Hugh Winsor
'Can do' general right choice for Forces
In spite of the Paul Martin government's notoriously sclerotic difficulties making appointments and its inability to crack heads to get agreement on a new foreign and defence policy, someone seems to have got it right in picking Lieutenant-General Rick Hillier to be the new chief of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Choosing Gen. Hillier, an in-your-face, 49-year-old Newfoundlander with a self-deprecating sense of humour, meant bypassing the two most senior officers in the current chain of command. The move is meant to send the message things are going to change in the Armed Forces, even if a lot of gold braid and even some political egos could be ruffled in the process.
Mr. Martin and his Liberal government say they want a more proactive defence capability, allowing them to play harder on the world stage. They have made lots of promises including a stand-alone peacekeeping brigade but little has happened so far. Regardless of their merits, arguments coming from National Defence headquarters to the effect the forces are overstretched, underfunded and in need of an operational pause were perceived as whining in some political circles.
Gen. Hillier, with extensive command experience in Europe, the United States and Afghanistan, as well as in Canada, is seen as a "can do" sort of soldier who will be more inclined to say "Let's deploy," when the politicians come calling. The new chief also talks the right jargon about failing states as the major contributor to international instability. He makes it clear his priority will be restructuring DND to boost capacity for rapidly deployed expeditionary forces to respond to those failures.
The initiative to appoint Gen. Hillier rather than one of his more senior colleagues came from Defence Minister Bill Graham, after a lot of back-channel consultation last fall, reaching down into the ranks as well to retired officers and academics. Just before Christmas, the general and the minister went to 24 Sussex Dr. for a long meeting with Mr. Martin.
What apparently happened is an agreement to changes Gen. Hillier wants to make to the structure of the Forces and a commitment for enough funds to make it happen. That will be reflected in procurement â †modernized equipment for infantry soldiers with better air and sea lift to get them overseas. There will be a shakeup of structures, vigorous recruitment and reformed training programs. As one of Mr. Graham's confidants put it, "We expect to see Rick Hillier kick ass around here."
The dichotomy between the present plodding and the intended future will be underlined today when Mr. Martin visits the much-criticized Disaster Assistance Response Team in Sri Lanka, which is only getting up to steam three weeks after the tsunamis hit.
Contrast that with the performance of the disaster response team by Italy. At 6:40 on Dec. 27, the morning after the tsunamis, the first Italian plane landed on the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. Within 48 hours, another team had established a field hospital in Sri Lanka complete with carabinieri to protect them and firefighters to rescue people from collapsed buildings. The Italians also brought two amphibious water bombers (made by Canadair in Montreal), which permitted them to deliver supplies to disaster areas with no airports.
The difference is that the Italian Department for Civilian Protection, covering both domestic and foreign disaster relief, is a stand-alone organization with authority to commandeer any military or civilian resources needed, including aircraft. It needs only a phone call to the prime minister to go.The Canadian DART criticism is misplaced, according to angry officials at DND. They were ready to move within hours, but couldn't get a decision out of the government. As Doug Bland, who heads a military studies program at Queen's University, put it, "the guys were in the fire hall, the doors were open, the engines were running, but there were no dispatchers to tell them where to go."
