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OTTAWA (CP) - After a year of recuperation and rebuilding, the army will soon be able to tackle new missions abroad, the country's top soldier says.
Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of the defence staff, said Thursday the army has recovered from the stress built up during more than a decade of unending overseas deployments and is ready to handle and sustain new assignments. But it won't return to the days when deployments multiplied to an unsustainable level.
He told the Commons defence committee the navy has also caught its breath after a long series of missions. The air force, though, is still reorganizing.
A year ago, the military said the army was simply played out and couldn't take on another task without rest.
"We needed a reduction in operational tempo for at least a year to enable us to regenerate the force," Hillier said.
From the early 1990s, the army had been committed to one mission after another, from Cambodia to Kosovo. At times, 4,000 soldiers were deployed overseas.
The entire army was either on a mission, training for a mission or recovering from a mission. Some soldiers racked up five or six tours overseas, with little breathing space between them.
In the last year, the army pulled most of its troops from the former Yugoslavia after more than 15 rotations involving more than 40,000 people. It maintained about 950 troops in Afghanistan, but backed away from any new commitments.
Canada is also scaling back its commitment to the UN peacekeeping force on the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria.
The government has committed the army to an expanded role in Afghanistan, although no details are yet available. Canada is also offering a small force for Darfur in Sudan.
Hillier said the army will be able to handle two "relatively large" commitments totalling 1,500 troops by early next year.
"Starting in August, they will be able to come back to an increased level of operations and starting in late fall with deployment ideally in January and February, come back to the ability to be able to maintain two relatively large missions outside of the country and sustain those missions."
Hillier said the military and the government learned their lessons about over-commitment.
During the 1990s, governments sent troops to mission after mission - Bosnia, Somalia, Cambodia, Kosovo, East Timor and others - and the military responded, even as fatigue built up, equipment broke down and costs soared.
"We learned some valuable lessons during that time frame, albeit some very painful lessons," he said.
In the 1990s, government planners tended to offer Canadian troops for every mission that came along.
"You can only do that for a while before you mortgage the future and then you have no capability."
Those planners have learned to "take an appetite suppressant" when it comes to new international commitments, he said.
Until we get some new decent kit i ain't going nowhere lol, i don't know about the rest of you!!!!!
Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of the defence staff, said Thursday the army has recovered from the stress built up during more than a decade of unending overseas deployments and is ready to handle and sustain new assignments. But it won't return to the days when deployments multiplied to an unsustainable level.
He told the Commons defence committee the navy has also caught its breath after a long series of missions. The air force, though, is still reorganizing.
A year ago, the military said the army was simply played out and couldn't take on another task without rest.
"We needed a reduction in operational tempo for at least a year to enable us to regenerate the force," Hillier said.
From the early 1990s, the army had been committed to one mission after another, from Cambodia to Kosovo. At times, 4,000 soldiers were deployed overseas.
The entire army was either on a mission, training for a mission or recovering from a mission. Some soldiers racked up five or six tours overseas, with little breathing space between them.
In the last year, the army pulled most of its troops from the former Yugoslavia after more than 15 rotations involving more than 40,000 people. It maintained about 950 troops in Afghanistan, but backed away from any new commitments.
Canada is also scaling back its commitment to the UN peacekeeping force on the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria.
The government has committed the army to an expanded role in Afghanistan, although no details are yet available. Canada is also offering a small force for Darfur in Sudan.
Hillier said the army will be able to handle two "relatively large" commitments totalling 1,500 troops by early next year.
"Starting in August, they will be able to come back to an increased level of operations and starting in late fall with deployment ideally in January and February, come back to the ability to be able to maintain two relatively large missions outside of the country and sustain those missions."
Hillier said the military and the government learned their lessons about over-commitment.
During the 1990s, governments sent troops to mission after mission - Bosnia, Somalia, Cambodia, Kosovo, East Timor and others - and the military responded, even as fatigue built up, equipment broke down and costs soared.
"We learned some valuable lessons during that time frame, albeit some very painful lessons," he said.
In the 1990s, government planners tended to offer Canadian troops for every mission that came along.
"You can only do that for a while before you mortgage the future and then you have no capability."
Those planners have learned to "take an appetite suppressant" when it comes to new international commitments, he said.
Until we get some new decent kit i ain't going nowhere lol, i don't know about the rest of you!!!!!
)
What is this Oprah? Keep the secret to yourself!
