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What Changes Should be Made to the DART

old medic

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With all the discussion about the DART team recently,

http://army.ca/forums/threads/24471.0.html
http://army.ca/forums/threads/20280.0.html   

  I'm curious if anyone has any ideas for changes.  What Changes would you want to see with the DART?

What changes in mandate, training, composition, equipment, staffing or budget would you make?

The Italian team is made of a combination of Military and Civilians (Paramedics, Firefighters and Hospital staff).
In the USA,  FEMA and the National Disaster Medical System operates 55 DMAT teams (Disaster Medical Assistance Teams) for domestic operations.  See the November 2004 issue of the Journal of Emergency Medical Services (JEMS) for an article, or:

http://ndms.dhhs.gov/dmat.html

There is no doubt Canada needs to repair it's air and sealift capability,
but would a Hybrid Military-Civilian DART  make more sense? Should the DART stay 100% military, but be fully staffed instead of drawing personnel from other operational units?


 
What is the full make up of the Canadian DART team?

from what ive been gathering its water purification teams and medical teams. Im almost positive that cant be it. what other teams do they have at their disposal?
 
CFN. Orange said:
I'm almost positive that cant be it.
I think that is actually more than "it".

I don't think they even own their medical & engineer personnel (just the kit).   DART has a permanent establishment to go out the door first, do the recce, and have a plan in place when the troops arrive.   The bulk of the DART is drawn from units that are tasked on a rotational basis to maintain pers at some level of readiness.

In addition to medical & engineer pers, the DART could draw on pilots, MSE Ops, Sigs, etc.
 
Good Question.

The following is taken from the much maligned PR press release about the DART.

Once a call for assistance is received, a reconnaissance team is launched immediately. This initial team of about 12 personnel usually consists of representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canadian International Development Agency, National Defence Headquarters and DART Headquarters.

The DART Commanding Officer, along with his engineer, medical, logistics and communications experts, conduct a fact-finding mission in the disaster area. "The reconnaissance team focuses on making initial assessments and liaising with the host nation and international agencies," says Lieutenant-Colonel Juneau. "Their aim is to determine how and where the DART is to be employed in order to have the maximum positive impact possible."

Once it is determined where the DART will set up its camp, personnel and equipment will begin departing Canada, usually from the airport at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario.

Elements of the DART include a headquarters and signal troop, an engineer troop, a medical platoon, a defence and security platoon, and a logistics platoon.

DART Headquarters consists of about 45 personnel, mainly from the Canadian Forces Joint Operations Group based in Kingston, Ontario. This element is responsible for strategic level liaison with Canadian and host nation officials, international organizations and non-governmental organizations in order to determine and co-ordinate the DART's humanitarian response in country.

The DART headquarters company, the engineer troop, the medical platoon, the defence and security platoon, and the logistics platoon are drawn mostly from Land Force Command units.

The company-level headquarters, about 10 personnel, co-ordinates on-site tasking priorities and provides for the day-to-day command and control of the platoons within the DART.

The engineer troop, about 40 personnel, includes both field and construction engineers. The field engineer element consists of a water supply section, a field engineer section and a heavy equipment section. The construction engineer element provides limited vertical construction and utilities capabilities. The engineer troop produces bulk and bagged water from its Canadian-built Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit with an approximate 100,000-litres-a-day production capacity. The troop provides water for the medical aid station and for distribution to victims of the disaster. Once the DART's austere camp is established, the engineering troop can also undertake other basic construction and engineer tasks in support of the host nation and humanitarian aid agencies, as required.

The medical platoon staffs a medical aid station of approximately 45 personnel. This tented facility is capable of providing care for 200 to 250 outpatients and 30 inpatients daily, depending on the severity of injuries. There are also laboratory, pharmacy, rehydration, obstetrics, and preventive medicine sections. There is no surgical or trauma capability.

A defence and security platoon of about 35 personnel is staffed and equipped to conduct security and general labour operations for the DART.

The logistics platoon, approximately 20 personnel, is responsible for virtually all DART support services in theatre, such as maintenance, transport and supply. These are functions vital to the sustainment of the DART.
 
I've heard that Ontario is considering sending its Health "SWaT" Team.. (so termed by the news..

Should this not be a rollup component perhaps of a greater team?

I think the problem is a great relunctance in canada to consider the military as an overarching organization for anything but tanks, gunships and peacekeeping (plus the occaisional snowfall bailout)

I don't see too many fire departments or medical professions liking the idea of coming under even at a distance the command of a group headed by the military to some reason....  a consolidation of such a team would make sense, but politically would be playing with fire.... or would it?
 
