Justin Trudeau hints at boosting Canada’s military spending

I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[MilEME09]

That's why one should concentrate on students, and train the hell out of them for the full summers when they are looking for work anyway.

In three summers and two academic years (five summers and four years for officers and certain others) you should be able to get them BMQ, DP1 and 2 trained in whatever trade. After that you go on a reduced cycle of obligatory training which caters for outside work and the family.

Get them while they're young and needing cash.

I agree, where I see the opportunity is just like the army, most civilian jobs are busiest in the summer. Non student reservists could probably find an easier time to get time off Oct to March then they can May to Aug. Why not run a course or two in the winter catering to the other group?

 

[daftandbarmy]

As long as your model doesn't involve 12-24 month long enrollment and transfer processes, just about anything can work...

My 2c...

Well, in that case....

 

[FJAG]

I agree, where I see the opportunity is just like the army, most civilian jobs are busiest in the summer. Non student reservists could probably find an easier time to get time off Oct to March then they can May to Aug. Why not run a course or two in the winter catering to the other group?

No reason why not. I see a regional training organization that is part of CADTC which I conveniently call "Depot battalions". These are located out of Edmonton, Meaford, Valcartier and Aldershot but with companies and platoons located in all major cities with ResF units and student populations.

The role of the Depot Battalions is to take over recruiting and BTL management from the moment the person shows an interest to when trained and transferred to a unit. I see a full-time cadre large enough to manage all the administration and course management year round with ResF and RegF augmentation through the summers. There is no reason why they couldn't also conduct courses during the academic year while the main mass is in civilian schools.

I've been focusing mainly on ResF training during the 1 May to 30 Aug timeframe but with appropriate staffing there is no reason why they couldn't take over training of RegF personnel during the 1 Sep to 30 Apr period as well.

Officer and DP3 and higher training stays with the CTC. (which may or may not delegate some of that down to the Depot Battalions)

As long as your model doesn't involve 12-24 month long enrollment and transfer processes, just about anything can work...

My 2c...

For the life of me I can't understand how that ever was allowed to develop.

Putting recruiting; individual training up to DP2; common courses for RegF and ResF all under one agency should remove many of the administrative barriers to BTL management. If one for example absorbs the CFRG and sufficient medical staff (both CF and contract clinics) and security clearance into these battalions should lessen problems. One could even go so far as to have Depot Battalions do BMQ for the RCN and RCAF and totally absorb the CAF recruit school system.

Such a system using either local armouries or semi-austere summer training camps would have a much greater ability to expand and contract for throughputs than the current regime which is limited by fixed infrastructure. Leaning heavily on Community Colleges for teaching the fundamentals of tech trades would greatly reduce the burden on our own trade schools (which would then only have to concern themselves with adding on the specific military aspects while at the same time giving the students a provincially recognized civilian trade qualification.

 

[mariomike]

Problem is training courses aren't two weeks, hell mine were 3 months, had to switch jobs many tines because employeers didn't like playing ball, and it's not worth filing a complaint

Sorry to hear that. Military Leave was written into our collective agreement. You did not have to ask permission. It was your right - under certain circumstances.

Two weeks Leave With Pay ( city pay, not PRes pay ) every summer.
That was for summer "Concentration". Not sure if they still call it that, or even if they still have it?

Two weeks of PRes cost city taxpayers 200 hours pay. ( 80 hours for the reservist and another 80 hours OT at time-and-a-half to cover the their shifts. )

If you wanted more than two weeks, there better be a war on.

Military Leave
24.09 (a) Leave of absence shall be granted to employees to serve in the Armed Forces during hostilities or during a time of war as declared by the Government of Canada. Seniority will accumulate during such leave.

That's why one should concentrate on students, and train the hell out of them for the full summers when they are looking for work anyway.

^ This.

SSEP paid me three full summers of PRes, until I started my full-time career.

Thereafter, two weeks Leave With Pay ( city pay rate, not PRes ) every summer.

Salary & Benefits​

Employees are paid their regular pay provided they submit any compensation received for military service to the city treasurer, unless this compensation is paid for days they are not scheduled to work.

( With 12-hour shifts, you didn't work many days anyway. )

Compensation received for travelling expenses and meal allowance does not have to be returned to the city.

