Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/196923
E editor's note EDITOR Chris Thatcher editorvanguard@netgov.ca CONTRIBUTORS RAdm John Newton Ian Coutts Ken Hansen LGen James Steve Lucas MGen (Ret'd) Fraser Holman Henning Jacobsen Scott Dewis Leigha Cotton Amy Allen David Hathaway EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD LGen (Ret'd) Bill Leach LGen (Ret'd) George Macdonald VAdm (Ret'd) Greg Maddison LGen (Ret'd) Michel Maisonneuve Ambassador Graham Green Professor Philippe Lagassé SALES VICE PRESIDENT PUBLIC SECTOR SALES Terri Pavelic (905) 727-4091 ext. 225 terrip@netgov.ca National Account Manager Marcello Sukhdeo (905) 727-4091 ext. 224 marcellos@netgov.ca MARKETING DIRECTOR Mary Malofy ART & PRODUCTION ART DIRECTOR Elena Pankova SUBSCRIPTIONS AND ADDRESS CHANGES CIRCULATION DIRECTOR James Watson circulation@promotive.net (705) 812-0611 CORPORATE PUBLISHER John R. 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VANGUARD OFFICE 24-4 Vata Court, Aurora, ON L4G 4B6 Phone: (905) 727-4091 Fax: (905) 727-4428 4 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2013 www.vanguardcanada.com The future value of a CCV The necessity of the Close Combat Vehicle has been called into question in recent media coverage and think tank reports. At a time when the Canadian Army is voicing concerns about training budgets, one can certainly understand how $2 billion could go a long way to shoring up the increasing demands of environment-specific training. (Not that there are any guarantees the money would find its way into a training fund if the program were stopped in its tracks.) Perhaps it's worth recalling the requirement for a CCV-like vehicle and why it remains relevant. The army may run on its Light Armoured Vehicles, and the LAV III was certainly the workhorse of the Afghanistan campaign, but it had its limitations. As early as 2006 during Operation Medusa, there were problems navigating through demanding terrain. The LAV also proved no match for increasingly powerful improvised explosive devices. Leopard 1 tanks entered the battle later that year, a reminder that there are times when only a tank has the manoeuvrability and precise fire power to deal with certain circumstances. The Leopards also brought a measure of protection to infantry, but the LAV lacked the cross-country speed and armour to keep up with the tanks. How Canada will deploy its tanks in future operations remains to be seen, but read any account of the American lightning armour strike up Highway 8 into the heart of Baghdad and Saddam Hussein's parade ground – a thunder run – and the value of the Bradley M2 infantry fighting vehicle becomes clear. Faced with an endless barrage of RPGs, mortars, small arms fire, suicide vehicles and improvised explosive devices, it was instrumental in the assault that toppled the Saddam regime, to say nothing of his statue, working in tandem with the Abrams M1A1 tank. In fact, that thunder run rewrote the doctrine on tank operations in urban environments. In Canada's Army of Tomorrow operating concept, urban ops figure prominently. The upgraded LAV is truly an impressive vehicle, more mobile, protected and lethal than its predecessor. But it's doubtful it has the same off-road capability or survivability to match a CCV. And in an army training for all contingencies in all environments, that capability might prove vital. Speaking of urban operations, this issue looks at the role of modelling and simulation, including the Urban Operations Training System project and its introduction across five bases and the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre in Wainwright beginning next year. We also explore the role of the Maritime Warfare Centre in the evaluation of the weapons systems on the Navy's future surface combatants. And Carl Daniels of Bluedrop Performance Learning describes the remaining challenges of interfacing the real world with the virtual training environment. However, we lead off with an interview with Rear-Admiral John Newton, the (relatively) new commander of Joint Task Force Atlantic, and his efforts to enhance the land-sea effect in Newfoundland and Labrador as he develops the resources to respond to challenges in the eastern gateway to Canada's Arctic archipelago. C C • • • • • Chris Thatcher, Editor ©2 1310 Vanguard