  I liked the idea given in the last DART thread about the new airlift possibilities.  The idea that a new fleet of aircraft, although expensive no matter whether you upgrade or design new ones, to be used in a multifunctional way within Canada with not only military but civilian companies to help pay off the heavy costs, would lead us to not only having the airlift capabilities, but also the money and ability to maintain them at all times. 
  Although, that issue has been beated to death it seems.  I think the idea of having a DART team is great, everyone should have one, the only problem being that when DND and the government came up with it, they didn't think it all the way through, something they are known for it seems these days.  It's too bad we have something that could do good, no matter whether you use it for this, or even possibly deploying it out here (Vancouver, should there be anything left) in the west in the event of the earthquake out here, which for those who may not have heard, is predicted at a magnitude 9.3 or greater (impossible to predict the exact number obviously).  The idea that what happened in Asia could happen here at any moment is frightening to say the least, although until now I don't think anyone had any idea what the outcome of such an earthquake could be....with this knowledge now, things such as DART, or any response team can be properly adjusted to accomodate such disasters. 
  To conclude, we will never be at the level the US is in their response capabilities, but, baby steps could get the ball rolling and one day we could be close.  New airlift, a better response plan for those associated with DART, although I realize that maybe that seems difficult for those on leave overseas (after a 3 week ex in Pet, I don't blame anyone for wanting to get far away from there whenever they can), but surely there can be a better way to react to being called back from leave???
 
I was just thinking that if we had three JSS for SeaLift of a BG we would more or less have two "immediate responders" on duty at all times, with one in dry dock for maint.  With another Air Mobile DART facility and "Aircraft" in Trenton, we would drastically cut down on our response time for any national or international disaster. 

I would imagine that the majority of equipment required by DART, would also be required for a BG deploying, so three JSS would truely improve what we have now.  Two would always be at sea or on call, while the third would be down for Maint.  With the Air Mobile DART warehousing all the essential DART equipment in Trenton, it could react to suppliment any of the JSS deploying.  A JSS could deploy to a disaster area with its equipment already on board, and be supplimented with more equipment and helicopters as required by ATC in Trenton. 

When a disaster occurs, the Recce Party can depart from Trenton and a JSS can set sail at the same time from the nearest coast.  Concurrent activity and no requirement to recall personnel from all across the country for what we currently have in Trenton today, as there would already be a crew manning the JSS.

Just a few quick thoughts.

GW
 
  (just a quick question, what's a JSS?)

  I don't know if that plan would be feasible given our current monetary situation, although it's an excellent idea...but the fact that the CF would bear the costs of these three JSS, and aircraft, and the soldiers to man all of the above in order to have it available at any given time.  I don't think we could afford it immediately....although, there is a lot that could be done in say, downsizing the amount of officers (astronomical at present) in Canada (no offense to any officers out there), and there is a lot of money being squandered on needless ventures, and sure, maybe it is possible that Canada could have something like that.  Hmmm...
 
MCG said:
I think that is actually more than "it".

I don't think they even own their medical & engineer personnel (just the kit).   DART has a permanent establishment to go out the door first, do the recce, and have a plan in place when the troops arrive.   The bulk of the DART is drawn from units that are tasked on a rotational basis to maintain pers at some level of readiness.

In addition to medical & engineer pers, the DART could draw on pilots, MSE Ops, Sigs, etc.

I didn't mean to imply that DART wasn't important or anything of that sort. I just couldn't find a word to replace it. But thanks for clearing the info up for me.  :)
 
Until we get a capacity for strategic airlift, the DART will not be a true rapid response. The people and equipment are here and ready and capacity can be added or removed quite quickly. What's lacking and what is the DART's true weakness is political will to deploy it, and its ability to get there.
 
  So, Armymedic, what would you suggest is the appropriate course of action?  I honestly don't know, and I think we can all agree that someone dropped the ball for sure, and we all also agree that something really has to happen here if A) we are to continue having DART and B) being able to effectively deploy it to be of good use and serve the purpose for which it was designed.
  If it's the fact that we have no airlift capabilities, and our politicians have their heads stuck...well, they aren't where they should be....we should reelect a new government....and force them to buy us planes.  In all seriousness though, I have learned a lot from this discussion of DART, and yeah it sucks that it can't and wasn't used appropriately, but hey, that's Canada for you it seems.
 
Aside from the polictics?

Get us the aircraft. If Canada wants to be able to send its forces all over the world, then we need the ability to get them there. It is always more cost effective to own then to rent, particularly when it is something that will get used, like large cargo aircraft.
 
old medic said:
... I'm curious if anyone has any ideas for changes.   What Changes would you want to see with the DART?

What changes in mandate, training, composition, equipment, staffing or budget would you make? ...