All benefits continue during the leave.

An employee’s service is not affected by the leave. An employee’s vacation entitlement, seniority and pension credit do not change.

 

[OceanBonfire]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1503416416212553734

 

[KevinB]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1503416416212553734

A report that tells nothing other than the CAF doesn't manage money well.
Shocking.

Also the Germans just spent more in one year in Capital acquisitions than Canada expects to over 10, almost 15...

 

[FSTO]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1503416416212553734

Kicking the can down the road is what Canada does best!

 

[Brad Sallows]

2 years mandatory service immediately after high school for all.

No fucking way. The mind is still developing; people on either an academic or occupational track should be in school still.

 

[BillN]

Kicking the can down the road is what Canada does best!

Did anyone expect anything different????

 

[Kirkhill]

Kicking the can down the road is what Canada does best!

Jam tomorrow!

 

[QV]

No fucking way. The mind is still developing; people on either an academic or occupational track should be in school still.

Then 1-2 years immediately after post secondary completion.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

A report that tells nothing other than the CAF doesn't manage money well.
Shocking.

Also the Germans just spent more in one year in Capital acquisitions than Canada expects to over 10, almost 15...

SSE= Sort of, Sometime, Excuses

 

[Brad Sallows]

Then 1-2 years immediately after post secondary completion.

Whatever. The number of high school graduates in Canada each year is somewhere near or above 300,000. Got a plan to run 10,000 basic training platoons each year?

 

[KevinB]

How about 20 CSC, 5 JSS, some sort of RORO Big Honking ship, and new Subs for the Navy (I will even drop my preference for SSN if it gets a decent AIP new boat)
140 F-35's, 25 P-8, 180 FVL (replace the Cyclone, and the Griffons, Cormorants) for a pure fleet Utility, while I am partial to the Bell submission, the Sikorsky/LocMart may be better for Naval and SAR as tilt rotor has some issues with space and downwash, add 15 more Hooks, find a way to get more C-17's (used low hour ones, or see what it would take to get Boeing to kick the line back up - I suspect some other customers want the same) - and UAV's for the Air Force.

Army - sort out the Reserves.

1 Heavy Bde (30-70 reg/res) - Prepositioned in Europe (Latvia comes to mind - but the Ukraine might be a good spot after this is all settled)
2 Med Bde (30-70 reg/res)
1 Light Bde 70/30 reg/res) *rapid response force until your heavier forces can get into an area
1 Combat Support Bde (70/30 reg/res)
2 Service Support Bdes (50/50 reg/res)


I have now spend 80 years of CAF budget in less than a decade...

 

[TacticalTea]

How about 20 CSC, 5 JSS, some sort of RORO Big Honking ship, and new Subs for the Navy (I will even drop my preference for SSN if it gets a decent AIP new boat)
140 F-35's, 25 P-8, 180 FVL (replace the Cyclone, and the Griffons, Cormorants) for a pure fleet Utility, while I am partial to the Bell submission, the Sikorsky/LocMart may be better for Naval and SAR as tilt rotor has some issues with space and downwash, add 15 more Hooks, find a way to get more C-17's (used low hour ones, or see what it would take to get Boeing to kick the line back up - I suspect some other customers want the same) - and UAV's for the Air Force.

Army - sort out the Reserves.

1 Heavy Bde (30-70 reg/res) - Prepositioned in Europe (Latvia comes to mind - but the Ukraine might be a good spot after this is all settled)
2 Med Bde (30-70 reg/res)
1 Light Bde 70/30 reg/res) *rapid response force until your heavier forces can get into an area
1 Combat Support Bde (70/30 reg/res)
2 Service Support Bdes (50/50 reg/res)


I have now spend 80 years of CAF budget in less than a decade...

Any reason we can't get on that AUKUS SSN deal?

Also holy molly the Raider X FVL looks like an amazing weapons platform. Here's to hoping all the dreams come true... hah!

 

[KevinB]

Any reason we can't get on that AUKUS SSN deal?

Also holy molly the Raider X FVL looks like an amazing weapons platform. Here's to hoping all the dreams come true... hah!

I think SSN is a bridge to far for Canada at this moment.
I didn't include AH yet either, because getting a decent Helo UH is a larger priority to me than getting an AH at this point -- small steps

 

[Kirkhill]

There is more than the Canadian Solution for organizing defence.

