Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
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M Maritime by Chris Thatcher Enhancing the land-sea effect A s Rear-Admiral John Newton settles into the captain's chair on the bridge of HMCS Halifax, he looks right at home. He commanded her sister ship, Fredericton, from 2003 to 2006, so that comfort is hardly surprising. But more than the ship, it is the location that brings a smile. In June, Newton was appointed Commander Joint Task Force Atlantic (JTFA) and admits the return to Halifax (he commanded Canadian Forces Base Halifax in 2008) is both an honour and a thrill. I am going to live the JTFA command role, separate and distinct from my naval role. I've got to have a plan going forward for JTFA. I've got to be able to get into a rhythm of planning and action. You just don't turn to it in a time of crisis and think that it will come alive domestically if you haven't lived it and thought of it as a separate command. As part of that, I have a deputy commander, BGen Nick Eldaoud, the commander of 5 Division, who can mobilize a lot of resources, and the specific thrust for the two of us as a team is to create a landsea effect in the Canadian Armed Forces. Because of the co-location of 5 Division headquarters and Maritime Forces Atlantic headquar12 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2013 www.vanguardcanada.com The job means a dual role as both commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic, responsible for all Royal Canadian Navy activities in the region, and commander JTFA, responsible for all Canadian Armed Forces operations in the Atlantic provinces during contingency and emergency situations. The challenge, he admits, requires a fine balance, not being more one commander than the other. JTFA is not something that can be turned on as needed. In an interview with editor Chris Thatcher, he began by speaking about that balance and his long-term objective. ters and forces, all the militias in the Atlantic region, and the regional proximity of Gagetown, Halifax is the one place in Canada where we can strike off and enhance the land-sea effect of our joint capabilities. Just as I enjoy a great integrated effect with the air force because of long-range patrol aviation and maritime helicopters that serve the maritime domain, and the wings and the search and rescue squadrons in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, the army and the navy seek to create that same synergy and power. The specific objective domestically in increasing that land-sea effect is to create a greater capability through Newfoundland and Labrador and into the Subarctic, given that the eastern sea lines of