Let's get back to basics.
In my personal opinion our Army has fallen below "critical mass" - by this I mean to say the Army is struggling to achieve "core competency".
Personally, I'm a big fan of specialised forces ... however, coming back to reality ...
In order to maintain special purpose units and personnel, a larger gene pool is required
(i.e. in order to skim off the cream of the crop - if the pool is too shallow, and the skimming dips too deep ... all you have left is sludge ...)
But, I digress ...
I liked the idea of getting back to basics, doing what we do best, and doing it right:
In the context of the DART, maintain a specialised recce team and launch it immediately (kinda like "disaster pathfinders" ...).
Then send follow-on forces such as "ordinary" Engineer and Medical units, augmented with CIMIC trained in civil emergencies.
Adequate airlift?  Yup.  We need it.  Adequte sealift?  Yup.  We need it. 
Sustainability through an adequately deep and broad "gene pool" ... ?
 
Just musing out loud but would not a dedicated hospital ship deployed to the area ease the burden on hospitals in the effected areas?

 
Ex-Dragoon said:
Just musing out loud but would not a dedicated hospital ship deployed to the area ease the burden on hospitals in the effected areas?

Yup, and the USN have sent USNS Mercy - plus the Indian Navy has deployed 29 warships ...

... The Navy has deployed Mercy in an imaginative way, utilizing a creative approach to provide the type and level of care that will be needed to aid the tsunami victims. There is presently an opportunity to configure Mercy with a humanitarian assistance crew â “ which might be staffed significantly by nongovernmental organizations and people with significant medical capability who can provide relief in other forms. ...
 
Anyone know if there are electricians on the DART team??
 
Well, I guess in order to suggest changes it's important first to understand the exisitng composition ...

... An engineer troop of about 37 personnel, including both field and construction engineers. The field engineer element consists of a water supply section, a field engineer section and a heavy equipment section. The construction engineer element provides limited construction and utility services. The engineer troop produces bulk and bagged water from its Canadian-built Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU), which can produce up to 50,000 litres of potable water per day for use by the medical aid station and for distribution to disaster victims. Once it has completed the DART camp â ” an austere facility â ” the engineer troop can take on other tasks in support of the host nation and humanitarian aid agencies.
 
ab136 said:
Anyone know if there are electricians on the DART team??

Electrical Generating Systems (EGS) Techs, yes, atleast 2.

Ex-Dragoon said:
Just musing out loud but would not a dedicated hospital ship deployed to the area ease the burden on hospitals in the effected areas?

no, 2 reasons...

1. availability, both to the "public" and to the forward areas. Hosp ship is a third line assest, and you would still need some forward facility to screen and send pt to the ship from. And transport from shore to ship as well.

2. time of transit. Unless prepositioned, it takes too long to get there. I believe the US hosp ship will take 3 weeks to get there. abit long.
 
Armymedic said:
Electrical Generating Systems (EGS) Techs, yes, atleast 2.
EGS Techs and ED Techs (electrical distribuition = electrician) would both be found in any construction troop.
 
The Authors have some good ideas...

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/westview/story/2490133p-2885055c.html

Throwing darts at DART
How can Canada make its response to humanitarian disasters -- natural or man-made -- more rapid, agile and frequent?

Sun Jan 16 2005

By Dianne DeMille and Stephen Priestley



CANADA'S Disaster Assistance Response Team was originally meant to contribute to concerted international aid for a stricken nation. Unfortunately, the clever acronym they came up with was 'DART', which led the Canadian media and the public to actually expect a 'rapid response'. In fact, although comprised largely of Land Forces personnel, the team comes under the control of three large bureaucracies: the Department of National Defence (DND), Foreign Affairs Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Arriving at consensus among these three behemoths takes time. Each ministry has its own bailywick and its own 'priorities'.

Furthermore, DND requires that a reconnaissance team be sent out to survey conditions 'on the ground' before committing any personnel to an unknown situation overseas. Prudence.

What might we do to make DART live up to the expectations of citizens (and taxpayers) by making Canada's response to disasters more rapid -- and frequent?

Well, first, do we really need the involvement of all three ministries? It was reported that the differing perspectives of these ministries led to a long, drawn-out debate about whether DART should or should not be deployed to Sri Lanka.

CIDA is a large ministry with very long-term goals -- fostering economic development in poorer countries, building toward environmental sustainability, and encouraging sound government practices. This doesn't sound like a 'good fit' for overseeing a military operation, even if that operation is termed 'humanitarian'. By eliminating CIDA from the process, decision-making might be tightened up considerably.

Still, potential conflicts remain. While the military wants to respond as rapidly as possible, it is the many nuances of international politics and the domestic affairs of the stricken country that will determine whether it is safe, desirable, cost-effective, etc., to commit Canadian Forces to a given nation. That makes Foreign Affairs the senior ministry.

There is a chance for a compromise here. The DART reconnaissance team, numbering only about a dozen or so, could be dispatched to the disaster area immediately, along with some light relief supplies like chlorine tablets, first-aid materials and blankets.

