Finally, Canadian Government Will Invest in Military

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is about to go on tour across the country in a piece by piece announcement on military spending. For the first time in decades our government will finally replace some of our aging equipment. The bill is hefty, over 15 billion Dollars, (that's almost Dr Evil type money) but believe it or not it still may not be enough. It is however a great start, so let's break it down.

• 4.6 billion dollars will be used to buy a replacement for our medium lift Hercules transport fleet. These aircraft have been in service since the 60's and much like the Sea-King Helicopters, are becoming maintenance intensive. These aircraft not only transport troops and supplies but also do air to air refuelling and Search and Rescue all over Canada. The hours these aircraft have put on their frames are staggering. Recently one of the aircraft in the fleet passed the 50,000 hour mark. That is actually hours in the air. If you convert that to days it equals 2083+ days or just under 6 years! How long do you drive your car for before you get a new one? This is long, long overdue.
• 4.2 billion dollars for 15 medium - heavy lift helicopters. We had this capability with our Chinook helicopters until they were sold off in 1991 to the Dutch, who are still using them effectively. Ironically it was American Chinook's that ferried our troops in Afghanistan because we lost that ability.
• 3 billion dollars to buy 4 heavy lift C-17 aircraft. Currently we have no heavy lift capacity, meaning Canada has to mooch off of our allies who are already heavily tasked or lease or rent aircraft when available. To put this into perspective, let's say you are a soldier that needs to get to a village to protect it. Well think of a heavy lift aircraft like a taxi, and imagine you have to wait for a taxi to show up before you can go, then you have to pay premium prices for the service. Wouldn't it be better to have your own car? That's why we need these aircraft.
• 2.1 billion for 3 new supply ships. We used to have 3 supply ships, HMCS PROTECTEUR, HMCS PRESERVER and HMCS PROVIDER, which was 'paid off' (retired) in 1988. Since then we have been reduced to 1 per coast, which would be fine, except, when the ship goes in for refit it is out of service for weeks or even months leaving one of the coasts with ZERO. These ships provide fuel and supplies to Canadian and allied forces as well as delivery of humanitarian aid to spots around the globe. It is a vital capacity that needs to be replaced as the 2 remaining ships were commissioned in the 60's. (Do you see a trend here?)
• Finally new trucks for the army at a cost of 1.1 billion. As we see every day the troops need protection from Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's) and other threats. It wasn't so long ago that our soldiers were driving Iltiss's which are basically an oversized go-kart, or undersized Jeep depending on your perspective. Picture a Suzuki Swift with a canvas top and you get the idea.

I have ranted continuously about why we need to strengthen our military, but if you look left...waaaaaay left, over by Jack Layton there, you may see some people that claim this money would be better spent elsewhere...I say those people are nuttier than squirrel droppings. Our government has underfunded the military for decades, (The 60's was the last time we made any serious investments as seen above) and this capital investment is long overdue. If anyone would like to try and argue with me about this spending, my email is listed at the top of the page.

So until tomorrow remember, no Payne no gain.