MarkOttawa said:
Yet each of our services still insists on having the equipment to perform essentially all the roles the CF had when the Cold War had just ended.
MarkOttawa said:
Submarines, bluewater navy (frigates), multirole fast air, fixed-wing and rotary SAR (not done by military in many countries), long-range maritime patrol that includes substantial work for civilian purposes.
First of all, Mark, the Navy did not have the same forces at the end of the cold war as they have now. All of the frigates and MCDV's have entered service after the end of the cold war, and all the Tribals were TRUMPed after the end of it also. They provide us with tons of capabilities to fulfill roles that the cold war fleet could not, because these three types of vessels are multi-purpose ships, as opposed to the totally ASW escort role and capability of our naval forces during the cold war.
Second of all, I know there are people out there (and I suspect from your various posts you may be one of them) that think "Canada has three long coastlines, so we need to concentrate on small coastal defence vessels". Well, newsflash everyone: We ain't got no "coastal waters" in Canada: As soon as you exit any harbour on the east coast, you are in mid-Atlantic conditions and the next thing across from you is Europe. Same in the West once you get out from in between Vancouver Island and the mainland - Hello Asia! I suppose you could call the Gulf of St-Lawrence and the BC Inner passage coastal, but in both cases, access is restricted at two choke points that are better guarded from the ocean side. The Arctic is even worse: You just don't send dinky toys there: look at the coast guard: big sturdy "blue" water ships go to the Arctic (besides, they first have to transit the Atlantic or Pacific to get there).
I once participated in a "coast defence" exercise with the French Navy on its Atlantic coast. The first line of defence was the Clemenceau's (aircraft carrier) battle group operating 1200 miles of shore. That is west of Ireland. The second line was the Jeanne D'Arc's group (ASW helicopter carrier) operating about 600 miles off. That is how Navy do coastal defence. That is how we do it in Canada too. We look for incoming "unfriendlies" way out in the Atlantic and Pacific well before they get near our shores, and try to intercept them there if need be. And by the way, dealing with these maritime "unfriendlies" requires the aid of the Air Force's multirole fast-air you talk about.
Fully agree with T2B, except on submarines. They are the best ASW platform and developing the capability from scratch to the level we are at now would require decades we may not have if they became critical again (They are not "critical" now but still damn useful).
Lets remember what First Sea Lord Sir Peter Staveley (if I recall right) said in the 80's: "Navies are expensive, but a damn sight cheaper than not having them around when you need them".
