visit Antarctica, would the crew of Margaret Brooke be eligible for the Polar Medal?

Not if the Polar Medal Advisory Committee wants to retain a shred of credibility.

 

[Furniture]

Stop asking hard questions.

It's not a hard question though, as pointed out by others you quoted. Just because you disagree with the answers does not mean they are not correct.

Warfighting is the smallest part of what a navy does. It can be the most important part at times, but it the smallest thing.

Navies are used to project a nation's influence through diplomatic visits, and to protect sea lanes from people who want to disrupt trade. Canada sailing AOPVs around both North and South America is Canada reminding the rest of the Americas that we exist, and we are rich enough to send ships out to pay visits and host parties. Parties where trade gets talked about.

As much as people love to whine that Canada is poor, and the RCN has no ships, we are doing that while comparing ourselves against the most powerful nations that have ever existed on the planet. Compared to our Central and South American counterparts, we are rich, modern and well equipped. Reminding them of that is not a bad thing.

 

[Halifax Tar]

It's not a hard question though, as pointed out by others you quoted. Just because you disagree with the answers does not mean they are not correct.

Warfighting is the smallest part of what a navy does. It can be the most important part at times, but it the smallest thing.

Navies are used to project a nation's influence through diplomatic visits, and to protect sea lanes from people who want to disrupt trade. Canada sailing AOPVs around both North and South America is Canada reminding the rest of the Americas that we exist, and we are rich enough to send ships out to pay visits and host parties. Parties where trade gets talked about.

As much as people love to whine that Canada is poor, and the RCN has no ships, we are doing that while comparing ourselves against the most powerful nations that have ever existed on the planet. Compared to our Central and South American counterparts, we are rich, modern and well equipped. Reminding them of that is not a bad thing.

I'm cool with situations that get our sailors sea time and practical experience at their job.

Let's also not flower it up, it's a cool trip with some cool ports.

If we have a sustained and vested interest in Antartica and SA then I expect this will become a common deployment for a ship. At which point I will eat some crow.

 

[Rainbow1910]

Is rounding Cape Horn considered Antarctic adjacent? I was in HMCS Kootenay when we did that in 95.

FSTO mentioning their deployment 30 years ago should help reinforce what these kind of trips abroad can actually do for people, who are the backbone of our various forces themselves. Some Canadians never get to realistically go abroad, and getting to go abroad to places throughout South America and Antarctica is a far cry from rolling down south to Boston, New York or a western US port respectively. It can very much be a focal point for peoples careers and something they look back fondly on.