CF on exercise at Pearl Harbour

Canoe has an article about Canadian participation in a multinational exercise in Hawaii. Three warships, divers, six CF-18s, a Hercules and two Aurora maritime patrol aircraft are involved.

Australian defence

According to this article in The Age, the Australians are also on a defence spending spree.

Laser eye surgery in the US Navy

The New York Times has an article about laser eye surgery in the US Navy. The surgery is offered to all cadets at the US Naval Academy and is having an effect of the careers chosen by the cadets. In the past many cadets did not qualify for pilot or SEAL training because of their eye sight and had to select alternative careers, the submarine service in particular.

As far as I know in Canada, pilots are not allowed to have had the surgery.

Improving SEAL numbers

The Washington post has an ariticle on how the Pentagon is trying to get more people though SEAL training without lowering standards.

New British popularity medal

This short article describes the Soldiers' Medal which is awarded to the British recruit who gets the most votes from the other recruits. I'm not sure how many are awarded each year and I couldn't find any other information on a British Soldiers' Medal on the web.

New land forces commander

The government has announced that General Andrew Leslie has been appointed Chief of the Land Staff and Commander Land Forces Command (ie the head of the army).

Followup: An article on the General's family history in the military.

Montreal Navy Reserve gets green building

This CF press release says the building will use 25% less water, half the energy and will be cheaper to maintain. The building will be shared between HMCS Donnacona and other government departments.

75 year old US Army doctor to deploy to Afghanistan

This article on Fox News is about Dr. William Bernhard who is deploying to Afghanistan for a four month tour.

Navy divers in Afghanistan

This article on canada.com describes, though with little detail for security reasons, the work of Navy Clearance Divers who are working inland in Aghanistan assisting the Army's Combat Engineers.

Canadian officer honoured by Queen

Major Ghislain Sauvé, a construction engineering officer based at CFB Borden, was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony last November. Only eight Canadians have ever been awarded the MBE.

Major Sauvé was on an exchange with the Royal Engineers from 2000 to 2004. During that time he deployed with his new unit to Jordan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

I first saw this mentioned in this Macleans article on Canadians in Iraq but there are other articles:
here, in the January 2006 issue of the Maple Leaf (which also has a picture of CDS General Hillier in the uniform of a Guardsman while taking part in the changing of the guard ceremony in Ottawa), and on the Airforce website.

Changes in Japan

Japan is considering upgrading its Defense Agency to a full government ministry.

CF doctor's facing burn-out

This article on the Global TV website describes a visit by the head of the Canadian Medical Association to Afghanistan. She is worried about the effects of the stressful environment on medical workers.

Sexual harassment

According to this article in the Scotsman, two thirds of women in the British Armed Forces say that they have been sexually harrassed.

Navy divers on exercise in Malaysia

According to this article in the Lookout, fourteen Navy divers will be joining sailors from 21 Pacific Rim countries in Kuantan for the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) Mine Countermeasures (MCM) and dive exercises.

Navy helps RCMP in drug sting off Africa

Three articles about the Navy helping the RCMP in a drug operation off the coast of Africa. One is in the Halifax Daily News, one in the Chronicle-Herald, and one at the CBC.

Navy hero to be honoured in Halifax

The CBC has an article about Robert Timbrell who rescued hundreds of troops from the beaches of Dunkirk, commanded Canada's last aircraft carrier, and later became the head of the Canadian Navy.

Timbrell died in April at the age of 86. A full military funeral will be held on Monday in CFB Halifax, and will be followed by a 13-gun salute from HMCS Sackville, a Second World War Canadian corvette.

Other obituaries in the Telegraph, and the Guardian.

Problems with submarine escape plan

According to this article in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald there are potential problems with the last ditch escape method from the new Canadian submarines.

Mock dogfights

Following the recent collision between Greek and Turkish F-16s, Slate has this backgrounder on mock dogfights.

Canadian Military ends Canadianization policy

According to this article in the Toronto Star, the Canadian defence minister has decided that foreign made products may now be good enough for use by the Canadian Forces. The article isn't very detailed but apparently the CF used to Canadianize products provided by foreign manufacturers. The article mentions spending $15 million to design a new helmet rather than just purchasing American, French or Chinese one.

I'm not sure how much of this really goes on or how much of it is unnecessary. I know that the C7 assault rifle is a modification of the American M16 but it was my understanding that it was generally regarded as a superior weapon.