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs could, at the same time, be quickly accummulating whatever intelligence they needed about the area and arrange the requisite contacts with their diplomatic counterparts in Canadian consuls and high commissions or embassies overseas.

The final decision -- 'Go/Don't Go' -- would be a fully informed choice made by DND and Foreign Affairs, based on all available information.

If the decision was 'Don't Go', the DART recon team could be recalled in mid-flight and other DART personnel stood down. If the decision was 'Go', the great advantage for DART would be that the full complement of personnel would already be notified, and the DART reconnaissance mission would be underway, if not already completed. Assuming that DART's ministerial wrinkles are ironed out, questions concerning the length of time between deployments remain. It's not as if there has been a shortage of catastrophes, natural or man-made. So why did five years elapse between DART being sent to Turkey and going to Sri Lanka?

The sheer physical size of DART's equipment is one of its main impediments. Dozens of 20-foot-long ISO shipping containers and 200-odd personnel must be delivered. 'Team' is a misnomer. DART is really a collection of 'sub-units' -- water purification, medical, communications, support, and security -- and it is as sub-units that DART should be deployed.

If all DART sub-units are needed (as they were in Turkey), fine. If there is uncertainty (as in the case of Sri Lanka), send the sub-units we are sure are needed first. The other sub-units can follow if, or when, they are required.

Breaking up DART into sub-units may reduce the transportation burdens somewhat, but it doesn't change the scale of equipment itself. Field hospitals and ROWPU water purifiers are big solutions to big problems. Perhaps a better approach is to deploy more, but smaller, units.

Where field hospitals and ROWPUs require 10-tonne trucks to move their containers, modular field-aid stations and lower-output Mini-ROWPUs can be broken down into manageable loads for 1.5- and 2.5-tonne trucks. Such vehicles are much easier to transport by air, and they place less of a burden on local infrastructure (road surfaces, bridges and fuel supplies). The sole downside to using smaller trucks is that more drivers would be required -- although every driver is also a willing pair of hands.

It should be noted that the 1.5- and 2.5-tonne trucks of the Canadian Forces -- the LSVW and MLVW, respectively -- will soon be due for replacement. DND is leaning toward adopting a larger five-tonne vehicle, partly for reasons of commonality with the U.S. Army.

This is a mistake. DND would be 'buying late' into the last generation of pure diesel trucks. The very next generation of military vehicles will be 'parallel' electric-diesel hybrids capable of running off batteries, or having their power boosted by a diesel generator.

How is this relevant to DART? Each hybrid truck in a disaster-relief area would become, in effect, a portable generator. When not needed for other duties, trucks could parked beside any building or tent requiring electrical power.

This hybrid technology is not as exotic as it sounds. Consumers can now buy 'parallel' hybrid SUVs. The approach is even more advanced with commercial buses -- and Winnipeg's New Flyer is an industry leader in diesel-electric hybrid applications for buses. As important as it is to scale equipment and vehicles to the size of the response team, it is equally vital that this 'kit' be deliverable. (We wonder if, in the five-year gap since DART's last deployment, whether DND has bothered to encourage Zenon, makers of the Mini-ROWPU, to miniaturize its technology still further?) Any foreign deployment of DART will involve airlift. There's no point supplying gear to a 'rapid-response' team if that gear won't fit into an available aircraft.

The Hercules is ideal for delivering light DART units to unprepared airfields. Indeed, replacing the existing CF Hercules fleet with 'J' models should have been Air Staff's top priority for the last decade.

The equipment and vehicles used by the medium-sized DART units should also fit into a Hercules. However, there will be times when a military-style strategic airlifter would be preferable for speed or unrefuelled range.

Whether equipment is transported by Hercules or a strategic airlifter, the bulk of DART personnel could be flown to the nearest civilian airfield in the CF's comfortable Airbus jetliner, before being ferried into the disaster zone.

Right now, DND leases strategic airlifters. Antonov 124s were leased for the DART deployment to Sri Lanka. In general, this arrangement works well. Unfortunately, a natural disaster on the scale of the Indian Ocean tsunamis means that every civilian relief agency is also trying to book airlift services. To get around the bottleneck created by leasing, we could purchase our very own strategic airlifter.

Our recommended strategic airlifter is a westernized version of the Ilyushin IL-76. The Canadian Forces prefers the U.S.-made Boeing C-17 but, although they are impressive aircraft, DND just cannot afford them. (Not even the Brits can afford them. They had to lease.)

The only affordable military-style airlifter available today is the Russian-made IL-76. At most, its pricetag is one-quarter that of the C-17. DND has two options: purchase new-production aircraft, or refurbish surplus IL-76s and fit them with western engines.

The Ilyushin is a bird in the hand. Let's go shopping!

Dianne DeMille is editor and Stephen Priestley is researcher/illustrator of the Canadian American Strategic Review.
 
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