Denmark is a country of less than 6 million people with an area a bit smaller than Nova Scotia.
Canada is a country of 38,000,000.

We have 7 times the population and 232 times the area.

In World War 2 it was overrun by Germany when the Danish government told the Danish Army to not resist and lay down their arms.
This didn't sit well with many Danes who organized their own resistance who fought the Germans for the next 5 years.

After the war the government reinstated the army.
But the resistance movement wanted to ensured that the defence of the nation was in the hands of the people so they organized the Home Guard.
The Army is the Government's Army.
The Home Guard is, effectively Parliament's Army.

The Government's Army

The Government's Army is paid and its ranks filled by volunteers and conscripts.
Every 18 year old is registered for conscription but most are never called up.
Most positions are filled by volunteers from the list.
Conscripts do 4 months training and can then be released or can volunteer for additional service with the Danish equivalent of the Ceremonial Guards and other duties. They can also sign on for full time contracts and volunteer for overseas service.
This system sustains a paid Government Army with a High Command and a 2 Brigade Divisional Force with 25,400 active members.

Multiply by 7 and the Canadian equivalent would be 7 Divisions, 14 Brigades and 177,800 active members.

Technically all Danish 18-year-old males are conscripts (37,897 in 2010, of whom 53% were considered suitable for duty).[36] Due to the large number of volunteers, 96-99% of the number required in the past three years,[37] the number of men actually called up is relatively low (4200 in 2012). There were additionally 567 female volunteers in 2010, who pass training on "conscript-like" conditions.[38]

The active army is backed by a Reserve force of ex-members

WHAT IS THE RESERVE

The reserve is the group of military personnel who are not permanently employed in the Armed Forces, but have signed a contract with the Armed Forces to be available for military service. (Similarly, the Danish Emergency Management Agency has a reserve of non-permanent contractual personnel who are also organized in the HPRD).

The reserve consists of soldiers of all ranks from the constable and sergeant group and officers up to the rank of colonel. All have a full military education equivalent to that of permanent staff. Many reservists are former permanent line personnel who have left the Armed Forces and, like the other reservists, have a civilian job as their primary occupation.

WHY THE RESERVE?

Military defense uses reserve personnel for several reasons, the most important of which is probably that it is the cheapest way to use personnel. If a reservist is called up for service 35 days a year, he is free for the Armed Forces for the other 330 days of the year. For this reason, the Reserve is typically used for peak loads. For example, one in five international operations deployed in 2008 was by the Reserve. Secondly, the Reserve is a bridge-builder between civil society and the Armed Forces. It brings civilian values and ideas into the Armed Forces and is the Armed Forces' ambassadors in the civilian. Third, a large majority of the reservists possess attractive civilian competencies that the Armed Forces directly or indirectly benefit from. Fourth, having a Reserve Defense provides operational flexibility:

HOW BIG IS THE RESERVE IN DENMARK?

In 2013, about 3,000 reservists have an availability contract with the Armed Forces in 2013, and they deliver about 25,000 days of command, corresponding to approx. 120 man-years. In fact, most of the admission days are provided by less than 1,000 reservists. The Danish defense spends about 0.3% of the defense budget on the Reserve's available service, and is, like Estonia and Italy, among the NATO countries that use the Reserve the least. In contrast, the UK and US spend from 5 to 10 per cent of the defense budget on their reserves.

The Home Guard (Parliament's Army)

This is the direct equivalent of the Territorial Defence Forces of Ukraine and Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Norway. Finnland is organized differently. There everyone is in the army.

The Home Guard works and trains with the Army, Navy and Air Force, and is coordinated by the High Command but it is not part of them.
The Home Guard, under a Major General, has its own Command Structure, independent of the Government Army.
It has its own representative in parliament.
Aside from a small staff it is an unpaid volunteer organization.

Dual Leadership​

The Home Guard has a dual military - civilian leadership:

The Commander of the Home Guard, Major General Jens Garly, is responsible for the training and deployment of units and also for the overall supervision of the Home Guard
The Commissioner of the Danish Home Guard, Søren Espersen, is responsible for recruitment and gaining support for the Home Guard in the Danish population.

