Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/196923
D DeFSec dEfSEC Atlantic expanding to meet demand deFsec atlantic marked its biggest year to date. The annual defence and security conference in halifax has become a destination for government and industry, increasingly with an international flavour. colin Stephenson, the show's executive director, said attendance had increased slightly from 2012, to over 1,230 people. More important, though, were the countries of origin: u.s., u.K., denmark, France, germany, greece, italy, Jamaica, netherlands, st. Pierre and Miquelon, spain and sweden were among the nations represented either by government or industry delegations. To accommodate the growth, organizers pushed the cunard centre to its limits with an expanded floor plan, a 20 percent increase over 2012. The new set-up included a significant increase in private meeting spaces, almost all of which were used throughout the show by government and industry, stephenson said. partnerships and the navy's procurement strategy Over the past several years, successive commanders of the Royal Canadian Navy have delivered speeches constructed around a quote from Prime Minister Stephen Harper – that Canada's economy floats on salt water – to underline the importance of a robust navy. Today, the emphasis has shifted to partnerships as the navy moves through the modernization of its Halifax-class frigates and prepares to enter the next phase of the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS). In an address to the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Nova Scotia during DEFSEC Atlantic in September, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman made that point several times, highlighting the performance of ships in the Caribbean, Medi38 OcTOBer/nOVeMBer 2013 terranean and Arctic, and the rebuilding process that now includes the rejuvenation of the Victoria-class submarines. "Fundamentally it is about making sure that we have ships and crews ready to go to sea at whatever notice," he said. "And we could not deliver the readiness…if it was not for the partnerships of industry and our colleagues in the government." Norman arrived in Halifax just days after the collision of two ships, HMCS Algon- quin and Preserver, during a routine towing exercise in the Pacific Ocean. Though the media had a field day with the accident between the aging destroyer and tanker, Norman asked that it be put in context, noting that there are on average 25-30 towing exercises a year across the fleet. The future as defined by frigate modernization, the Victoria-class submarines and NSPS "are all good news stories that need to be explained," he said. "This is a com- "this is a complicated and non-risk free business that we are in. if you want a navy to go out in the world and do good, or bad to others on your behalf, we have to take some risks." www.vanguardcanada.com — Vadm Mark norman