Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/533940
REGISTER NOW! Join the LEDC, with the support of CADSI, for our 2015 Best Defence Conference Wednesday November 4, 2015 The London Convention Centre 300 York Street, London, Ontario, CANADA NEW this year – the option for display tables (limited space available) EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION ENDS OCTOBER 1, 2015 LEDC.com/Best-Defence For more information, contact: Heather Pilot 1 519 661 4957 hpilot@ledc.com l lOgiSTiCS www.vanguardcanada.com JUNE/JULY 2015 33 that a lot of people really aren't sure what he and his team actually do. What distinguished SNC-Lavalin in Afghanistan wasn't the fact that they were able to replace the liquid handsoap in the washrooms or scoop mounds of mashed potatoes on people's plates, it was the sheer amount of planning and prepara- tion it took to actually get to that stage. In 2002, Camp Julien in Kabul was in turn, allows the CAF to focus more on the actual mission responsibilities, and less on the complicated logistics of providing food, water, shelter and other basic neces- sities required in remote and challenging areas of operation around the world. "That was a compelling reason for the govern- ment to get into this business," Rooke says. AFTER WATChing the success of ci- vilian contracting with their allies, in 2000 the government initiated a request for proposals for Canadian companies capable of providing logistics through deployed operations to take some of the pressure off the logistics branch of the military, which is always in high demand for domestic and deployed missions. Initially, Rooke explains, the idea was for the military to go into a mission location, set up a base, and then hire some locals – depending on the skill level and the secu- rity situation – to help out. But that wasn't always easy. Locals may have had the skills and experience to do the work, but quite often did not have recognized formal cre- dentials. "In these cases," Rooke says, "we can usually get the military to permit us to hire and employ them, as long as they are being well supervised by someone with the necessary credentials." In such cases, the actual cost is reduced for the military, and there is a huge ben- efit to the local economy, since unemploy- ment is usually very high in conflict zones. Despite some early resistance, soldiers began to warm to the idea of civilians providing logistics and in-service support while in Afghanistan. The SNC-Lavalin team was proving that the concept could work; soldiers were being fed, supplies were getting to the right people, wash- rooms were cleaned, water was provided, vehicles maintained. "We were the invis- ible service providers back there," Rooke recalls. While you would not expect invisibil- ity to be a good thing for a contractor, it makes sense. Soldiers expected the ser- vices that the SNC-Lavalin team provided in Afghanistan. Receiving a steady supply of potable water doesn't ordinarily com- pel people (in Canada, anyway) to offer up their compliments, but the lack of it would certainly induce a strong and im- mediate reaction. And so, Rooke explains, he really isn't all that fussed about the fact nothing but a nameless stretch of hard- scrabble rock and dust in one of the most dangerous countries in the world. By the end of 2003, the SNC-Lavalin team had turned it into a 2,500-person community with roads, garbage removal, laundry and cleaning services, fire protection, a water- treatment plant…and yes, liquid hand- soap in the washrooms. Building a base in an extremely isolat-