It is built around local companies. The highest rank available to the unpaid volunteer in Captain.
Most volunteers are young civilians already started on their civvy career.
They attend the local sessions for interesting training and camaraderie as well as to "Be Prepared".
And they do it for free.

The Volunteers in the Danish Home Guard​

The members of the Home Guard take part in the defence and support of the country on a voluntary and unpaid basis.

Men and women from the age of 18 can apply for membership. A military background is not necessary. The wish to participate is more important.

This site opens to a great presentation on the Homeguard, volunteering and training.
Hjemmeværnet

The Army Home Guard

The Army Home Guard volunteer soldiers are specially trained to support the Armed Forces, the Police and the Emergency Management Agency in their task solution on land, both in Denmark and abroad.

All members of the Army Home Guard have completed a basic military training in line with the Army's basic training. The tasks range from traffic regulation and security, to securing Danish socially important companies. The Army Home Guard also supports the Armed Forces in connection with the training of conscripts and soldiers who are to be sent out for international tasks.

In recent years, the Army Home Guard has been on international missions with the Armed Forces, for example in Afghanistan and Kosovo.

The Home Guard volunteers come from all parts of society - together they have an interest in defense and a desire to help society and make a difference.

Copenhagen attacks spur Home Guard interest

Interest in enrolling in the Danish Home Guard doubled in the week after a gunman opened fire at a cultural centre and killed a Jewish security guard, recruitment officials said on Friday.

Interest in the Home Guard increased after both the Paris and Copenhagen attacks.

The Home Guard normally receives an average of 27 recruitment inquiries per week, (189 Canadian or 9828 Canadian Equivalents per year)- but in the week after the February 14-15 Copenhagen shootings, 85 Danes signed up. In the first week following the Paris attacks, 40 Danes contacted the Home Guard. An additional 75 signed up the following week.

“I think it is natural that people react in different ways when they suddenly feel that their country and society is under attack. Some want to take concrete action and for them the Home Guard is a way to support the military and protect society,” Krenchel said.

The Home Guard recruitment process takes up to four months

One of the weapons that El-Hussein used was an M95 rifle that had previously been stolen from the home of a Danish Home Guard member. That led the military service to order its 4,300 (30,100 Canadian Equivalents with their rifles at home) volunteer members in March to turn in their rifle bolts, making them unable to be fired.

That decision led to a mixed political response. While Defence Minister Nicolai Wammen expressed his “full trust” in the Home Guard, many opposition MPs criticized the decision.

“When one hands in their bolt, it’s the same as handing in their weapon. So it is basically saying that now our Home Guard is unarmed. I think that is the wrong decision,” Danish People’s Party spokeswoman Marie Krarup told DR.

Troels Lund Poulsen, a spokesman for primary opposition party Venstre, told Berlingske it was “insane” to implement what he characterized as a drastic decision, while Holger Nielsen of the left-wing Socialist People’s Party countered that disarming Home Guard members was “sensible”.

The Home Guard also has its own Special Force, the Special Support and Reconnaissance Company (SSR)

The Home Guard's Special Support and Reconnaissance Company (SSR) is specially trained in obtaining information under difficult tactical conditions and supports the solution of the Armed Forces' national and international tasks.

As the Home Guard's national special force, SSR must be able to support the Armed Forces' special operations forces with patrols and staff - also internationally. This places great demands on the individual soldier.


The unit consists of volunteer personnel from the Home Guard who are specially selected, specially trained and specially equipped to be able to perform special reconnaissance and information retrieval in small highly trained teams.

Military service and civilian affairs

SSR gives you a unique opportunity to get the best out of the military world while you have a civilian job or are doing other things unrelated to the Armed Forces in general.

If you, like many others, still want to have the experiences that the military can give you in the form of exercises, courses and personal competencies, then SSR is a good place to be. You will be able to meet your physical and personal challenges while you can also have a civilian job.

Physical and mental challenges

Great demands are placed on your physical endurance and your mental resilience. You will be faced with physical challenges that require you to keep your shape straight.

You sometimes want to get to the limit of what you can physically handle, and you want to train for it. This option must also be rewarded, and you will therefore have the opportunity to train with others who also have this option.

This means that the physical requirements must be able to be met at all times and form a foundation for you to be able to complete the demanding exercises and courses in which SSR participates.

SSR in preparation for other military units

If you have the desire to become a Hunter (Jaeger-Commando) or a Frogman, SSR is a good place to start. The service provides a good physical, mental, personal and professional foundation. The training in SSR is demanding because we place high demands on you so that SSR can fulfill its obligations in the cooperation agreement with the Danish special operations forces.

Through the service in SSR, you get a professional and personal surplus, which can help you against the dream of being admitted to one of the two corps. SSR can give you the push to get off to a good start - you then have to complete the rest yourself.

Personal skills

An important part of the service in SSR is about not skipping where the fence is lowest.

You will be continually influenced to get things done in the best way. During the service, there will be situations where it can be directly life-threatening if things are not done properly or the individual wastes his or her professional competence. You will therefore be greeted with the attitude that you keep working until the task is solved extremely satisfactorily.

SSR thus expects one to behave properly and have situational awareness. On the other hand, one cannot have served in SSR without being influenced in a positive way.

Unique unity

When you have gone through a lot of hardships together and seen how dependent you are on each other, you get a unique friendship.

During exercises and courses, you will usually spend many hours with other people who share the same interests as you and who are willing to help you in all situations. This unity is difficult to find elsewhere and will be something that characterizes you during, but also after a completed service in SSR.

Something magical happens between people who are dependent on each other under extreme conditions. You will therefore find both support and camaraderie at SSR.

The SSR is not the entirety of the Home Guard but what it is pitching is likely what appeals to the rest of the volunteers.

It obviously isn't about the money. It isn't paid.

It is about service, challenge, friendship and interest and above all a feeling of wanting to contribute.

Tasmania’s very own royal, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has enrolled in the Danish Home Guard.

The Crown Princess will learn how to handle and fire a weapon, first aid, marching drills, signal training, fire-fighting and rescue skills while she attends elementary training at the Home Guard training centre.

When she finishes her training, Princess Mary will be attached to the Home Guard ‘total defence’ region in Copenhagen.

Crown Princess Mary completes Home Guard Training

Continuing and completing her training with the Danish Home Guard between February 17 and 19, Crown Princess Mary has been promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the Home Guard. She is now attached to the staff of Total Defence Region Copenhagen.

Mary began her basic Home Guard training in January 2008, and continued with NGO training that November. She undertook a further officiers course this year between January 19 and 21, plus on January 28.

Mary passed a course in shooting, first aid and surviving in the wild, meaning that she can now serve in Denmark's Home Guard.

By training with the organisation, which would defend the nation in the event of an attack, the princess is following in the footsteps of her mother-in-law Queen Margrethe. The Home Guard was formed in 1949, with its members drawn from World War II resistance fighters.

Facts about the Danish Home Guard​

• The Home Guard is a volunteer military organisation.
• The Home Guard had 46,651 members as of October 2014 .
• The active force had 15,808 volunteer soldiers as of October, 2014. The remaining volunteers belong to the Home Guard Reserve.
• Approximately 15 percent of all volunteer soldiers are women.
• The task of the Home Guard is to support the Armed Forces – nationally as well as internationally. In addition, the Home Guard supports the police, the emergency services and other authorities in carrying out their duties.
• 1,845 people applied for enrollment in the Home Guard, and 1,301 volunteers signed a contract in 2014 (as of November 2014).
• 868 of the new volunteers (68 percent) were aged 18-32.
• The appropriation allocated to the Home Guard in the Finance Bill amounted to 498,4 m. DKK in 2014.

Facts about the Danish Canadian Home Guard​

• The Home Guard is a volunteer military organisation.
• The Home Guard had 46,651 326,557 members as of October 2014 .
• The active force had 15,808 110,656 volunteer soldiers as of October, 2014. The remaining volunteers belong to the Home Guard Reserve
• (an armed active force of 4,300 30,100 volunteer soldiers keep their rifles at home)
• (a Special Support and Reconnaissance Company Battalion is sustained)
• Approximately 15 percent of all volunteer soldiers are wome
• The task of the Home Guard is to support the Armed Forces – nationally as well as internationally. In addition, the Home Guard supports the police, the emergency services and other authorities in carrying out their duties.
• 1,845 12,915 people applied for enrollment in the Home Guard, and 1,301 9,107 volunteers signed a contract in 2014 (as of November 2014).
• 868 6,076 of the new volunteers (68 percent) were aged 18-32.
• The appropriation allocated to the Home Guard in the Finance Bill amounted to 498,4 m. DKK 655 MCAD in 2014.

In case some think that $655,000,000 per year is too much to sustain a pool of 326,557 military age volunteers with some training

• $217,912,613 – Cadets & Junior Rangers
• 9,668 Reserves Supporting Cadets

Vice Chief of the Defence Staff - Canada.ca

March 2020 - Essential information to familiarize the Minister with the Department.

www.canada.ca

• 54,325 Cadets (as of March 1, 2020)
• 4,271 youths Junior Rangers participating in over 135 patrols.

And if you think this unrealistic I remind you of

The 2010 stats show that 47% (or over 13 million) volunteer. In total 2 billion hours were volunteered, the equivalent of 1.1 million full time jobs. On average, volunteers contributed 156 hours each (roughly 21 working days).

NFPA estimates there were approximately 152,650 local firefighters in the Canada during the period 2014 to 2016. Of the total number of firefighters 26,000 (17%) were career firefighters and 126,650 (83%) were volunteer firefighters.

Volunteer firefighters freely volunteer their efforts as a way of serving and giving back to their community. They often do not receive monetary compensation from the fire department. If they are paid, it is typically in the form of small stipends or annual bonuses.

The right bait?

 

[Kirkhill]

Going back to Blackadder's table that started all this, and slotting in Denmark

Country	Def Exped	GDP (billions)	Per capita	Pers #	Eqpt %	Pers %	Infstr %	Other %
	(millions)	/ % def exp	GDP / def exp
United States	811,140	20,601 / 3.52	62,100 / 2,186	1351.5	29.35	37.47	1.58	31.59
United Kingdom	72,765	3,014 / 2.29	44,700 / 1,023	156.2	24.26	32.69	1.42	41.64
Germany	64,785	3,521 / 1.53	42,200 / 644	189.1	18.55	41.75	3.69	36.06
France	58,729	2,534 / 2.01	37,400 / 751	208	27.8	42.53	3.02	26.65
Italy	29,763	1,821 / 1.41	30,500 / 428	174.2	28.9	60.54	1.67	8.89
Canada	26,523	1,697 / 1.39	44,100 / 632	71.1	17.66	47.5	3.32	31.52
Spain	14,875	1,250 / 1.02	26,200 / 267	123.9	22.75	60.12	0.73	16.41
Netherlands	14,378	828 / 1.45	47,100 / 685	40.8	26.2	47.26	3.26	23.28
Poland	13,369	575 / 2.10	15,000 / 314	121.2	26.1	47.92	4.97	21.01
Turkey	13,057	1,073 / 1.57	12,700 / 199	445.4	29.05	52.47	1.95	16.53
Denmark	5,522	338 / 1.63	57,700 / 813	18.3	22.35	45.39	2.44	29.83

The Danish Armed Forces

The Danish Armed Forces maintain the sovereignty of Denmark as well as Greenland and the Faroe Islands, and are part of Danish society's overall readiness in the event of national crises and disasters. Internationally Denmark has a longstanding tradition for participating in military...

www.forsvaret.dk

https://www.hjv.dk/sider/english.aspx

 

[Maxman1]

CAF finance officers are trained as budget managers, not accountants. Most would be hard pressed to discuss why there is a chart of accounts and what it represents; are poor at differentiating between the four votes used by DND/CAF; and receive little to no formal training on the mechanics of government which is a sine qua non at the more senior levels (LCol+). A finance officer who can't discuss Main Estimates, Supplementary Estimates, and the Annual Reference Level Update isn't a finance officer.

I was recently shocked to find out they do zero training in procurement. Explains why they keep talking about multiple quotes for Standing Offers.

I've been trying to convince my sister to join her local reserve unit as a finance officer. She's an accountant, with a four year BBA in finance, and in the past worked for a procurement firm. Sounds like she might be overqualified.

 

[MilEME09]

I've been trying to convince my sister to join her local reserve unit as a finance officer. She's an accountant, with a four year BBA in finance, and in the past worked for a procurement firm. Sounds like she might be overqualified.

I think we need that right now